Where can I get Finnish flashcards?

[Cloudberry]

I've read a few posts about the different methods for learning Finnish. I missed out on getting in on classes so I want to use my time wisely and make a start myself before I can finaly enrol later in the year. From what it seems, my original idea of learning vocab would be a waste of time and I'd be better off learning phrases. I really like the idea of flashcards, has anyone already made something that I can use?

[Jukka Aho]

From what it seems, my original idea of learning vocab would be a waste of time and I'd be better off learning phrases. I really like the idea of flashcards, has anyone already made something that I can use?

Have you read this thread (follow the link on my post in there)? The general wisdom seems to be you’d get better results collecting the phrases yourself from various sources (magazines, ads, movies, etc.) instead of using ready-made lists. As for computer software which can be used for displaying the “cards”, Mnemosyne has been recommended a couple of times.

[AldenG]

How long have you been in Finland?

Can you describe what you know of Finnish already?

Have you learned any other languages?

How long will it be before you can start classes?

I might be able to assemble a bit of material you could use in the interim if I can get an idea of the right level.

There's one thing I would add to the comments (mine and others') in the thread Jukka linked to. I spend a lot of time lately thinking about how to teach Finnish-for-foreigners effectively. IMO the goal of stage-one teaching is to get people as rapidly and solidly as possible to a point where they can start benefiting from the immersive situation in which they find themselves. And I believe that means beginning with a relatively small vocabulary and focusing on the many different ways it fits into common sentence patterns. In particular, I've become convinced that versatility with verb forms -- a goal traditionally left until late in instruction -- is the key to getting a person to the point where they can quickly feel a sense of empowerment and absorb new vocabulary from material all around them. All of this is still within the imitative, contextual, phrase-based approach I've discussed earlier.

I think that someone who looks at a sentence and reflexively understands (as a result of practicing them) what all the endings are doing there but doesn't necessarily know the particular vocabulary is in a much better position than someone who recognizes all the word stems but can't figure out who is doing what to whom and how all the pieces otherwise fit together. The former person understands the sentence and only needs to learn a few unfamiliar words. The latter person is a long way from being able to make sense of random text, TV/radio broadcasts, etc. And while there is a potentially bewildering array of phrasal constructs in Finnish, their number is still far smaller than the numbers of verbs and nouns. Thus they are a logical emphasis for early/intermediate instruction. Vocabulary one can learn on one's own. Structure needs more guidance, and early guidance.

All this may not hold true for instruction of other languages, but I'm certain that it does for instruction of Finnish.

[Pursuivant]

I have a hankkija lippis, I can flash you all you want babeeee...

[tuulen]

Hi, Cloudberry,

Vocabulary certainly is necessary, but IMO it is better to first get started with grammar, and that is because Finnish as a language is organized so much differently than English. Granted, you could expect to learn new Finnish vocabulary during the rest of your life, but Finnish grammar tells you what to do with the vocabulary. In other words, without a knowledge of the grammar, vocabulary is all but useless. But do not worry, for in your study of grammar you will also learn new vocabulary, too.

I got started with Fred Karlsson's grammar text, but Leila White also is a popular author, and both of those authors are published in English.

[Satish]

Cloudberry,

It is great that Jukka, Pursuivant, AldenG and tuulen have all contributed to your post. These guys along with Rob A, Upphew, EP, sammy and others pretty much make up my "Jedi Council" for learning Finnish - lioittelemematta!!

The funny thing is that they are all correct! In any case, to get you started - here is my suggestion
1. Download Mnemosyne or Anki now. You need it
2. Start adding sentences from the University of Helsinki's Tavantaan Taas! website. It is a great starting point
3. Use Leila White, Karlsson and other grammar books to supplement your learning
4. Be indiscriminate in where you learn from - cartoons, youtube etc etc

Be warned this process is addictive - I am now at 4 000 sentences after a year and still going strong. You write in your signature - "There is no life unless you write it". After reading other people's writing maybe then writing your own is what it is all about.... Hmm...

All the best!'

[Satish]

I have a hankkija lippis, I can flash you all you want babeeee...

lippis = baseball cap I think.. but hankkija lippis ???

[Jukka Aho]

I have a hankkija lippis, I can flash you all you want babeeee...

lippis = baseball cap I think.. but hankkija lippis ???

lippis = short for lippalakki (yes, a baseball cap if you will)

Hankkija – or Keskusosuusliike Hankkija in more formal contexts – was a big nationwide cooperative that was in the business of acquiring and selling agricultural supplies, tools and machinery to its members. They used to hand out these strangely-designed orange baseball caps adorned with their “three checkmarks” logo (actually, stylized plow blades, I think)... which many of the farmers actually wore on their heads when they were working in the fields or milking cows, or whatever.

This specific cap design is now viewed as something of a campy institution in Finland, at least in rural/farmer circles, mainly worn for the laughs or for nostalgic reasons these days. (Definitely unstylish and uncool in every imaginable way, but that’s the whole point, I guess. They have resumed the production of those caps as novelty items even though Hankkija does not exist any longer.)

[Upphew]

I have a hankkija lippis, I can flash you all you want babeeee...

lippis = baseball cap I think.. but hankkija lippis ???

Hankkija was coop that originally sold seeds. Thus almost all farmers had one of these:

[AldenG]

That takes me back. As I recall, the first HP LaserJet I ever bought came from, of all places, Hankkija. Even then I understood enough to think it was very strange to be getting a leading-edge piece of computer equipment from what I thought of as a seed store. I guess they thought it was good business to stock seeds of progress. But apparently it wasn't good enough business...

[Pursuivant]

And the connection between the Hankkija-lippis & flashing is the latest story of our local M-train...
http://www.iltasanomat.fi/uutiset/kotim ... id=1891488

Keski-ikäinen vaaleaihoinen kantasuomalainen mies. Yläpää verhottu Hankkijan lippiksellä. Siinä tuntomerkkejä itsensäpaljastajalle, joka on piinannut VR:n pääkaupunkiseudun lähijunaliikennettä jo kymmenen vuotta. - Muu varustus ei ole kummoinen, arvioi miehen nähnyt junankäyttäjä. - Harkitsemme tutkintapyyntöä poliisille, VR:n henkilöliikenteen turvapäällikkö Teemu Väänänen sanoi tiistaina.

Itsensäpaljastajan ominta valtakuntaa on metsäinen rataosuus Kannelmäestä Malminkartanoon ja sieltä Myyrmäkeen, mutta hän ei ole pitänyt kynttiläänsä vakan alla myöskään rantaradan varressa. Paukkupakkaset ovat pidätelleet itsensäpaljastajaa pari viikkoa. Normaali talvikeli ei siihen pysty. Toimintaperiaate on aina sama. Kun juna on lähellä, ratavarressa kärkkynyt mies loikkaa ajo-opasteita kannattelevaan tolppaan. VR ei ole havainnut eroa, onko ohjaamossa nais- vai miesveturinkuljettaja. Kesäkelillä miehellä on yllään vain lippis.

[opinto]

Tulla toimeen jollakin tee se itse tee kutenparhaaksikatsot

[Cloudberry]

Have you read this thread (follow the link on my post in there)? The general wisdom seems to be you’d get better results collecting the phrases yourself from various sources (magazines, ads, movies, etc.) instead of using ready-made lists. As for computer software which can be used for displaying the “cards”, Mnemosyne has been recommended a couple of times.

Thanks Jukka I'm getting mnemosyne now

How long have you been in Finland? Can you describe what you know of Finnish already? Have you learned any other languages? How long will it be before you can start classes?

I might be able to assemble a bit of material you could use in the interim if I can get an idea of the right level.

I've only been here for two months, I know some numbers, days of the week and some random vocab. I've never learned any other languages and I don't know how long it will be before I can start classes - maybe April or May? I do have a reasonable understanding of Finnish pronounciations and I alreaday have the following resources:

From Start to Finnish
Learn Finnish in 60 minutes (didn't work )
Teach Yourself Finnish book and CD

I try to read the papers whenever they arrive through the mail slot, I read the brochures too. I fail miserably at the supermarket often having to ask passersby what things are which is really frustrating (like breadcrumbs - I really thought the word "leipä" would have been in there!). I'm highly motivated to learn but I am now worried that the vocab approach is a waste of time and I think getting hold of some phrases on flashcards is the way to go. I'm a very visual learner so reading straight from books can be tiresome hence the idea of flashcards.

[Cloudberry]

Cloudberry,

It is great that Jukka, Pursuivant, AldenG and tuulen have all contributed to your post. These guys along with Rob A, Upphew, EP, sammy and others pretty much make up my "Jedi Council" for learning Finnish - lioittelemematta!!

The funny thing is that they are all correct! In any case, to get you started - here is my suggestion
1. Download Mnemosyne or Anki now. You need it
2. Start adding sentences from the University of Helsinki's Tavantaan Taas! website. It is a great starting point
3. Use Leila White, Karlsson and other grammar books to supplement your learning
4. Be indiscriminate in where you learn from - cartoons, youtube etc etc

Be warned this process is addictive - I am now at 4 000 sentences after a year and still going strong. You write in your signature - "There is no life unless you write it". After reading other people's writing maybe then writing your own is what it is all about.... Hmm...

All the best!'

Thanks Satish! I had forgotten about the Tavantaan Taas site - I'll need to start dedicating a portion of time each day to do something. I guess it's just a bit overwhelming. But I appreciate the encouragement

[Rosamunda]

I fail miserably at the supermarket often having to ask passersby what things are which is really frustrating (like breadcrumbs - I really thought the word "leipä" would have been in there!)

http://www.dlc.fi/~marianna/gourmet/i_f ... m#br_crumb


Homework task to be completed by next Wednesday:

Print all these lists and memorise them:
http://www.dlc.fi/~marianna/gourmet/gl_fish.htm

Actually those lists are far from perfect: some oddities in the English and in the Finnish and some omissions but better than nothing. (I also have an excel spreadsheet which is pretty much the same, I can email you a copy if you can't print those lists)