Present perfect or future; hän on alkanut

[fida]

Could somebody tell me the meaning of the following sentence?
Hän on myös alkanut nyt opiskella italiaa.

I thought the translation would be "She has started studying Italian, too." But my teacher said that the present perfect form in this sentence meant future tense, so the translation would be "She is going to start studying Italian, too." Therefore, she has not started studying Italian yet.

I am confused by the difference between Finnish and English. What makes the present perfect in Finnish future tense?

FYI: The sentence above is a part of the following sentence I've found in my textbook. "Hän" is the writer's mother and "he" is the writer's parents.
Hän on myös alkanut nyt opiskella italiaa, sen jälkeen kun he viime syyskuussa palasivat Italiasta, elämänsä pisimmältä ja hauskimmalta ulkomaanmatkalta.

[EP]

I thought the translation would be "She has started studying Italian, too.

Well, you were right.

"She is going to start studying Italian, too." Therefore, she has not started studying Italian yet.

No, she has started.

"She is going to start studying Italian, too."

The translation of that is "Hän alkaa nyt myös opiskella italiaa". <--- in that she has not yet started.

[fida]

Thanks, EP!

I'll confirm that with my teacher in the next lesson.

[Rob A.]

Could somebody tell me the meaning of the following sentence?
Hän on myös alkanut nyt opiskella italiaa.

I thought the translation would be "She has started studying Italian, too." But my teacher said that the present perfect form in this sentence meant future tense, so the translation would be "She is going to start studying Italian, too." Therefore, she has not started studying Italian yet.

I am confused by the difference between Finnish and English. What makes the present perfect in Finnish future tense?

Well...I can see why you are confused...I would have been, too.... I don't think your teacher has explained this very well. I would translate, Hän on myös alkanut nyt opiskella italiaa., literally as, "She has also started now to study Italian." The "completed" action is the "starting", not the "studying"; so I think you are right.

And the second part of the sentence seems to confirm this:

...sen jälkeen kun he viime syyskuussa palasivat Italiasta, elämänsä pisimmältä ja hauskimmalta ulkomaanmatkalta.....which I would translate as....again literally:

"....this after when they last September returned from Italy, from their lives' longest and most pleasant foreign travel."

But you have to be a bit careful with the present perfect tense...it can be used a bit differently in different languages, though, if anything, I think it is more likely to have a "past" aspect in Finnish rather than a "future" aspect.....

[Rob A.]

Thanks, EP!

I'll confirm that with my teacher in the next lesson.

Well...So far, it looks like you have two people agreeing you are right....one, a native speaker; one, not.... Let's see if anyone else wants to add anything...

[Upphew]

Make it three.

[fida]

Thank you, Rob A., Upphew!

Three people agreed with my opinion. I feel confident enough to ask my teacher.

[garoowood]

Make it four.
I am just a beginner in Finnish and 100% self studying with the help of Jukka and these guys above. It will take you a quite long time before you can say "I speak Finnish", but let's try our best and not to give up, cheers

[fida]

Thanks, garoowood!

Wow, you're so great that you study Finnish by yourself!

Minä toivon, että voisin keskustella suomalaisten kanssa suomeksi! ლ(╹◡╹ლ)