How to start learning Finnish?

[Måndag]

Okay I really want to learn Finnish, and I got the book "Beginners Finnish" by Agi Risko, and I have a HUGE Finnish grammar book in Norwegian. The problem is that I was supposed to exchange to Finland this year but I was not able to, and then I sort of lost my motivation (my knowledge went the same way, and without it I need to start from scratch.) So my question is how do I start?

I appreciate every answer given, in advance thank you!

[Sami-Is-Boss]

Why do you want to learn it? A reason gives motivation, and motivation makes things much easier

[tuulen]

I got the book "Beginners Finnish" by Agi Risko, and I have a HUGE Finnish grammar book in Norwegian.

While it is good that you have a HUGE Finnish grammar book, you could do well to focus on the Beginners Finnish book first because the beginners book will present the essential basics of the language and that gives you a solid grip on how the language works. The HUGE book could serve you well as a reference for when you have questions (and you WILL have questions! ) but otherwise could overwhelm you with too much information, and the beginners book will present the language in bite-sized pieces, better focused and much easier to learn.

[ruusu25]

When I started learning Finnish, I used that same book by Agi Risko. Did your version come with the audio CDs? After coming into contact with a few more Finnish books later on, I don't necessarily think it is the best one out there, but for me it did its job giving me basic grammar and vocabulary that were sufficient for me to start tackling simple conversations when I was about halfway through it.

I think the "best" way for you to start studying Finnish depends a lot on your learning style. If you like things to be systematic and logical, then you'll probably respond well to studying grammar before anything else. Finnish, despite being rather dissimilar from English, is very logical and has fewer exceptions to its rules than many other languages.

If you're not a grammar person, you might benefit more from something like the Rosetta Stone approach, where you don't directly study grammar at all, but infer the rules through contact with examples.

Another question still is whether you remember information better when you read it or when you hear it. If the latter is true, make sure you listen to your book's audio CDs (if you have them), because you may find it much easier to remember new vocabulary and grammar concepts after hearing them. Because I definitely have a stronger memory for things I've heard, I played those CDs in the car on the way to and from work several days a week over the summer. Because I heard them repeated so many times, I find that I am able to recall many portions of the dialogue almost instantaneously if I'm trying to remember a word or grammatical structure that I know I will find if inside a certain phrase from the recording. It works for me. It might or might not work for you.

Something I definitely suggest is, as soon as you feel like you've studied enough to hold a simple conversation, find someone to talk to! Even if you don't know any Finns and you're not in Finland, you can always find a language study partner from www.livemocha.com, where you can chat through instant messages or video. It's definitely easier to chat by writing first, because you'll have more time to think before you reply. I found that trying to converse in real-time was quite difficult at first, but given a patient conversation partner, I learned quite a lot and got used to it rather quickly.

Anyway, I wish you luck in learning Finnish. Onnea!

[Kysymästä]

I started about a week ago, so I can only say very basic phrases like "Anteeksi, en kuulut" and "Minä en ymmärrä," which mean "Sorry, I didn't hear" and "I don't understand," respectively. However, for such a difficult language, I'd say I'm progressing quite well. The main resource I use is an online
textbook provided free of charge by the Foreign Service Institute, which can be found at http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content ... ge=Finnish along with many audio recordings. I also consult a free online grammar book from time to time, which is found at http://www.cc.jyu.fi/~pamakine/kieli/suomi/

I recommend adding these to your list of resources to use. If for whatever reason this isn't enough for you, here is a massive list of resources:
http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/fo ... 22300&PN=1

Toivotan teille onnea (I wish you good luck; not entirely sure I said that correctly)!

[Upphew]

Toivotan teille onnea (I wish you good luck; not entirely sure I said that correctly)!

Correct, although a bit formal. Or did you mean you in plural.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%E2%80%93V_distinction

[Kysymästä]

I will get to colloquial and informal speech sooner or later, but for now I'm focusing on formal language. I want to be as respectful as possible when speaking in Finnish (mostly because I'm going to study in Finland is a few years), and that is easiest to do when speaking formally. Also, I'm learning from the Foreign Service Institute, which teaches most of its content in very formal speech.

[tuulen]

@ Kysymästä

Learning "standard" Finnish really is the right way for a foreigner to begin. It will do everything you need it to do. That is why it is the language of business, government, higher education and virtually all of the media, including the Internet. There also are several regional dialects in common use, too, and most Finns ordinarily speak one of them. But I have not found any instruction books, etc., in any of the dialects. And so learning "standard" Finnish really is the right way for a foreigner to begin.

[Upphew]

Learning "standard" Finnish really is the right way for a foreigner to begin. It will do everything you need it to do. That is why it is the language of business, government, higher education and virtually all of the media, including the Internet. There also are several regional dialects in common use, too, and most Finns ordinarily speak one of them. But I have not found any instruction books, etc., in any of the dialects. And so learning "standard" Finnish really is the right way for a foreigner to begin.

I agree wholeheartedly with the notion that standard Finnish is the way to start learning. And it is standard without quotes, http://www.kotus.fi/index.phtml?l=en&s=3

[tuulikki]

Dear Mandag,

one question... Do you speak norwegian? I try to learn norwegian since couple of weeks and I do need somebody to answerer all my question etc. For the case you really decide to learn finnish - what about a some kind of language-learning "tandem": you´ll help me to learn norwegian and I'll help you with your finnish?

Hva synes du om det?
Kiitos jo etukäteen!

Terveisin, Tuulikki

[Kysymästä]

Dear Mandag,

one question... Do you speak norwegian? I try to learn norwegian since couple of weeks and I do need somebody to answerer all my question etc. For the case you really decide to learn finnish - what about a some kind of language-learning "tandem": you´ll help me to learn norwegian and I'll help you with your finnish?

Hva synes du om det?
Kiitos jo etukäteen!

Terveisin, Tuulikki

Måndag is the Swedish word for Monday. Many Swedes don't speak Norwegian, but they can understand roughly 80% of what they say. Norwegians, on the other hand, typically speak both Norwegian and Swedish fluently. It is unlikely that Måndag speaks Norwegian fluently, especially if he is an inexperienced learner. I recommend checking out Livemocha. It's very helpful in finding a partner to practice different languages with.

[jahasjahas]

Måndag is the Swedish word for Monday. Many Swedes don't speak Norwegian, but they can understand roughly 80% of what they say. Norwegians, on the other hand, typically speak both Norwegian and Swedish fluently. It is unlikely that Måndag speaks Norwegian fluently, especially if he is an inexperienced learner.

Did you notice that Måndag's forum signature says "Måndag means monday in Norwegian (nynorsk)".

[Kysymästä]

Måndag is the Swedish word for Monday. Many Swedes don't speak Norwegian, but they can understand roughly 80% of what they say. Norwegians, on the other hand, typically speak both Norwegian and Swedish fluently. It is unlikely that Måndag speaks Norwegian fluently, especially if he is an inexperienced learner.

Did you notice that Måndag's forum signature says "Måndag means monday in Norwegian (nynorsk)".

For some reason, I thought that said Swedish. I swear on my life I thought that said Swedish, not Norwegian.

[opinto]

what are the details of The Grammar of Finnish in Norwegian Suomen kieli Oppia Noorjaksilla, I am looking for a Grammar or Beg learners of Finnish in Swedish.

I have Suomen Kieli Oppia Ulko Maalaisille by Leila White Finn Lectura it is a little difficult foe Beg

[kalmisto]

Here is to you Måndag !

Finnish Grammar in English:
http://www.uusikielemme.fi/grammar.html

Vocabulary:
http://www.uusikielemme.fi/vocabulary.html