Do locals mainly speak in Finnish or in English???

[niceguy40]

Do locals mainly speak in Finnish or in English, like when they're out in public? And if you say a few words in finnish and then ask to speak in English, how many people will be able to speak to you in English? Like in reality I know a few words. But I probably could learn the basics in about a year. Just cuz I grew up around it. But at first I won't be able to talk finnish when I get there. So I don't know how well that's gonna go over???

Let me give you a sample....

Mina olen John Smith. Mina Olen Canadeinen. Mini puho Eglandtia oikon huvian, un vahan Soumi. Puhutteko te ah Englandtia?

See that's pretty good ahh??

[leisl]

Do locals mainly speak in Finnish or in English, like when they're out in public?

Finnish. If you live in Kamppi, the default language is 50/50 Finnish/English, but that is the only exception I've noticed in Helsinki myself.

And if you say a few words in finnish and then ask to speak in English, how many people will be able to speak to you in English?

90%. How many will? Maybe 20. The rest will smile awkwardly and just stop talking to you.

Like in reality I know a few words. But I probably could learn the basics in about a year. Just cuz I grew up around it. But at first I won't be able to talk finnish when I get there. So I don't know how well that's gonna go over???

Let me give you a sample....

Mina olen John Smith. Mina Olen Canadeinen. Mini puho Eglandtia oikon huvian, un vahan Soumi. Puhutteko te ah Englandtia?

See that's pretty good ahh??

No hei anteeks, mulla on kiire. (The likely response unless they're really outgoing or kind.)
You won't get anywhere near conversation level in a year. Sorry mate. Obviously you can sort of say some words to make yourself understood, but repeating rehearsed lines is a thousand times easier than understanding.
It'll be compounded if you are not in the workforce, not in Finland or not actively using it every day for several hours a day.

[niceguy40]

Do locals mainly speak in Finnish or in English, like when they're out in public?

Finnish. If you live in Kamppi, the default language is 50/50 Finnish/English, but that is the only exception I've noticed in Helsinki myself.

And if you say a few words in finnish and then ask to speak in English, how many people will be able to speak to you in English?

90%. How many will? Maybe 20. The rest will smile awkwardly and just stop talking to you.

Like in reality I know a few words. But I probably could learn the basics in about a year. Just cuz I grew up around it. But at first I won't be able to talk finnish when I get there. So I don't know how well that's gonna go over???

Let me give you a sample....

Mina olen John Smith. Mina Olen Canadeinen. Mini puho Eglandtia oikon huvian, un vahan Soumi. Puhutteko te ah Englandtia?

See that's pretty good ahh??

No hei anteeks, mulla on kiire. (The likely response unless they're really outgoing or kind.)
You won't get anywhere near conversation level in a year. Sorry mate. Obviously you can sort of say some words to make yourself understood, but repeating rehearsed lines is a thousand times easier than understanding.
It'll be compounded if you are not in the workforce, not in Finland or not actively using it every day for several hours a day.

mina ah kulu

[rinso]

And if you say a few words in finnish and then ask to speak in English, how many people will be able to speak to you in English?

90%. How many will? Maybe 20. The rest will smile awkwardly and just stop talking to you.

Even in shops they rather loose a customer than having a technical conversation in English. (nerds excepted)

[Pursuivant]

OK, you're a Canadian, right. Imagine moving to some Up-Le-Bum in Quebec. And speaking only Finnish.

[Pursuivant]

Do locals mainly speak in Finnish or in English, like when they're out in public?

No they don't.
I mean speak.
Out in public.

And if you say a few words

They stare at you.
Then they make you squeal like a pig....

how many people will be able to speak to you in English?

I think you miss-spelt "people willing to speak"...

Now as for your original question, I am wondering why you think "locals" in Finland would be speaking English in public? Do your neighbours on their evening stroll pissing the dog randomly burst into chatter in foreign languages? You know like a broken radio ...gavarit moskva...sszzzhhhts... ? Must be the dentists in Canada retrained radio mechanics or something...

[niceguy40]

mina puhutte ko ta ah oihkon huvian soumilianian

[TeppoKroatialainen]

How do you mean speak?

Joke aside if you know english you don't need to worry.

When I came here people who work in nearest store remember me and that that i don't speak Finnish so they would go straight to English, and know when i learned a bit of Finnish i don't have a chance to use it

[Piet]

Depends greatly on where you are in Finland what people speak. (stadi slangi, Savo, Sami, turkish, Farsi, Russian, puhe kieli etc.)

But regarding all other posts you made here on the forum, forget coming to Finland! From what I read in your posts, you stand no chance in surviving here (legally). You won't get a permit to stay, you do not speak the language, you have only some distant relatives here that probably do not even know you. You only want to be here in summer time getting eaten by the mosquitoes. You clearly lack the confidence and the brains of just packing you stuff and getting over-here and DO something (otherwise there would have not been that many ridiculous posts of you). 'Why start these trolling posts in the first place, seems to me you just want attention and found a nice forum where people still react.

Get your life together and DO something useful instead of asking on a forum if the native people in a country where you will never live, actually speak YOUR language, if the question is serious the answer is seriously NO!!

So get a tourist visum and bring a sh*tload of money with you, spend it and go back to Canada...if you pay for someones drinks and he / she gets drunk, he or she is your friend for that moment and they all speak English (sort of) You might even get laid.

Good luck with your life

[betelgeuse]

You won't get a permit to stay, you do not speak the language, you have only some distant relatives here that probably do not even know you.

Search is blocking me out at the moment but I remember the earlier threads implying that he could get a permit based on ancestry. It follows that a life on benefits would be possible.

[Piet]

You won't get a permit to stay, you do not speak the language, you have only some distant relatives here that probably do not even know you.

Search is blocking me out at the moment but I remember the earlier threads implying that he could get a permit based on ancestry. It follows that a life on benefits would be possible.

As I recall it was something like his parents or one of them was Finnish but became Canadian and lost its Finnish nationality, he was born after that....so neither of his parents had the Finnish nationality when he was born. His mother (I think) could get it back but that would not imply that he would get Finnish nationality because she wasn't Finnish when he was born.

But I could be wrong....


No I am not wrong, I found it:

What I've been told by my parents is that at the time they came to Canada in the late 50's there was no "dual citizenships". So they had to give up there fin citzship. So when I was born in the 70's I'm pretty sure neither had there Fin citz. But I talked to the embassy, they told me that they could get there fin citz reinstated very easy. But they told me that for some reason that would not help me.

So I would qualify for a residency permit? I'll have to look into that.

Any other info you can provide would be helpful. Thank you.

[betelgeuse]

As I recall it was something like his parents or one of them was Finnish but became Canadian and lost its Finnish nationality, he was born after that....so neither of his parents had the Finnish nationality when he was born. His mother (I think) could get it back but that would not imply that he would get Finnish nationality because she wasn't Finnish when he was born.

Now you switched to talking about getting citizenship which is irrelevant to residence permits. I was able to access the earlier thread and the information there agrees with my previous post.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=89356&p=546285#p546285

[Piet]

As I recall it was something like his parents or one of them was Finnish but became Canadian and lost its Finnish nationality, he was born after that....so neither of his parents had the Finnish nationality when he was born. His mother (I think) could get it back but that would not imply that he would get Finnish nationality because she wasn't Finnish when he was born.

Now you switched to talking about getting citizenship which is irrelevant to residence permits. I was able to access the earlier thread and the information there agrees with my previous post.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=89356&p=546285#p546285

I copied from the same thread, as I understood he would be unable to get a residents permit based on his parents being finnish because these parents were not finnish anymore so his citizenship would be not finnish and he being canadian would not grant him a residence permit based on family ties or ancestry. So his options get severely limited, he does not have a job in Finland, no study so those temporary permits are out of the picture too, what else is left? or am I missing something

As discussed in that same thread, but of course I could have misunderstood and or misread

Basically in that thread is already suggested the guy should wake up.

[leisl]

He will likely either get citizenship or get a permanent residence permit based on being the descendant of a Finn (which unlike other PR does not require means of support and gets him access to Kela). So yes the benefits would be there.

It's still likely to be a stupid move, for all the non-monetary reasons detailed (it's not easy to live in a bubble without being part of society), and the real crux of it is that this guy is a dreamer, not a doer, which Piet also identified.

[niceguy40]

As I recall it was something like his parents or one of them was Finnish but became Canadian and lost its Finnish nationality, he was born after that....so neither of his parents had the Finnish nationality when he was born. His mother (I think) could get it back but that would not imply that he would get Finnish nationality because she wasn't Finnish when he was born.

Now you switched to talking about getting citizenship which is irrelevant to residence permits. I was able to access the earlier thread and the information there agrees with my previous post.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=89356&p=546285#p546285

I copied from the same thread, as I understood he would be unable to get a residents permit based on his parents being finnish because these parents were not finnish anymore so his citizenship would be not finnish and he being canadian would not grant him a residence permit based on family ties or ancestry. So his options get severely limited, he does not have a job in Finland, no study so those temporary permits are out of the picture too, what else is left? or am I missing something

As discussed in that same thread, but of course I could have misunderstood and or misread

Basically in that thread is already suggested the guy should wake up.

you have it all figured out ahh