A little translation

[sammy]

A Finnish girl told me about the paaivas and mäkäläinen (no idea how to make the plural of that and mäkäläinens doesn't sound right but maybe it is after all), she's from Palonurmi or Jyväskylä. I think that's north, isn't it?

Now I'm not quite sure if those -especially paaiva- are some very rare dialect words but you've confused me

You wouldn't mean paarma and mäkäräinen, still?

(mäkäläinen, actually, sounds like child-speak, if you can't say the letter 'r' )

But definitely, Jyväskylä is not North. It is north of Helsinki, of course, but you'd have to drive quite a few hours by car from Jyväskylä to reach some place that would actually be "north" Have a look at a map

[Juha H.]

This was very useful. Yes, "mäkärainen" sounded like a name. . . now, is it a mistake to call the fly a "mäkäräinen"?

I don't think so... unless the wrestler next to you at the bus stop happens to be called Mäkäräinen

I've heard (and used) both forms myself, but then again I'm not from Lapland so pelt me with reindeer droppings if I'm wrong!

That would be quite unfortunate.

A Finnish girl told me about the paaivas and mäkäläinen (no idea how to make the plural of that and mäkäläinens doesn't sound right but maybe it is after all), she's from Palonurmi or Jyväskylä. I think that's north, isn't it?

I live in the Jyväskylä region and have never heard of Palonurmi! As for the other words, please read what has been said above.

[sammy]

I live in the Jyväskylä region and have never heard of Palonurmi! As for the other words, please read what has been said above.

Maybe she's combining (and confusing) Paloheinä and Palokka

[Susan]

I live in the Jyväskylä region and have never heard of Palonurmi! As for the other words, please read what has been said above.

Maybe she's combining (and confusing) Paloheinä and Palokka

Nope. I'm not combining or confusing anything. I just checked. She wrote that word> Palonurmi and the ZIP Code is 73810. Unless you think she forgot where she lives after living abroad for a year, you guys should check your Geography.

Juha,
The fact that you've never heard of something doesn't mean that that something doesn't exist, does it?

[enk]

This was very useful. Yes, "mäkärainen" sounded like a name. . . now, is it a mistake to call the fly a "mäkäräinen"?

If you're referring to a fly, it's kärpänen; mäkäräinen is for gnats
when no Mäkäräinens are around, otherwise you're safer using mäkärä

Strangely enough, the surname Mäkäräinen is supposed to come from
the name Makarios + nen and not the gnat.

-enk

[sammy]

Nope. I'm not combining or confusing anything. I just checked. She wrote that word> Palonurmi and the ZIP Code is 73810. Unless you think she forgot where she lives after living abroad for a year, you guys should check your Geography.

Oh yeah, a small village called Palonurmi does seem to exist (but not actually in Jyväskylä, but near Nilsiä / Kuopio region... that's probably why neither me nor Juha recognised the name) - well, now we know :lol:

But paaiva still is remains a riddle

[Susan]

This was very useful. Yes, "mäkärainen" sounded like a name. . . now, is it a mistake to call the fly a "mäkäräinen"?

If you're referring to a fly, it's kärpänen; mäkäräinen is for gnats
when no Mäkäräinens are around, otherwise you're safer using mäkärä


-Roger that! I'll be careful.
-Susan

Strangely enough, the surname Mäkäräinen is supposed to come from
the name Makarios + nen and not the gnat.



-enk

[sammy]

Strangely enough, the surname Mäkäräinen is supposed to come from the name Makarios + nen and not the gnat.

Was there a Greek invasion of Northern Finland at some stage of history? Maybe this indeed is the mysterious Hyperborea.

But seriously, that was interesting. Would that have anything to do with the orthodox religion thingy?

[Susan]

Nope. I'm not combining or confusing anything. I just checked. She wrote that word> Palonurmi and the ZIP Code is 73810. Unless you think she forgot where she lives after living abroad for a year, you guys should check your Geography.

Oh yeah, a small village called Palonurmi does seem to exist (but not actually in Jyväskylä, but near Nilsiä / Kuopio region... that's probably why neither me nor Juha recognised the name) - well, now we know :lol:

But paaiva still is remains a riddle

Well Sammy, I've never said that Palonurmi is IN Jyväskylä. I said: "she lives in Palonurmi OR Jyväskylä". . . she studies in Jyväskylä.

It's on the map. It exists.
http://www.indexmundi.com/z/?lat=63.283 ... &c=finland

[Hank W.]

Believe it or not Hank, using OFF doesn't help you when you want to learn the names of the insects in Finnish. Did it help YOU?

Yes, I don't have to learn the names of insects

[sammy]

Well Sammy, I've never said that Palonurmi is IN Jyväskylä. I said: "she lives in Palonurmi OR Jyväskylä". . .

To split hairs, you did say "from Palonurmi or Jyväskylä. I think that's north, isn't it?" - usage of the singular form "that's" gave the impression that you thought the places were close to each other

Don't worry, I stand corrected and now, if a suitable occasion arises, I can utterly astonish my lesser brethren by off-handedly knowing the location of Palonurmi, a small village near Nilsiä

As for mäkäräinen, the buffalo gnat, there's a story that claims that whereas a mosquito just sort of stings you and sucks a bit of blood, a mäkäräinen bites off a chunk of your skin and flies to the safety of the nearest tree to feast on that!

As you see, us men possess a natural virtuosity not only in Geography but also in Etymology, the science that investigates the world of insects :)

[Hank W.]

Well, it is just due to long exposure to women. Some just sting you and suck a bit of blood, but some rip your heart out and fly away to chew on it...

[enk]

Strangely enough, the surname Mäkäräinen is supposed to come from the name Makarios + nen and not the gnat.

Was there a Greek invasion of Northern Finland at some stage of history? Maybe this indeed is the mysterious Hyperborea.

But seriously, that was interesting. Would that have anything to do with the orthodox religion thingy?

Jehp, the people in Kainuu supposedly come from Savo (hence the -nen)
and some Makarios wandered over to Savo at some point in time.
I think the first documented record of a Mäkäräinen was somewhere
in the 16th century, if I remember correctly.

The first documented record of a mäkäräinen was probably centuries
earlier .

EDIT: Found a link to the 1564 record of a Mäkäräinen.

-enk

[Susan]

Well Sammy, I've never said that Palonurmi is IN Jyväskylä. I said: "she lives in Palonurmi OR Jyväskylä". . .

To split hairs, you did say "from Palonurmi or Jyväskylä. I think that's north, isn't it?" - usage of the singular form "that's" gave the impression that you thought the places were close to each other

Don't worry, I stand corrected and now, if a suitable occasion arises, I can utterly astonish my lesser brethren by off-handedly knowing the location of Palonurmi, a small village near Nilsiä

As for mäkäräinen, the buffalo gnat, there's a story that claims that whereas a mosquito just sort of stings you and sucks a bit of blood, a mäkäräinen bites off a chunk of your skin and flies to the safety of the nearest tree to feast on that

As you see, us men possess a natural virtuosity not only in Geography but also in Etymology, the science that investigates the world of insects :)

That's true. I thought they were close to each other. I don't know why as there's no reason for that. =)

[Susan]

A Finnish girl told me about the paaivas and mäkäläinen (no idea how to make the plural of that and mäkäläinens doesn't sound right but maybe it is after all), she's from Palonurmi or Jyväskylä. I think that's north, isn't it?

Now I'm not quite sure if those -especially paaiva- are some very rare dialect words but you've confused me

You wouldn't mean paarma and mäkäräinen, still?

(mäkäläinen, actually, sounds like child-speak, if you can't say the letter 'r' )

But definitely, Jyväskylä is not North. It is north of Helsinki, of course, but you'd have to drive quite a few hours by car from Jyväskylä to reach some place that would actually be "north" Have a look at a map

Yep. I meant paarma and mäkäräinen. It's good that you noticed. Thanks.

I didn't say north of Finland, though. I just said "that's north"