Finnish is a tonal language?

[Rob A.]

...it has been theorised that the consonant gradation (pata-padan etc) was originally a pronunciation mistake that the speakers of early Proto-Germanic made when they spoke Proto-Finnic...

That theory could be true, but another theory is that consonant gradation serves as a signal to a listener (or to a reader) that a "root" word is being modified, and that consonant gradation simply makes it easier to hear the sound(s) which follow(s) the consonant gradation.

Yes...this is pretty close to how the linguists/grammarians would explain it, though traditionally the view was that it was an "effort reduction" exercise....making words easier to pronounce....and there probably is some of that, but more modern views lean towards the idea that it actually is intended to signal that the word has not yet come to an end...by, in effect, de-emphasizing a consonant.

Here's an academic link discussing this:

http://www.lingref.com/cpp/lasp/3/paper1711.pdf

Consonant gradation is a form of lenition which is common in many languages, though not so much in English...but the wiki article gives one good example from American/Canadian English. In terms of pronunciation, not spelling, the two words "rider" and "writer"...have an almost identical pronunciation ....the "t" in "writer" softens to a "d" sound.

Another example of lenition is assibilation...such as the "s" in vesi changing to a "t" in vettä or "d" in veden.... [Edit: Actually I've got this backwards...the "t" came first and changed to "s" or "d".... the word would have started out as something like....*veti. ] Another example involving German, Dutch and English is the word, "water"....which shifted to "Wasser" in German...well, at least in Hochdeutsch....

And the fact that consonant gradation might appear complicated to a non-native speaker trying to learn the language is neither here nor there. What is important is how it appears to native speakers as they slowly learn their language through childhood. And I would suspect it actually isn't complicated at all and likely helps with the communication process...

[Edit: ...and thinking some more about the English word, "ride"/"rider"...it is cognate with the German word, "Ritter" ="knight" ....so that "ride" is essentially another example of consonant gradation (or lenition) in English...the "t" graded to a "d".... And the word, "knight"??....well, that is related to the English word, "knave"...and, of course the German word, "Knabe"= "boy"....So in English a "knight" is a "boy", but in German the "knight" is a "rider"....Ahhh, the "mysteries" of languages.... ]

[Rosamunda]

IMO the teenager-style rising intonation is more than just a bit irritating. Something akin to the continuous use of "like" in English

The Finn-teen rising intonation is rife in their English too. Almost without exception these days the lukio students seem to have adopted this pattern in their spoken English. Not just girls but the guys too. I'm surprised the English teachers in school don't seem so bothered about it. Not only is it irritating (IMO) but it also makes the speaker sound like an airhead.

Trouble is, it's so contagious.


... so much for not wanting to sound Finnish! Now they all sound like Kylie Minogues... not sure that improves their job hunting prospects outside of Finland (referring to another thread on a similar topic).

[Bavarian]

Nobody gets irritated by consonant gradation, simply because it has been a part of Finnish so long time that nobody recognizes it as a borrowing anymore.

Oh, those of us trying to learn the langauge get irritated by consonant gradation.

It's those darn K's that are missing from root words and suddenly show up in the inflected forms.

[tuulen]

...It's those darn K's that are missing from root words and suddenly show up in the inflected forms.

Oh, yes! The letter K remains mysterious. Suddenly it appears, and suddenly it disappears.