Finland's cultual silence

[raamv]

i used to be akward around my FInnish friends..

I used to be awkward like that too...

...but then I started wearing clothes.

So finally, you are away from those trees eh!!

[maxxfi]

Finns, silent? Bollocks....Finns don't talk much but personally find many to be very loud...not just talking but moving, closing doors, setting things down, walking, washing dishes, running water, smoking, eating, slurping coffee...like 5 million bulls in one china shop. No wonder everyone likes to go to their cottage and/or spend time alone here...

Hmm.. I have to agree on this. Due to a change of employer (oh, don't let me start on this...) I recently moved from a truly multicultural and international work environment to one composed purely of Finns (I'm probably the only foreigner on the whole floor).
Well, the general respect for each other's work in that multicultural environment, that makes everybody talk to their colleague in a low voice (so not to disturb the others), or apologize if someone pops in and is afraid to interrupt something, is IMHO completely missing in this 'fully Finnish' office:
people who want to talk to a colleague 5-6 m away they just shout loud enough to be heard from their place, without even thinking to move their lazy asses. Fro time to time radios kept on and various videos watched and listened with loudspeaker well pumped... as they were at their home.
And to complete the lovely soundtrack, at least a couple of sound belches per day.
Finns, silent? I wish they were!

[raamv]

Finns, silent? I wish they were!

nyt,sina ymmärtän suomalainen äänetön

[Bavarian]

Finns, silent? I wish they were!

nyt,sina ymmärtän suomalainen äänetön

Do you mean "(sinä) ymmärrät" or "(minä) ymmärrän"?

Or perhaps you meant "Ei kukaan ymmärtä suomalaisen äänetön". (Or something similar. I'm just trying to learn the language, so I've probably screwed up badly.)

[raamv]

Finns, silent? I wish they were!

nyt,sina ymmärtän suomalainen äänetön

Do you mean "(sinä) ymmärrät" or "(minä) ymmärrän"?

Or perhaps you meant "Ei kukaan ymmärtä suomalaisen äänetön". (Or something similar. I'm just trying to learn the language, so I've probably screwed up badly.)

Some vague remembrance of typing this ...

[onkko]

Some vague remembrance of typing this ...

Youre finnished, writing while drunk is good

[TERI]

It´s the same as Finns drink Lonkero all the time and they come to Tallinn to buy loads of it.

[Vesper]

[quote="onkko"]To me finnish silence is true, i wont talk if not needed and my word is bond.
"Sanasta miestä, sarvesta härkää" says saying and i live according to it, im maybe odd but then theres lot of odd people around [quote]


yeah, I've been told something similiar. 'A Finn's word is golden.' It's all about being genuine.

[Karhunkoski]

And to complete the lovely soundtrack, at least a couple of sound belches per day.

I hear this too from one guy. It's such a disgusting sicky burp sound that you can nearly smell it. Oddly, he's also one of the types who complain about "foreigners coming stealing out women". It's so fooking tempting to start to explain at least one reason why, but, well, it's important not to rock the boat in Finland. One nice thing though, the Finns who have lived abroad for any length of time have much better talking, table and door manners, and never burp unless drunk.

[Bubba Elvis XIV]

Blowing the nose in a very public place is a bit off for me. And cleaning your nose as you walk down the road is a bit gross too. You know, the old block one nostril and blow very hard technique...Yak!

[KWICbill]

Wow, I just thought it was me not the cultural divide. I've never been to Finland, but 3 of my 4 Grandparents were born there. I always thought that most people in North America have this need to blabber over everything or nothing at all times. In my family it is normal to talk only when you you have something to say, unless we have been drinking, then we can't shut up. Sitting in peace and quite is splendor to me, and even if others in the house are talking, I only listen with half an ear. If someone mentions my name I will listen to what they are saying but otherwise I ignore the vocalizations of other. My other siblings are more used to the the NA way, but I usually follow what I learned at a young age even as a third generation Canadian. There is a quite large population of Finnish descendants in my community, and most of my good friends are Finn in ancestry also so they don't mind when when I'm silent as they are more used to it, but the rest of the population is baffled at my lack of small talk, especially people I don't know and they just start talking to me and actually expect small talk back in return instead of just curt replies.

BTW I just found this forum and this is my first post, maybe you can tell that I've been drinking tonight. BTW, my siblings and I never learned Finnish, only English and a little French. It may have been due to the fact that English was the main language and my grandmother would never speak Finn unless everyone in the room was fluent in it. At least that way we always got her side of the story even If my parents, and aunts and uncles were the only others in the room (they would always speak Finn even if the person they were talking to was the only person that could understand them).

[Vesper]

I always thought that most people in North America have this need to blabber over everything or nothing at all times.

yeah, it's getting to the point where they constantly 'sh!t their stress verbally.'

B!tch... Blah.. B!tch..B!tch.. Blah.. B!tch & Moan...

I'm sick of it, and it is nice to know there are cultures who oppose that type personality.
I'm reserved and tend to be disinterest in most people.
It's just exhausting to watch & listen to these people have 'total F^cking emotional meltdowns' in public.