kalevala problems..

hirsch · Post by **hirsch** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 4:18 am

hi,
i've tried reading the kalevala in finnish.. and it seems to be quite difficult because the language is different compared to standard finnish.. and many words cannot be found in a normal dictionary (although i have quite a big one, a finnish-german one with 1300 pages) are there any books or dictionaries that could be useful?

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kalmisto · Post by **kalmisto** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 7:47 am

Send your question also to Värttinä forum ! :

http://forum.varttina.net/cgi-bin/ultim ... 4&t=000001

The Kalevala in English at : http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kveng

kalmisto · Post by **kalmisto** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 5:20 pm

There is a yahoo group for Kalevala Mythology here :

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Kalevala_Mythology/

kalmisto · Post by **kalmisto** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 5:36 pm

The Kalevala´s Contents :

http://www.finlit.fi/kalevala/english/t ... scontents/

TrishPaakkonen · Post by **TrishPaakkonen** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 7:24 pm

If it is any help, the local library does have a book in both English and the " original" Finnish.Contact your local library or try the http://www.helmet.fi site.

Trish

kalmisto · Post by **kalmisto** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 9:10 pm

hirsch

How good is your Finnish ? If your Finnish is very basic you should not try to read the Kalevala in Finnish. The language in the book is very difficult even for us Finns. The Kalevala uses an awful lot of archaic words. There is a book called "Kalevalan sanat" ( The words in the Kalevala ) but it is only available in Finnish.

Väinämöinen and Joukahainen aus dem Kalevala:

http://www.karuse.info/other.htm#saksa

kalmisto · Post by **kalmisto** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 9:20 pm

Kalevalan sanoja ( some words from the Kalevala ) - a Kalevala game :

http://www.koulukanava.fi/aidinkieli/ki ... evala5.htm

Choose an explanation on the right hand side and move it ( with the mouse ) to the correct archaic word from the Kalevala on the left ! After you have done all the words click on "seuraava" ( next ) and you will get a new set of words!

hirsch · Post by **hirsch** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 9:45 pm

thanks for your replies..
actually i don't think my finnish is that bad.. i live in austria and i consider moving to finland when i have finished studying... my mother is a finn.. i didnt speak much finnish when i was young (until about the age of six).. i'm now trying to learn the language.. oral finnish is not really the problem (obviously because i can speak with my mother) but written language and of course also the kalevala..

Pecchio · Post by **Pecchio** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 8:22 am

hirsch wrote:hi,
i've tried reading the kalevala in finnish.. and it seems to be quite difficult because the language is different compared to standard finnish.. and many words cannot be found in a normal dictionary (although i have quite a big one, a finnish-german one with 1300 pages) are there any books or dictionaries that could be useful?

I fully agree. I have completely stopped reading any Finnish newspapers. And I have no knowledge of French language. In my home, il y a (is this yes? I really have no idea!!!) a book in French, "Conte, Duc, Roi de Monte Cristo..." and with my dictionary (Finnish-German) whichall right has nothing understandable idea for me...

There go I, in full Finnish. If I
do not understand with any normal dictionary the point of Kalevala, so it really should, ought to be, and shall be lost by anyone.

Please learn the word lists by heart.

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