Finnish Shibboleths

Rob A. · Post by **Rob A.** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 11:42 pm

In one of the threads below we got into the story of the shibboleth... you know, words used to separate the good guys from the bad guys...

So I checked wikipedia and found some interesting stuff... Looks like another way to make learning Finnish a bit more fun...

Hopefully this isn't old stuff...but I guess some of us won't have heard about them before...

Yksi: ...used by the White Guard to separate Russians from Finns in the Finnish Civil War during the invasion of Tampere..... and I didn't think it was all that hard to pronounce...

Höyryjyrä: "Steam Roller" ...Finnish soldiers in World War II used this as a password, as only a native Finnish speaker could properly say this word.... Hmmmm..."Hey, I'm Finnish...OK, pronounce this word.... höyryjyrä"....

And here are some Finnish sentences that can be turned into to jokes:

Olin seitsemän vuotta sedälläni kodossa renkinä ....apparently this can be used to tease people from Tavastia...

Kurri etsi jarrua murkkukasasta. ...this one can be used in a rather nasty and/or cruel way....

So any native speakers want to give these a go?? ...and maybe add some more??....

**Sponsor:**

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 12:47 am

Kurri etsi jarrua murkkukasasta. .

That hurt... Sinä senkin tuntemattoman sotilaan poika...

EP · Post by EP » Wed Jan 30, 2008 12:53 am

the story of the shibboleth... you know, words used to separate the good guys from the bad guys...

This is the first time I hear the word shibboleth.

But just about a month ago I saw a movie called Raja 1918 (Border 1918). It is about a village that is divided into two according to the new borderline, and Finns come to oversee that there really will be a border. All kinds of drama after the civil war, and all kinds of drama in a village where Finns and Russians and Karelians had lived peacefully together for ages. And the password to cross the border was indeed yksi also there.

It is 100 % bullet proof to pick out Russians with that one (I would not be so sure about Spaniards, they tend to get it right). Russian speakers just don´t get y, they always say it ju, even fluent Finnish speakers.

So I guess höyryjyrä would be even better: hjuurujuura

raamv · Post by **raamv** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 1:04 am

EP wrote:This is the first time I hear the word shibboleth.

As you would guess it is a word from Hebrew...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shibboleth

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 1:12 am

I spot Estonians in my local pub drinking shots. Its a "soviet thing" s its "Russian" influence as well.
(two men, two shot glasses, *one* lemonade)

EP · Post by EP » Wed Jan 30, 2008 1:15 am

Yes, I understood that it was of Jewish origin.

But to my shame I must confess that I am totally out of these two:

And here are some Finnish sentences that can be turned into to jokes:

Olin seitsemän vuotta sedälläni kodossa renkinä ....apparently this can be used to tease people from Tavastia...

Kurri etsi jarrua murkkukasasta. ...this one can be used in a rather nasty and/or cruel way....

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 1:26 am

No jof fulla on äffävika tai ällävika, niin fe on filkkaa pelfeilyä fe! Nothing to do with foreigners - finding kids in need of speech therapy. I thought I had tlouble with the finnish rRr... befole I heald Suvi-Anne Siimes... she gurgles.. well, Halonen just sparkles, but its not *that* bad not to be able to say the "erl", I am just slightly , ämerlicän wid mai erls...

Københavner · Post by **Københavner** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 1:44 am

Rob A. wrote: Höyryjyrä: "Steam Roller" ...Finnish soldiers in World War II used this as a password, as only a native Finnish speaker could properly say this word.... Hmmmm..."Hey, I'm Finnish...OK, pronounce this word.... höyryjyrä"....

Mannerheim would have been shot...

Rob A. · Post by **Rob A.** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 5:19 am

Københavner wrote:
Rob A. wrote: Höyryjyrä: "Steam Roller" ...Finnish soldiers in World War II used this as a password, as only a native Finnish speaker could properly say this word.... Hmmmm..."Hey, I'm Finnish...OK, pronounce this word.... höyryjyrä"....
Mannerheim would have been shot...

Yeah...good point...maybe you could pronounce höyryjyrä like a Swede...or a Swede-Finn ....and if they were in a good mood they would let you go...

sammy · Post by **sammy** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 6:57 pm

Hank W. wrote:I spot Estonians in my local pub drinking shots. Its a "soviet thing" s its "Russian" influence as well.
(two men, two shot glasses, *one* lemonade)

Reminds me, you can usually spot an Estonian from his/her inability to pronounce ng "properly". Words like kengät get them all the time.

Not that there's anything strange or ridiculous about that. Conversely I don't think I could ever learn to distinguish, and least of all pronounce, the Estonian vowel differences (three different lengths IIRC?).

How's täryhöyryjyräyötyöläinen for a Shibboleth?

Rob A. · Post by **Rob A.** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 3:13 am

sammy wrote:
Hank W. wrote: How's täryhöyryjyräyötyöläinen for a Shibboleth?

The operators of one of these...

...on the night shift...

...For me the word kuusi is still a shibboleth...

Herukka · Post by **Herukka** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 6:10 pm

Rob A. wrote:

And here are some Finnish sentences that can be turned into to jokes:

Olin seitsemän vuotta sedälläni kodossa renkinä ....apparently this can be used to tease people from Tavastia...

Kurri etsi jarrua murkkukasasta. ...this one can be used in a rather nasty and/or cruel way....

So any native speakers want to give these a go?? ...and maybe add some more??....

I've heard that some people from Tavastia didn't pronounce the letter R at all, but wether they were really totally unable to say it, remains a mystery to me.

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Sun Feb 03, 2008 7:10 pm

Heres an other one:

Ethan Hawke laittoi lastenhoitajansa paksuksi

See now it is not rude, as that would be

Ethan Hawke pani lastenhoitajansa paksuksi

Which both translate as "Ethan Hawke made the nanny fat." Which is a bit rude. Any nannies out there?

o tempora, o mores, HS would have written "Ethan Hawke saattoi lastenhoitajansa raskaaksi"

So what is the difference of "making fat" or "causing heavy"

I think that is a shibboleth... to know certain illogical figures of speech.

elisouli · Post by **elisouli** » Thu May 08, 2008 4:54 pm

Höyryjyrä...

How about löylynlyöjä? Or yösyöjä?

Rosamunda · Post by **Rosamunda** » Thu May 08, 2008 5:14 pm

And when my kids want me to buy them a pyörremyrsky from Spice Ice I always say, "Sure, but only if you can ask for it!"

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