Learning Finnish thread

wispyman · 28-03-2011 9:53pm

I'm a Brit living in Cork learning Finnish at the moment - does that count!! My main reason is that my wife is Finnish.

Thomasofmel · 20-04-2011 9:30pm

I'm a Finn living in Ireland - trying to teach Finnish to my kids - not too easy either :rolleyes:

deman · 26-04-2011 3:23pm

Thomasofmel wrote: »

I'm a Finn living in Ireland - trying to teach Finnish to my kids - not too easy either :rolleyes:

You're trying to teach your kids Finnish or do you just speak to them in Finnish?

Thomasofmel · 26-04-2011 3:27pm

I am teaching Finnish by speaking & reading and showing any Finnish kiddies movies I have on telly

deman · 26-04-2011 8:33pm

Thomasofmel wrote: »

I am teaching Finnish by speaking & reading and showing any Finnish kiddies movies I have on telly

Have you always spoken only Finnish with them? I'm asking just because I'm on the opposite side of the same coin. My kids are surrounded with Finnish (school, hobbies, neighbours etc) and I made it a point that I would only ever speak English with them, from the day they were born. I wouldn't consider it teaching English though, although I would correct their mistakes from time to time. My youngest (2 and a half) hasn't grasped the idea of languages yet but just picks it up as "Isi sanoo milk" and "Äiti sanoo maito..." Whereas my eldest (15) complains about her English teacher at school marking her as wrong when she knows she's not (and she's not most of the time).:D

Thomasofmel · 26-04-2011 9:17pm

I spoke Finnish with the first one - only finnish. With the second one I tried to give my best and with the third one I gave up

Its too hard in an environment where you don't have any other Finns living nearby and you are in full time employment - I know there are Finns in Ireland, but they seem to be mostly in the Dublin area. Now I have given up and speak English to all three kids, its easier. I my self was brought up bilingual in Finland - and the second language was not swedish

, but my mother was at home, so I could pick up that additional language easy enough. Now I am fluent in three languages

jimmy3000 · 23-06-2011 2:53pm

Hey Biko do you know if there's a tutor in Ireland?

biko · 23-06-2011 3:17pm

Whereabouts are you? There's tutors as far as I know but depends on location I'd guess.

jimmy3000 · 23-06-2011 3:35pm

Think I just found one Biko but thanks very much.I'm in Limerick Ireland.

dj jarvis · 05-11-2011 4:08pm

as a dunce i am finding learning Finnish really hard !!!
i have the usual basics ( days , times , alphabet ect ect ) but just not getting it really , but my wife speaks Finnish with the two children all the time and my 3 year old is as fluent as a 3 year old gets

and by osmosis i have picked up 10 times as much listening to the children speak and watching Finnish kids TV than i would have using cd and books

but i must try - i cant have the wife and kids having a language that i cant understand :-) , but on the flip side its great to be able to zone out when they are speaking :-)

Finland is a great country , lovely people and super climate
if only they would speak to each other that would be great
Ireland its not - but that is a plus in many ways :-)

Veleste · 02-01-2012 5:05pm

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one struggling! I've been studying Finnish for the last two years, and while I can carry on a basic conversation, I make so many mistakes and flounder for words so often it gets very embarrassing.

Now that I'm getting married, my OH and I are making plans to move over so I really want to bring my Finnish up to a standard where I won't be so embarrassed or a detriment to any company that might hire me. I already speak near fluent Russian and a fair bit of Swedish but I am finding Finnish much more difficult than them.

The resources I've found here have been very helpful so far on other topics, but I was wondering if anyone knew anywhere I could find some tutors? My Finnish friends have tried their best but when I ask questions about cases or conjugation I'm often met with blank faces.

The only people I've found so far who offer it are Listen and Learn. I did Russian with them before and while they provided a great tutor and service, they were madly expensive so I'd like to try at least find some other options before I default to them.

phonejacker · 16-02-2012 6:10pm

i trying to learn Norwegian at the moment, im hoping to emigrate to norway after i finish my degree. north germanic languages: Norwegian, swedish and danish are similar. finnish is totally diff. i was shocked that a good few words in norwegian is are the same in irish (gaeilge)

is there any Norwegians in ireland or on boards.ie

abceire · 17-02-2012 12:11am

I was in the gym today and a black guy and his gf were working out, they were counting in a different language then english so I ask him which one it was, it was finnish, they lived there for a bit too, so now I can talk my rusty finnish to someone, I m well impressed.

CiniO · 03-06-2012 12:29am

I know one foreign language so far (English). Polish is my first language.
They were trying to force me to learn German (I had lessons in primary school for 3 years, another 3 years in high school, and 1 year at college), but I was very resistive and thankfully I can't speak German at all.
However I was thinking about learning another foreign language (as it always might be useful in your life) and just today I decided it's going to be Finnish.
I took a quick look at few videos from youtube with sample lessons, and while it looks like I won't have too many problems with pronounciation, but grammar looks quick awkward.

Is Finnish considered difficult to learn?
I would like to learn as much as I can from different materials from internet this year, and then possibly take some lessons next year...

Any advices?

biko · 03-06-2012 5:21pm

Actually Finnish basic grammar is quite easy, once you get into it.
I only have a little Finnish, took some classes for fun many years ago, but from what I recall it wasn't all that hard.
As opposed to French it's a wysiwyg language, i.e. you pronounce everything written down.

wispyman · 03-06-2012 10:04pm

Personally I would NOT recommend that someone learns Finnish just for the sake of it. It is not a very portable language and outside of Finland only has some minor usability in Estonia.

My wife and some friends are Finnish and I go there a lot so I have the motivation and reason to do this. Also online resources are very limited when compared to learning a major language - you really need access to a "soft dictionary" - i.e. a native speaker who can answer language questions.

Finnish is not a modular language - you cannot cut up a newspaper and rearrange the words like you would with English!! Actually it's no surprise that Finns are so intelligent - learning the language must really teach Finns things like pattern recognition and creative thinking.

However if you feel the mad urge to learn then "pidä hauskaa" (have fun) and I wish you well

deman · 04-06-2012 10:37am

The easiest thing about Finnish....

It's a phonetic language (as mentioned above) so there are no irregular letters or sounds.
It's logical. Sometimes, when I've been stuck for a word, I've just been able to guess it from logic.

The most difficult things..

Grammar is horrible. In English, people can get away with using bad grammar but in Finnish it can cause huge misunderstandings.
Pronunciation. Even though I mentioned phonetics as a positive, if you mispronounce one single letter, such as 'a' instead of 'ä', you could find yourself in an embarrassing situation. Eg. When I first came to Finland, I would say in Finnish "see you later", but somehow it would come out as "f*** you later".

Rasmus · 24-08-2012 1:00pm

I don't have much Finnish, but have learnt Estonian extensively and they are similar languages. Once you get beyond the primary learning, Finnish is not too bad. It takes dedication though, and if you had problems with German (which is easy in the beginning) then I am not sure Finnish is for you. Saying that, any language can be learned with some patience. One of the posters above is right, though - you won't have much use for it outside of Finland and Estonia, or a call centre in Ireland (Unless of course you want to be a translator at some point).

syntax1 · 18-01-2013 7:18pm

Rasmus wrote: »

I don't have much Finnish, but have learnt Estonian extensively and they are similar languages. Once you get beyond the primary learning, Finnish is not too bad. It takes dedication though, and if you had problems with German (which is easy in the beginning) then I am not sure Finnish is for you. Saying that, any language can be learned with some patience. One of the posters above is right, though - you won't have much use for it outside of Finland and Estonia, or a call centre in Ireland (Unless of course you want to be a translator at some point).

Miks õppisid eesti keelt? Kas sa ikka oskad? Mina elan siin Eestis ja mu naise pere räägib ainult eesti keelt.

CiniO wrote: »

I know one foreign language so far (English). Polish is my first language.
They were trying to force me to learn German (I had lessons in primary school for 3 years, another 3 years in high school, and 1 year at college), but I was very resistive and thankfully I can't speak German at all.
However I was thinking about learning another foreign language (as it always might be useful in your life) and just today I decided it's going to be Finnish.
I took a quick look at few videos from youtube with sample lessons, and while it looks like I won't have too many problems with pronounciation, but grammar looks quick awkward.

Is Finnish considered difficult to learn?
I would like to learn as much as I can from different materials from internet this year, and then possibly take some lessons next year...

Any advices?

@ OP: What others have said. Reading is pretty straightforward (no irregular stress like Lithuanian) and after a little introduction the grammar is pretty straight-forward, nothing too crazy. People always get stressed about the cases but there aren't as many as 14! I am not exactly sure for Finnish but in Estonian there are really only 3 cases (nominative, genitive, partitive) and 4 basic forms to learn (nom. sg., gen. sg., part. sg. and part pl.), everything else is built off these forms in a REGULAR and predictable (even boring!?) fashion (Finnish is quite similar though not exactly the same).

Good luck for your studies! Jõudu tööle! as we say here in Estonia. Check out my Finnish and Estonian blogs if you wish.

Lucena · 19-01-2013 1:10am

CiniO wrote: »

thankfully I can't speak German at all.

You're HAPPY you can't speak German?:eek:

syntax1 · 19-01-2013 9:35am

Lucena wrote: »

You're HAPPY you can't speak German?:eek:

S/he's Polish!

Rasmus · 19-01-2013 3:08pm

syntax1 wrote: »

Miks õppisid eesti keelt? Kas sa ikka oskad? Mina elan siin Eestis ja mu naise pere räägib ainult eesti keelt.

I learned Estonian several years ago in college in Tartu - I wanted a high level of proficiency for integration in everyday life. It is odd that your wife's family doesn't speak English (or are they being stubborn?)! Most Estonians speak at least a little English and many speak it very well.

mossy95 · 19-01-2013 3:15pm

Geman is piss easy why did you hate it and also you ronounce everything phonotecially aswell!

syntax1 · 19-01-2013 3:42pm

Rasmus wrote: »

I learned Estonian several years ago in college in Tartu - I wanted a high level of proficiency for integration in everyday life. It is odd that your wife's family doesn't speak English (or are they being stubborn?)! Most Estonians speak at least a little English and many speak it very well.

Well the younger generation does speak English quite well but as you move up the generation less and less competence in English is to be found. For example my brothers in law, my mother in law and her sister and my wife's cousins have pretty good English but my father in law and my mother in law's parents don't have any English. My wife and I used to live in her grandparents' house so that's where I learned my Estonian. Then it gets weirder on my father in law's side of the family as many of them don't speak much Estonian - just Russian. My wife's paternal grandmother for example just speaks Ukrainian.

Hope you enjoyed your time in Estonia!

Rasmus · 19-01-2013 3:47pm

syntax1 wrote: »

Well the younger generation does speak English quite well but as you move up the generation less and less competence in English is to be found. For example my brothers in law, my mother in law and her sister and my wife's cousins have pretty good English but my father in law and my mother in law's parents don't have any English. My wife and I used to live in her grandparents' house so that's where I learned my Estonian. Then it gets weirder on my father in law's side of the family as many of them don't speak much Estonian - just Russian. My wife's paternal grandmother for example just speaks Ukrainian.

Hope you enjoyed your time in Estonia!

You will find that greater numbers of older native Russian speakers will have minimal English compared to their native Estonian counterparts, especially in the older generation. However, I am not planning on entering that political discussion! : )

syntax1 · 19-01-2013 3:51pm

Rasmus wrote: »

You will find that greater numbers of older native Russian speakers will have minimal English compared to their native Estonian counterparts, especially in the older generation. However, I am not planning on entering that political discussion! : )

And I guess you heard the common:

"Some people have been here for 40 years! And you speak Estonian and they don't! How can that be.....blah blah"

Rasmus · 19-01-2013 3:54pm

syntax1 wrote: »

And I guess you heard the common:

"Some people have been here for 40 years! And you speak Estonian and they don't! How can that be.....blah blah"

Yes, it's a common opening gambit. BTW why is your blog apparently by a young girl?

syntax1 · 19-01-2013 4:10pm

Rasmus wrote: »

Yes, it's a common opening gambit. BTW why is your blog apparently by a young girl?

The video? If you read the text you understand it's not me, that it's a native speaker. Funny that you got that impression

Rasmus · 19-01-2013 4:13pm

syntax1 wrote: »

The video? If you read the text you understand it's not me, that it's a native speaker. Funny that you got that impression

No, I got that impression from the profile pic of the blog by 'Syntax' ! Apologies - I guess it is not indicative of your true image.

syntax1 · 19-01-2013 4:22pm

Rasmus wrote: »

No, I got that impression from the profile pic of the blog by 'Syntax' ! Apologies - I guess it is not indicative of your true image.

No need to apologize. Mea cupla. I guess it is a bit strange if you think about it. Sure, at the end of the day it's just an avatar. My main blog has an about me and a link to my tumblr which has my cv and also an about me.

I feel I have hijacked the thread! Sorry OP!

Rasmus · 19-01-2013 4:27pm

syntax1 wrote: »

No need to apologize. Mea cupla. I guess it is a bit strange if you think about it. Sure, at the end of the day it's just an avatar. My main blog has an about me and a link to my tumblr which has my cv and also an about me.

I feel I have hijacked the thread! Sorry OP!

Fair enough, yes it's a bit strange but then again I am probably a bit too curious. A few years ago I knew most Irish folks in Estonia having been there a long time. Good luck with your studies.

syntax1 · 19-01-2013 4:41pm

Thanks! Aitäh!

syntax1 · 20-01-2013 12:13am

Terve kaikille!

This thread is quite old. How are people getting on with their Finnish? I would learn but I have no time. Currently I am focusing on Estonian. You can follow my experiences with these languages here and here.

Estonia was mentioned a couple of times at the start of this thread. Estonia is often called Baltic because it together with Latvia and Lithuania were the three Baltic states of the USSR. They were the most Western and richest parts of the USSR and together the formed a natural trio being that they shared such a similar experience under the Soviet occupation. However, culturally and linguistically Estonia is not Baltic. There are only two remaining Baltic languages: Latvian (including Latgalian) and Lithuanian. Together they are the remains of the Baltic branch of Indo-European languages.

Estonian is one of the Finnic/Fennic languages, a language family of some 9 languages (2 state languages and 7 minority ones) that is part of a much greater family of some three dozen languages, which is called Uralic. Estonia and the Estonians have much in common with Finland and the Finnish (and to a less extent with Sweden and the Swedes). Estonia has a very Germanic and Nordic feel to it, very different from its eastern and southern neighbours. Estonia orientates itself northwards and westwards. However, Estonia is not a member of the Nordic Council.

So, Estonia is culturally and linguistically Finnic (and Nordic) but was in the C20th and is today often considered politically considered Baltic. In a way, Finland is what Estonia would have been had it never been annexed by the Soviet Union. The first Republic of Estonia was actually a very prosperous and liberal place with a great deal of exports, civil freedoms and a high per capita income.

I know politics is frowned upon in the language section but I just wanted to point out the usage of the terms Nordic and Baltic in reference to Estonia. I hope that that is okay.

AmmithakaRuth · 17-04-2013 7:53am

pretty easy.

4zn76tysfajdxp · 18-04-2013 3:57pm

AmmithakaRuth wrote: »

pretty easy.

What is?

tnethacker · 18-04-2013 4:26pm

Jamir Brave Pajamas wrote: »

What is?

Id like to know as well.

AmmithakaRuth · 18-04-2013 4:41pm

Jamir Brave Pajamas wrote: »

What is?

Finnish language.

4zn76tysfajdxp · 18-04-2013 5:27pm

AmmithakaRuth wrote: »

Finnish language.

Cool, I'll take your word for it.

Just Like Heaven · 25-04-2013 8:55pm

Holy Mother of toast, is there a more difficult European language? Coin toss between Finnish and Hungarian from what I've seen.

LordSutch · 25-04-2013 8:59pm

seven?

lila44 · 06-06-2013 4:30pm

My OH is Finnish, so I am trying my best to learn.

My main problems I think would be pronounciation....I have a genetic incapabilty to roll my "r"'s!

Would anyone know of anyone in Donegal who would offer a course by any chance?

tnethacker · 06-06-2013 8:38pm

Hey mate, any time you visit Dublin, give me a shout and i'll teach you a curse word or two. I'm Finnish, but I've lived here for years by now

lila44 · 07-06-2013 9:01am

ah believe me, I already know most of those! I live with a Finnish gamer!

syntax1 · 10-06-2013 10:17am

lila44 wrote: »

My OH is Finnish, so I am trying my best to learn.

My main problems I think would be pronounciation....I have a genetic incapabilty to roll my "r"'s!

Would anyone know of anyone in Donegal who would offer a course by any chance?

Good luck with Finnish! I am actively learning the language from the other coast of the Gulf of Finland.

4zn76tysfajdxp · 11-06-2013 3:06pm

syntax1 wrote: »

Good luck with Finnish! I am actively learning the language from the other coast of the Gulf of Finland.

Have you tried Estonian?

syntax1 · 11-06-2013 7:16pm

Jamir Brave Pajamas wrote: »

Have you tried Estonian?

My wife is Estonian. I have been learning on and off since 2006. I passed the B1 exam earlier this year :-)

Tried some Finnish too, (have a blog here), but will leave off going into it intensively until my Estonian is at a high level. I like though to dip in and out of it occasionally.

tnethacker · 11-06-2013 7:52pm

syntax1 wrote: »

My wife is Estonian. I have been learning on and off since 2006. I passed the B1 exam earlier this year :-)

Tried some Finnish too, (have a blog here), but will leave off going into it intensively until my Estonian is at a high level. I like though to dip in and out of it occasionally.

Loved that blog mate

Best thing you've ever posted was "Ma lähen linna pappi raiskama"

I'm Finnish, but i speak English more than fluently (started speaking it when i was a toddler) and i would love to learn Irish someday (I already understand some of the basics).

You're well ahead with your language there, so if i'd were you, i'd just keep on learning more since Finnish is so similar to Estonian.

4zn76tysfajdxp · 11-06-2013 9:42pm

syntax1 wrote: »

My wife is Estonian. I have been learning on and off since 2006. I passed the B1 exam earlier this year :-)

Woah, fair play.

Dutchess · 26-08-2013 9:40am

Is there anyone in Galway that could help me learn some Finnish? I'd love to live there, at least for a while, but I doubt Dutch and English is gonna get me a job....

syntax1 · 27-08-2013 7:06am

Dutchess wrote: »

Is there anyone in Galway that could help me learn some Finnish? I'd love to live there, at least for a while, but I doubt Dutch and English is gonna get me a job....

This girl is from Lapland and lives in Galway.

Maybe she wouldn't mind helping you out to learn some Finnish. Though I suggest getting some materials yourself, either by downloading (loads to find online, good stuff for all levels) or buying in an online store. Also check out this links on this blog. They will send you to more materials, also this learners' forum.

If you have some Finnish before hand then when you contact this girl you at least have some questions for her and you can make the best use of your time.

Good luck in learning Finnish!

Learning Finnish thread

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