All you need to know about Finnish language...
- Thread starter Narcisse
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StoneWoman
Member
I was wondering:
Do you have a real difference in pronunciation in Finnish like when you go up north, the dialect is different??
Because you have a difference in Dutch...
-xxx-
Do you have a real difference in pronunciation in Finnish like when you go up north, the dialect is different??
Because you have a difference in Dutch...
-xxx-
Yeh, of course there are some differences in different parts of Finland because of the dialects. There are 7 bigger areas that have similar dialects. There are some words that are used in that part of Finland and the lenght of words is different. Like in the area I live, in the dialect vowels are sometimes doubled even if normally there is only one vowel in that word. And in southwest of Finland people drop the endings of the words. Not always of course but usually.
Ess en
Member
Ah, that is very helpful to know, that all pronouns are gender neutral. Are there any other aspects of gender that us foreigners should keep in mind? For that matter, are there any other irregularities or rules that we should remember? I guess an immediate question I could ask about the rules of finnish is what order to subjects, objects, verbs, etc come in?
Also, is it not true that all words in finnish have a sort of similarity in that- for example- you will never have a word that has both a and ä? And also, a word with a will never have a y, and a word with ä will never have a u?
And in regard to kaurahiutale- I guess a way to simplify my question of the pronunciation of "kau," is should I make it a point for each of those letters to sound seperate? Or is it normal to sort of let them run together if speaking at normal speed?
I think I'm getting ready to try to piece a sentence together... XP
we have this thing called vowel harmony that restricts usage of different vowels inside one word. There are front vowels (ä, ö, y), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels. Front and back vowels are not used together in single word (exception is compound words, for example first part of compound words can use front vowels and second part back vowels.). Neutrals can be mixed with both back and front vowels.
word order is really free, there is no strict rules. Although some might sound more natural and some more poetic, but pretty much every word order is understandable.
and about 'kau', they really are quite separate sounds, if you let them run together you'll sound like native English speaker speaking Finnish
.
Lussi
Member
Today I bought a little book about Finnish language. I took the bus to go back to my hometown : 3 people sat next to me, they were finnish ; they got out of the bus and 3 women took their places next to me, they were finnish ! i was like, is it a sign or something?? And when i was reading my book, i was wondering about the right intonation of "hei hei", and one of the persons was on the phone and said it at the end of his conversation, and i was like: "ok, then it makes sense now"
Lussi
Member
^yeah but the more i was listening, the more i was thinking: it's going to be hard to be able to understand it 
but i'll try to find finnish subtitles for some movies or series i like to watch, and well, studying....
but i'll try to find finnish subtitles for some movies or series i like to watch, and well, studying....Yeh well I guess its the same thing in all languages that you know only bit, its difficult to understand the speech of the natives because its usually quite fast. I can understand english quite well but swedish is bit more difficult for me to follow cause Im not that good on it.
And of course its even more difficult when you cant hear language spoken often/dont know the right pronouncing of all the words.
And of course its even more difficult when you cant hear language spoken often/dont know the right pronouncing of all the words.
Lussi
Member
Ess en
Member
and about 'kau', they really are quite separate sounds, if you let them run together you'll sound like native English speaker speaking Finnish
Haha, I'm okay with that! But I think I can manage separating them. Now the next step is to learn some vocabulary, I guess...
So far, all I know is what Sulkasiipi has taught me. XD
YEAAHH I learned all of my Finnish words from her .. She's a big help.. but my biggest problem is the grammar :S.. I read somewhere that Finnish has 24 different forms of Who, Whose and Whome :S.. How do you learn those?? I really don't recognise most of them because in Dutch we just use adjective+who.. and then a whole part of a sentence..
.. She's a big help.. but my biggest problem is the grammar :S.. I read somewhere that Finnish has 24 different forms of Who, Whose and Whome :S.. How do you learn those?? I really don't recognise most of them because in Dutch we just use adjective+who.. and then a whole part of a sentence..kuka
ketkä
kenen
keiden, keitten
ketä
keitä
kenet
ketkä
kenessä
keissä
kenestä
keistä
keneen, kehen
keihin
kenellä, kellä
keillä
keneltä, keltä
keiltä
kenelle, kelle
keille
kenä
keinä
keneksi
keiksi
reborndk
dumme däne.
kuka
ketkä
kenen
keiden, keitten
ketä
keitä
kenet
ketkä
kenessä
keissä
kenestä
keistä
keneen, kehen
keihin
kenellä, kellä
keillä
keneltä, keltä
keiltä
kenelle, kelle
keille
kenä
keinä
keneksi
keiksi
WTF.. how do you remember that? Even if you're Finnish it looks sooooooo difficult :S...
the phenom
Member
Simple. The combination of time(tempus)/plural or singular and also who we are talking about determines which one you use.
Excuse me though...I can't lecture about actual Finnish grammar.
