JohannaLaakso MOVED/MUUTTANUT
Recently, "Very Finnish Problems" posted a very strange list of "fun facts about the #Finnish #language". As a linguist, I wasn't amused at all, and here, finally, comes my own version: probably not that "fun", but at least with some real facts. https://kielioblog.wordpress.com/15-1-facts-about-the-finnish-language/
15 + 1 facts about the Finnish language

(A non-native English version of this blog post.) Recently, the blog called Very Finnish Problems published a list of “fun facts” about the Finnish language. As a typical killjoy linguist, I was a …

Kieliö – sekalaista aattelehdintaa kielestä ja kielistä
Nov 4, 2023 at 6:25amWeb
Show threadWalopNov 4, 2023

@johannalaakso
it's a common point of complaint by language learners that Finnish has a lot of words and they aren't related to other European languages.
But I like the strong tradition of at least trying to come up native names for new concepts. Not all, but surprisingly many stick even though there isn't any enforcement for media that I know of.

While sometimes convenient for learners, it's a bit sad when some language has awkwardly adopted a lot of words mostly from English.

Also the weekly Donald Duck magazine is such a staple of Finnish culture, it is sometimes jokingly referred as the leading linguistic publication in Finland. Almost everyone has read it at some time, if not learned to read because of it, and it is translated using the full vocabulary of the Finnish language. Sometimes it is so cutting edge, it is the first time you see a new word. Or learn an existing word you hadn't encountered before.

#languages #finnish #DonaldDuck #AkuAnkka

Show threadAndrew WipplerNov 4, 2023

@johannalaakso I translate taitaa as 'seem' or 'an uncertain know'.
https://www.kielitoimistonsanakirja.fi/#/taitaa

All the other content was fabulous.

I have discovered words that relate to nature are handled differently.

For example, Vantaa is a river and a city.
Vantaassa = in the river Vantaa
Vantaalla = in the city Vantaa/on the river Vantaa

Kielitoimiston sanakirja

Kielitoimiston sanakirja on Kotimaisten kielten keskuksessa laadittu suomen yleiskielen sanakirja.

Show threadJohannaLaakso MOVED/MUUTTANUTNov 4, 2023
@andrew
Yes, this is the meaning of "taitaa" in modern standard Finnish. But dialectally and in old literary Finnish, the verb has the meaning "know how to do" (cf. also "en minä taida" in the first documented Finnish sentence).
Show threadGarrett WollmanNov 4, 2023
@johannalaakso So... when I was in Finland in 1988, there was a celebration going on for the 500th anniversary of printed books in Finland. (I may have even brought one of those "Kirja suomessa 500 vuotta" posters home with me.) I assume in 1488 books would more likely have been in Swedish, Latin, or German, and they weren't actually celebrating 500 years of books actually *in* Finnish? (I remember the other version of the poster said "Boken i Finland 500 år".)
Show threadGarrett WollmanNov 4, 2023
@johannalaakso (And I did find Finnish to be exceptional and exotic but the only thing that was absolutely impossible to learn, at least in nine months, was the trilled /r/, having come from and L1 English, L2 French background I just could not, cannot make my tongue do that. I was told it takes about a year in primary school for Finnish children to learn it so maybe I wasn't doing so bad as a 15-year-old.)
Show threadJohannaLaakso MOVED/MUUTTANUTNov 5, 2023
@wollman
Yes, Finnish first-graders are routinely checked to see if they can pronounce [r], and if not, they are sent to a speech therapist who will usually fix it pretty quickly. In every class, there will be a couple of kids who need support.
But I have been told that the Czech /ř/ is even harder for kids.
Show threadJohannaLaakso MOVED/MUUTTANUTNov 5, 2023
@wollman , the first book in 1488 was Missale Aboense, the first book ever printed FOR Finland. It was printed in Germany (it took some time until book printing arrived in Sweden and Finland – from Germany, which explains why blackletter type was used in Finland until the late 19th century) and written in Latin.
Show threadOrgaNikNov 6, 2023
@johannalaakso Also, Very Finnish Problems is a content farm that steals content from other people and then laughs at you if you ask them to credit the original source.