Yorak Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Hey guys and gals, I am very interested in the Finnish language and would love to start taking beginner courses on it. Unfortunately, this is apparently not a popular language to learn...at all. I can barely find any resources. There are a handful of books on Amazon and I am most likely going to order the highest rated ones, but I think I would learn a lot better from audio or software. Can somebody point me in the right direction? I don't care how much it costs, as long as it is helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I am also interested. My guess would be to move to Europe to study? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miuku. Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I can ask a friend of mine who lives in the USA and learned Finnish via books and other medium - unfortunately you won't learn the language properly without having discussion "face to face" because the way things are pronounced is almost impossible to learn without having proper conversations. Fin is not exactly an easy language to learn, so don't despair if it feels hard at first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgjerlow Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Why would you want to learn Finnish? It's only spoken in Finland, and no one except the Finnish can understand the language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azusa Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 At the end sorry. Charisma and Glassed Silver 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delebre Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Weird.. I have been recently looking into this also. I will be moving there in about 4-5 months. I have taken a class and I do have some books. Here is what I can contribute: I recommend children's books as they are more simple to understand than jumping into something like 'The Kalevala'. http://www.bookplus...._nuortenkirjat/ Try listening to Podcasts: http://areena-beta.y...a/radio/1476307 Use websites like: http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/ Also, I there is a website where they read the news aloud, in Finnish, but slower and more concise. It's much easier to pick it up this way. I want to say this is the link, but I will need to ask my spouse. http://www.yle.fi/se...dex.php?id=1334 Also, here is a site for basic (very) to get some idea about structure: http://www.101langua...h/overview.html This is the book that our Finnish teacher had us use: Suomen Mestari 1 by Sonja Gehring and Sanni Heinzmann (Which you can buy here: http://www.bookplus....stari_1-7459424) -or- (which is also on PirateBay.se if you know where to look) Another useful 'game' that I had fun playing with my spouse: 'Lexico - Sanakirapeli - Dictionary Game' http://www.tactic.ne...=15&k1=&k2=&k3= If people are really interested, maybe we can even get Skype/Web Meet ups to learn this stuff. I guess it all depends on the interest of the people in this thread. Email me if you would like: snipped I'm curious in the story of your interest with this very specific country and what your goals are too. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miuku. Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Why would you want to learn Finnish? It's only spoken in Finland, and no one except the Finnish can understand the language. Maybe he wants a challenge, it's not exactly the easiest language to learn - also it might sound exotic from a foreigners perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ylcard Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 There's a website (there are many, but I like this one the most) called Livemocha, look it up :) Having a Finnish friend helps a lot, go on Facebook and make friends. Don't study the grammar TOO much, the most important thing about learning a new language is the speech, you can confuse yourself with all those rules very quickly. Grammar is important, but it's tricky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorak Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 I am also interested. My guess would be to move to Europe to study? I would love to. It is a future plan of mine. I can ask a friend of mine who lives in the USA and learned Finnish via books and other medium - unfortunately you won't learn the language properly without having discussion "face to face" because the way things are pronounced is almost impossible to learn without having proper conversations. Fin is not exactly an easy language to learn, so don't despair if it feels hard at first. Oh it will be very difficult for me, I have a hard time picking up another language at all. However, it will be fun to try. Why would you want to learn Finnish? It's only spoken in Finland, and no one except the Finnish can understand the language. Weird.. I have been recently looking into this also. I will be moving there in about 4-5 months. I have taken a class and I do have some books. Here is what I can contribute: I recommend children's books as they are more simple to understand than jumping into something like 'The Kalevala'. http://www.bookplus...._nuortenkirjat/ Try listening to Podcasts: http://areena-beta.y...a/radio/1476307 Use websites like: http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/ Also, I there is a website where they read the news aloud, in Finnish, but slower and more concise. It's much easier to pick it up this way. I want to say this is the link, but I will need to ask my spouse. http://www.yle.fi/se...dex.php?id=1334 Also, here is a site for basic (very) to get some idea about structure: http://www.101langua...h/overview.html This is the book that our Finnish teacher had us use: Suomen Mestari 1 by Sonja Gehring and Sanni Heinzmann (Which you can buy here: http://www.bookplus....stari_1-7459424) -or- (which is also on PirateBay.se if you know where to look) Another useful 'game' that I had fun playing with my spouse: 'Lexico - Sanakirapeli - Dictionary Game' http://www.tactic.ne...=15&k1=&k2=&k3= If people are really interested, maybe we can even get Skype/Web Meet ups to learn this stuff. I guess it all depends on the interest of the people in this thread. Email me if you would like. I'm curious in the story of your interest with this very specific country and what your goals are too. :D Thank you very much for the links. :) I would certainly be interested in Skype chats for all who are interested. Right now I am struggling to remember the pronunciation of the alphabet, and how no matter what, the first syllable in a word is stressed. Maybe he wants a challenge, it's not exactly the easiest language to learn - also it might sound exotic from a foreigners perspective. Aye. In response to you and the other two who asked "Why Finnish?", you basically answered that. It is beautiful...sounds very soothing and romantic. My interest started while watching Nightwish interviews in Finnish (their native tongue, obviously). Their culture seems amazing. I cannot explain it, just a certain peacefulness about it. I would love to live there one day. I don't particularly seek challenges, but in this case I know it is going to be a rough one. Oh well. I will give it a shot! There's a website (there are many, but I like this one the most) called Livemocha, look it up :) Having a Finnish friend helps a lot, go on Facebook and make friends. Don't study the grammar TOO much, the most important thing about learning a new language is the speech, you can confuse yourself with all those rules very quickly. Grammar is important, but it's tricky. Thank you for the site recommendation. :) Yes, that would help tremendously. I have a few friends all around the world, but none are Finnish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Finland. ;) http://www.finnishschool.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charisma Veteran Posted March 20, 2012 Veteran Share Posted March 20, 2012 Finland. ;) http://www.finnishschool.com/ Ffffuuuuuu you beat me to it :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epk Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 The yle website is pretty cool, but yeah, my hat's off to you if you manage to learn to keep even a basic conversation by books or web pages alone. You should call the embassy/consulate/anything-you-can-find-in-your-area and ask them about courses. Or maybe just try google ("learn Finnish in Pennsylvania"?). If you lived in Argentina I would be able to point you in the right direction :D Anyway, onnea! (I think you can find that one easily ;) ) Edit: Oh, I almost forgot! If you wanna find people online to practice, there's a site called interpals which is pretty neat. I recommend it for anyone learning any language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delebre Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Why would you want to learn Finnish? Finland has impacted our lives in more ways that you may know. Today alone, I ran into 3 articles during my coffee/breakfast routine that had direct ties to Finland: Today's Google Doodle feature Marimekko: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2012/0320/Nothing-says-spring-equinox-like-Marimekko An article about Linus Torvalds on Wired: http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/03/mr-linux/ Article about Nokia and the Windows phone: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57400648-94/nokia-windows-phone-outselling-symbian-in-u.k-report-says/ For those who don't know.. Marimekko is a Finnish design/textile company. Linus Torvalds is the man who created Linux. Nokia is a Finnish company (and the name of a town near Tampere). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charisma Veteran Posted March 20, 2012 Veteran Share Posted March 20, 2012 Finland has impacted our lives in more ways that you may know. Today alone, I ran into 3 articles during my coffee/breakfast routine that had direct ties to Finland: Today's Google Doodle feature Marimekko: http://www.csmonitor...-like-Marimekko An article about Linus Torvalds on Wired: http://www.wired.com...12/03/mr-linux/ Article about Nokia and the Windows phone: http://news.cnet.com....k-report-says/ For those who don't know.. Marimekko is a Finnish design/textile company. Linus Torvalds is the man who created Linux. Nokia is a Finnish company (and the name of a town near Tampere). And don't forget the most important one: Rovio, the creator of Angry Birds :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remixedcat Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Hetalia:Axis powers and world series! Glassed Silver and Charisma 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themightycasey Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 ooo finally a topic where I can excel... We Finns rule the world, so it's no wonder people want to learn our language! :p Onnea suomen kielen opiskeluun, ehk?p? se jonain p?iv?n? sujuu sujuvasti. And so on... Don't really have any tips as to how to learn this sweet language, but I can try to help out somehow. Tutoring aint my speciality tho :) Kohta nukkumaan koska aamulla pit?? menn? aikasin t?ihin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delebre Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Kohta nukkumaan koska aamulla pit?? menn? aikasin t?ihin. Aikaisin? :shifty: LOL! Sorry Caserv, I couldn't resist. I am by no means an expert in Finnish. I'm just being a pain in the ass. ^_^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themightycasey Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Aikaisin? :shifty: LOL! Sorry Caserv, I couldn't resist. I am by no means an expert in Finnish. I'm just being a pain in the ass. ^_^ Huomenta! Yeah that's the correct way to type it, while my way was more like the spoken language version. Maybe I should do a spell check before posting. :D One word that's good to learn in Finnish is the curse word "perkele!" (http://www.forvo.com/word/perkele/). That word can almost be used in any situation, so that's the first word that HAS to be learnt. Someone has made a youtube video that consists of old movie clips with some "perkele"'s in them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypQuREhWe8o This site might be helpful in learning finnish: http://www.finlandforum.org/viewforum.php?f=9 And now i'm off to work. Hyv?? p?v?njatkoa! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delebre Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 So, it's been a few days. Has anyone been practicing their Finnish or looking into resources mentioned in previous posts? It'd be cool to get a pro-Finnish group going. ^_^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorak Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 So, it's been a few days. Has anyone been practicing their Finnish or looking into resources mentioned in previous posts? It'd be cool to get a pro-Finnish group going. ^_^ Very little. I can barely remember the sounds for the alphabet, lol. I can almost guarantee I am too dumb to learn this, but when I get more spare time I will continue trying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Androidslave Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Watch reruns of the dudesons. At least you will learn the accent, might help with pronunciations later :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joni1234 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 If you really love this lenguge then you can get lots of sites online for it study.. i am also providing to you some information for study it will help you for your study.. language Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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