Finnish learning thread!

[Jitter]

Here’s an introduction video to some characteristics and peculiarities of Finnish for the interested:

[Mirasol]

Thank´s Jitter! That was really interesting!

[Annuil]

I’m joining Mirasol, thanks for the video, really fascinating 
I’ve only learned the very basics of Finnish and some phrases, so I don’t know what am I going to do when time to study all those 15 cases will come... My brain is already freaking out!

[Pessi]

Ismo isn't curious enough to ask his wife about 2-3 women small talking in the sauna I guess...

That usually goes like this:

"Is it ok if I throw some löyly?"
"Yes."

According to my experience among old acquaintances the talk usually sooner or later concentrates around menstruating, being pregnant, giving birth and nursing babies and how tiresome all that is

Annuil, I don't know if it will make you any happier, but most Finns don't actually remember the cases. We just use them as we've learned by talking with other people and reading books. My own 11-year old still makes occasional grammatical errors with cases (what case to use, how to "bend" some specific word etc.) and though I of course correct him, most of the time I have no difficulty understanding what he is saying.

[Raaffiie]

'Suomea suomeksi' is the book that I used to find my footing in Finnish. It's a bit silly-looking but I found it introduced the grammar in a really manageable way, and it manages to teach you the language in Finnish without relying on English, which I think is a plus.

There's also this blog called The Finnish Teacher(https://thefinnishteacher.weebly.com/) which covers a wide range of subjects in a really concise way, and which I keep coming back to whenever I want to review some basics or make sense of more complex grammar.

[Mirasol]

Oh, those really seem like helpful sources! Thank you for sharing them, Raaffiie!
Sadly I have so little time for studying Finnish right now, barely enough to revise what I already learnt so I don´t forget it.

[Annuil]

Same here, Mirasol, so much school... I don't even have time to read everything here on the Forum!

[Foshadowfax]

Anyone else going through Suomen Mestari? I am with an italk teacher, but it would be great to practice with someone else.

[Raaffiie]

Foshadowfax, what form of practice were you thinking of? I'm not going through the book myself, but I've been learning Finnish for a few years and am still actively learning it, so I'd be happy to get some practice in.

[Foshadowfax]

I'd love to video and practice speaking following the Suomen Mestari books, but texting is fine too

[Jitter]

If you guys want comments from a native speaker on your videos from time to time, you can PM me. I’m not a teacher or anything, but I can comment in English or Finnish if you think it’d be helpful.

[Raaffiie]

Thanks for the offer Jitter! We'll see how it goes, for me at least native input is very helpful.

[Foshadowfax]

If you guys want comments from a native speaker on your videos from time to time, you can PM me. I’m not a teacher or anything, but I can comment in English or Finnish if you think it’d be helpful.

Thanks!

[ladykatytrent]

I'm new to learning Finnish - I've been noodling around with it for about a year. I do at least one Duolingo lesson a day, as well as go through some flash cards. I've been reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in Finnish (with an English copy nearby because I frequently get stuck). I have also started reading the Hobbit in Finnish because, wow is it beautiful and I've read the book more times than I can count. I am constantly looking words up and am definitely in the elementary levels but am having tons of fun! My ultimate goal is to read the gorgeous 1935 copy of the Kalevala (in Finnish) that I found in my favorite used book store. Last year, when I started teaching myself Finnish, I stumbled across SSSS.

I've had trouble finding places where people talk about learning Finnish, so it's great to find this community.

Hope everyone is doing well!

[Jitter]

Hello again!

I am a Finn and Finnish is my native language, I read a lot, and I can’t get around reading the Kalevala The language is just so old-fashioned and difficult, an I swear Mr Lönnrot made up some of the words to make the meter work! Actually I just recently acquired a book that is the Kalevala story written in prose and in (reasonably) contemporary Finnish. I should get to reading that. Anyways, I wanted to say your goal is very ambitious!

Reading the same book in both Finnish and English is a good idea! The Finnish translations of both Harry Potter and the Hobbit are high quality. You'll be learning some vocabulary that doesn’t necessarily have practical everyday use, but that is merely a bonus!

The language board has been a bit quiet lately, but let’s hope others will join in too!