Thursday, December 6, 2007

Hyvää itsenäisyyspäivää!

Tänään on Suomen Itsenäisyyspäivä!
Today is Finland's Independence Day!

Monday, December 3, 2007

Minä Vain Vitsailin

Jutallan (englanniksi) suomalaisen poikan kanssa, se on hyvää. Opin, että saunominen on äijää!

This is not right I know, but what I wanted to say was that I chat with a Finnish guy and it's nice. I learned that going to sauna is manly. I think:)

This is how he explained it:

äijä is like guy who whose job is to crush down big rock and bend metal and something like really masculine. Also fights in pubs and drinks alcohol:) Perkeleen kova jätkä, or dude tough like hell.


We mainly discuss music and here's something about a new Nightwish song: Erämaan Viimeinen
I thought it meant Last wilderness, but it means the Last of the Wilds. So my Finnish is not improving at all.

He taught me a few more things, but the most important thing is mä puhun suomea. Kirjoita, I mean:)

The title of the post is the key phrase I'm only joking:)


Saturday, November 10, 2007

Keskustelua

I installed RealPlayer ( I know, I know) only to be able to watch the study videos here. Hopefully more later on, too.

Anteeksi! Sorry!

Tiina Hei, anteeksi, että mä sanoin niin tyhmästi eilen. Mä olin niin väsynyt.
Harri: Ei se mitään. Saat anteeksi. Mennäänkö syömään?
Tiina: Mennään.

She: Hello, sorry that I spoke so foolishly yesterday. I was so tired.
He: For nothing. You are pardoned. Shall we go and eat?
She: Let's go.

I understood that as I read it, which I wouldn't have as I watched the video. Understanding spoken language has always been harder for me than reading comprehension.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Ensimmäinen Runo

Two of my favorite bands are Viikate and Amorphis. In their new album Marraskuun Lauluja II, Viikate covered the song 'In the Beginning' from Amorphis album Tales of the Thousand Lakes, only singing in Finnish.

Lyrics:

Amorphis - In the Beginning

I have a good mind
Take into my head
To start of singing
Began reciting

We seldom get together
And meet each other
On these poor borders
The luckless lands of the north

Those words we have got
From the North's furthest fields,
From the heaths of Kalevala

Viikate - Ensimmäinen Runo

Mielein minun
Mielein minun tekeevi'
Lähteä laulamaan
Sanaani sanelemaan

refrain:
Harvoinpa yhteen yhtenemme
Saamme toinen toisihimme
Näillä raukoilla rajoilla
Näillä poloisilla pohjanmailla

Mieleni minun tekevi'
Aivoni ajattelee
Lähteä laulamaan
Sanaani sanelemaan

Näitä saatuja sanoja, virsiä virittämiä
Pohjan peltojen periltä, Kalevalan kantahilta

The words (sanat) are taken from the First Poem (Einsimmäinen Runo) of the Finnish epic Kalevala.

Virsiä virittämiä means something like attuning the hymn.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Ymmärra Suomea

I started with the first lesson in the course Ymmärrä Suomea. There is also a glossary (sanosto) and a grammatical explanation which goes with every lesson. There is a recording which is too fast for me, so I listened to it 5 times. It gets better but not much better, as it is realistic speed of talking.
The answers to the questions below are as follows.

On vuoden ensimmäinen kuukausi. Its the first month of the year. (the text says it's tammikuu - January).

Irina on joussut koko päivän liikkeestä liikkeeseen. Irina has run all day from shop to shop. (Liike means the same as kauppa (shop), used in the text. )

Irinalla on vasemmassa nilkassa kova tuska. Irina has a severe pain in her left ankle. (Kova tuska means the same as valtava kipu.)

Irinaa auttaa lähellä oleva henkilö. The nearby person helps Irina. (This was the trickiest one, as I didn't notice for a long time that the first word was Irinaa, that is, it is NOT the subject, but the object. Phew!)

Lääkäri tarkistaa Irinan nilkan. The doctor checks Irina's ankle. Tarkistaa is a synonym of tutkia.

Irina on iloinen, kun hän päässee kotiin. Irina is happy when she is let to go home.

This is tough. Kova tuska:D

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Missä On?

Ainesana - uncountable nouns (kahvi, sokeri, hunaja)
Kappalesana - countable nouns (kuppi, lasi, astia)

Ainesana nouns are in the nominative, when they are in the beginning of a sentence.

Kahvi on kupissa. The coffee is in the cup.
Vadelmahillo on tuolla alahyllyllä. The raspberry jam is on that shelf.

Ainesana nouns are in the partitive, when they are at the end of a sentence. (existentiallalilause)

Jääkaapissa on juustoa. There is cheese in the refrigerator.
Missä laatikossa on paperia? Where in the drawer is the paper?


Kappalesana nouns are always in the nominative.
Pöydälä on lasi. There is a glass on the table.
Lasi on pöydällä. The glass is on the table.

When there is an adjective in the sentence, which acts as a predicate to the uncountable subject, the adjective is in the partitive.

Kahvi on kuumaa. The coffee is hot.
Tämä ruoka on pahaa. This food is bad.

When the subject is countable, the adjective in the predicate is in the nominative.
Kirja oli hyvä. The book was good.
Tämä kassi on musta. This bag is black.

When the object is an uncountable noun, it is in the partitive.

Juon kahvia ja mehua. I drink coffee and juice.
Ostan sokeria. I buy sugar.
Syön kalaa. I eat fish.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Seriously Finnish

I've enrolled in a Finnish Language Course, this time for real. It will start in February, and I hope it will help me reach higher level, namely B1 of the classification sent by Tuija.

Listening: I can understand the main points of clear standard speech on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. I can understand the main point of many radio or TV programmes on current affairs or topics of personal or professional interest when the delivery is relatively slow and clear.

Reading: I can understand texts that consist mainly of high frequency everyday or job-related language. I can understand the description of events, feelings and wishes in personal letters.

Spoken Interaction: I can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. I can enter unprepared into conversation on topics that are familiar, of personal interest or pertinent to everyday life (e.g. family, hobbies, work, travel and current events).

Spoken production: I can connect phrases in a simple way in order to describe experiences and events, my dreams, hopes and ambitions. I can briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans. I can narrate a story or relate the plot of a book or film and describe my reactions.

Writing: I can write simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest. I can write personal letters describing experiences and impressions.

I realize I need a lot of practice to reach this goal. For now my blogger interface is in Finnish and I have learned a lot of useful phrases, like: Luo, Tallenna nyt, Muokkaa etc. Every day I should spend some time doing something related to Finnish. Listening to Finnish rock does not count!



Sunday, September 16, 2007

Apulanta - Käännä Se Pois

Tee niin niinkuin eilenkin - do as if it was yesterday
Hahmotellaan säännöt, jotka särkyy kuitenkin - tracing the abnormal, which breaks anyhow

Tiedän, että tiedät sen uuden totuuden - I know that you know that new truth

refrain:
Käännä se pois - Turn Away
(5x)

Aaveet saapuu takaisin Spirits arrive again
Ehtän sä koskaan luottanutkaan hedelmällisiin have you ever trusted fertility


Onnelliset tunnit alkaa viimein väsyttää happy to feel the last fatigue begins

refrain (5x)

Onnelliset tunnit alkaa viimein väsyttää

refrain (10x)


Great video



Sunday, September 2, 2007

Uusi Kieleni

This means my new language. I spent a few days reading a grammar book, which provided comprehensive, although unconventional insight into Finnish grammar. So when I saw the fantastic site www.uusikielemme.fi , I understood it meant our new language. I'll link it and visit it often.

About possessive pronouns - as all things Finnish, they are replaced by suffixes:

ystäväni * my friend
ystäväsi * your friend
ystävänsä * his_her friend
ystävämme * our friend
ystävänne * your friend
ystävänsä * their friend

There is no distinction between 3rd person singular and plural. In spoken language, thank God, suffixes can be omitted, and replaced by the pronouns minun, sinun, hänen, meidän, teidän, heidän.

More on possessive suffixes here.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Höpöhöpö

I've just found the blog Höpöhöpö whose main purpose is to encourage foreign learners of Finnish to read and write in Finnish, and communicate with others. I guess I qualify as complete newbie:)

I did some exercises from a textbook and found that my vocabulary lags behind my grammar.
I still love Finnish though, and will work to reach Higher Intermediate level, if not advanced.

Some day I will write in Finnish forums. Suomeksi!

Monday, August 6, 2007

Uusi Levy

Kyllä minä tykkään. Onhan se vähän enemmän pop (tavallaan) kuin edelliset levyt, mutta erittäin hyvä silti. En ole vielä kuunnellut kauheasti, mutta muutaman kerran lävitse kuitenkin ja hyvältä se levy vaikuttaa. Uusi laulaja on tuonut paljon mukanaan ja se on hyvä asia :)

sama englanniksi:

Yes I like. It´s more (kinda) pop than the older stuff/albums, but it´s still really good. I haven´t listen the new album so much yet, couple of times though and it seems good. New singer have brought much with him and thats good thing to be :)


This is a message from a Finnish guy on last.fm, in reply to my question what he thought of a new album. Kuintenkin (anyway) I had an error in the question, but hey, he understood me!

I don't have time to study:/ I listen to more and more Finnish music, though. My newest Finnish artist is Apulanta.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

CMX Again

This band is perfect for studying Finnish. They sing clearly, not too fast, and use moderately difficult vocabulary. And I like their music!

The name of this song means Winged. Hyvä bissi:)
CMX - Siivekäs





Minä pidan CMX. I don't even have to remember the case here:D

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

CMX - Kuolemaantuomitut

Lirama is the best lyrics site! In addition to Viikate lyrics I found the lyrics to the previously mentioned CMX single:

Eikö se riitä,
siellä aukeavat
kultaiset portit päivään uuteen

ja vielä pyörii Maa?
Eikö se riitä,
sinua rakastetaan
paljon ja aina enemmän
ja sinuun luotetaan?
Eikö se riitä,
että joskus harvoin
kätesi piirtää rajan kestävän ja
todellisen?

...Valo viipyy matkallaan.
...Päivät vaihtaa kasvojaan,
...ja sinä kuljet läpi hehkuvan maailman.

Eikö se riitä,
vielä pakahtuvat
tunteesi monta kertaa rikkinäisen kauneuden edessä?

Eikö se riitä,
aina kohoavat
hohtavat uudet reitit aamupäivään matkasi tiellä?

...Aika vyöryy radallaan.

...Kuivat tuulet pettää maan,
...ja sinä kuljet läpi hehkuvan maailman.

On joskus kasvoillasi kivun kartta
ja joskus auringon seitti,
ja tiedät olevasi vielä täällä.
Ei mikään tapahdu huomenna.

...Valo viipyy matkallaan.
...Päivät vaihtaa kasvojaan.
...Aika vyöryy radallaan,
...ja sinä kuljet läpi hehkuvan maailman.

I have some time now and I'll try to study.

Monday, July 2, 2007

Finnish Words 1

I've been listening to CMX - a wonderful Finnish band. I only have one album - Pedot, but just heard their new single Kuolemaantuomitut - which probably means Sentenced to Death, as kuolemantuomio means death sentence. I don't understand the double 'a'. Happy Finnish songs!;)
It was recommended by my Finnish mate on last.fm who said it was being played on the radio. I'll check out the lyrics some time when I have time.


kuolema - death
kuolematon - immortal (I just love the sound of this word)

Two more words learnt from a CMX song - Surunmurhaaja.
murhaaja means assassin, cutthroat.
suru is a very important word for Finnish songs - it means grief, bereavement, mourning:D
So the name of the song means something like Mourning Ninja. LOL:)


Thursday, June 28, 2007

Ymmärrä!

Which means understand.
With Finnish I was reminded of the eternal piece of wisdom that you need to make an effort just to remain on the same level in ANY pursuit.

So, let me see what I remember after exactly one month without studying.


Te käytte kaupassa. You go to the shop.
Kuka asua keskusstassa? Who lives in the center?
Sinä tiedat paljon? You know a lot.
Me menemme yhdessä. We go together.
He tavaavat Mannerheimitiellä. They meet at Mennerheimiti?
Ketkä haluavat puhua englantiaa? Who wants to speak English?
Me tarvitsemme suolaa. We need salt.
Minä ostan leipää. I take bread.
Ketkä ymmärtävät hyvin suomea? Who understands Finnish well?
Hän puhuu myös ruotsia. He speaks also Swedish.

Ok, I seem to remember bits and pieces, but I used to be a linguistic genius:) I only used this site twice.
Seriously, I couldn't figure out the the infinitive of Katoan (a great Viikate song).

Edit October 2007: the infinitive is kadota - to disappear:)

Monday, May 28, 2007

Consonant Gradation

This is hell on earth. It affects the consonants K, T, P, when a noun declines, especially in the genitive.

Here's a link with the explanations, I will do the exercises from my book this week, the genitive post is drafted.

I don't have much time for studying, and the forum is down, which is not very motivating. However, I found this site here for online learning. Bad hobbits die hard:)

In true Terminator style: I'll be back!



Sunday, May 20, 2007

Back to Finnish Verbs

Minä autan, I help autaa (autan, autat, auttaa, autamme, autatte, auttavat)
te tiedätte, you know (pl) tietä (tiedan, tiedat, tietää, tiedamme, tiedatte, tietävät)
hän käy, he she goes käydä (käyn, käyt, käy, käymme, käytte, käyvät)
he tekevät - they do tehdä (teen, teet, tekee, teemme, teette, tekevät)
ketkä menevät who visit (pl) mennä (menen, menet, menee, menemme, menette, menevät)
me osamme we know how to, can osata (osaan, osaat, osaa, osaamme, osaatte, osaavat)
minä haluan , i want haluta (haluan, haluat, haluaa, haluamme, haluatte, haluavat)
kuka tarvitsee who needs tarvita (tarvitsen, tarvitset, tarvitsee, tarvitsemme, tarvitsette, tarvitsevat)

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Verb Exercises

Great site for conjugating Finnish verbs here.

alkaa
to start
Minä alan
Sinä alat
Hän (se) alkaa
Me allame
Te allate
He (ne) alkavat


mennä to go
menen
menet
se menee
me menemme
te menette
ne menevät

käydä to go, to visit

minä käyn
sinä käyt
hän käy
me käymme
te käytte
he käyvät

In spoken Finnish third person plural is often pronounced as 3rd person singular. Alternative forms se and ne are used for third person singular and plural respectively. and are spoken forms of minä and sinä.

Me assume Sofiassa. We live in Sofia.
Mihin sinä menet? Where are you going?
Minä menen kotiin. I´m going home. (Forgot what case was kotiin of koti, home)
Minä olen kotona. I am at home.
Tuletko sinä illalla? Are you coming tonight?
Minä en tule. I`m not coming.
Mitä sinä juot? What do you drink? What would you like to drink?
He juovat olutta. They drink beer.
Haluatko sinä kahvia? Do you want coffee?
En halua. No, I don´t.
Minä tarvitsen sinua. I need you.
Juotteko te vähän viiniä? Would you drink some wine? (2nd person plural)
Hän laitaa ruokaa. She is making food. (or he...)
Mitä te teette illalla? What are you going to do tonight?

It´s almost a story!

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

On Finnish Grammar

A native speaker in Finland Forum:

One of the problems with explaining these things lies obviously in that native speakers – myself included – were never taught any of these finer analytical and morphological details at school (the only exception being those who went on to study linguistics) because, well – it sort of comes naturally to us! So most of the time we can only sit back and watch in awe¹) as those who speak Finnish as their second language fearlessly discuss and analyze our gobbledygook in depth, slicing and dicing it to various components that a native speaker is not really even aware of existing.

_____
¹) A good dose of creeping, numb horror is usually involved, too.

Still, I'm working towards it. I found a forum where you can sign up for an online language course. Problem is, the second level starts on May 1, so I have to cover everything they learned in level 1 in a few days. Wow:) The teacher has graciously provided the textbook, exercises with answers, and tests.

Also, an invaluable resource for Finnish vocabulary - the blog Learn Finnish.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Viikate - He Eivät Hengitä

Neljä seinää nurkista Vetävät yhtä tuulta
from four wall corners they pull as wind
Huojuva heinä kurkistaa Pientareilla kahta puolta decreasing??

Matkasta tulee coming from a journey
Matkasta tulee pitkä coming from a long journey
Gramofonin neulaa kiertää gramophone needle travels
Samaa ympyrää the same circle

He eivät hengitä enää samaa ilmaa They don't breathe anymore in the same weather
He eivät hengitä enää milloinkaan They don't breathe no more

Neljä suuntaa tuulista the wind blows from four directions
Jaksavat tarinoida have strength to chat
Eihän öljyä voi suljista ??oil can melt
Hetkessä haravoida in a short rake"

Yö aika päättyy end of nighttime
Muttei se pääty aamuun end of morning
Jää levy odottamaan board ??waiting
Puolen vaihtajaa changing halves

He eivät hengitä enää samaa ilmaa
He eivät hengitä enää milloinkaan

He eivät hengitä enää samaa ilmaa They don't breathe anymore in the same weather
He eivät hengitä enää milloinkaan they don't breathe nevermore
Enää milloinkaan nevermore


[Solo]

He eivät hengitä enää samaa ilmaa
He eivät hengitä enää milloinkaan

He eivät hengitä enää samaa ilmaa
He eivät hengitä enää milloinkaan
Milloinkaan
Milloinkaan

Partitiivi

Juön kahvia ja vettä. - I drink coffee and water.
kahvi - coffee
vesi - water.

I'm struggling with this page:
http://www.yle.fi/opinportti/supisuomea/03/
I have translated most of the song and my head hurts:)

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Omistuslause (Yeah, right, possessive)

Minulla on koira. I have a dog.
Sinulla on kissa. You have a cat.
Hänellä on parveke. He¤she has a balcony.

Meillä on uusi auto. We have a new car.
Teillä on vahna televisio. You have an old TV.
Heillä on tietokone. They have a computer.


With proper nouns the nightmare continues.

Radalla on piano. Rada has a piano.
Mihaellä on tietokonepeli. Mihael has a computer game. (an important word, the last one!)

But the real torture is with the negative, as it requires partitive. No shit.

Minulla ei ole koiraa. I don't have a dog.
Sinulla ei ole kissaa. You don't have a cat.
Hänellä ei ole parveketta. He/she doesnt have any balcony.


Meillä ei ole uutta autoa. We don't have an new car.
Teillä ei ole vahnaa televisiota. You don't have an old TV.
Heillä ei ole tietokonetta. They don't have a computer.

Radalla ei ole pianoa. Rada doesn't have a piano.
Mihaellä ei ole tietokonepelejä. Mihael doesn't have a computer game. (The partitive of peli /game is "pelejä" which I found out with blood sweat and tears. And some linguistic intuition!)

Phrases

Minulla on kiire. I am busy. Minulla ei ole kiire.

Sinulla on nälkä. You are hungry. Sinulla ei ole nälkä.

Hanellä on kylmä. He is cold. Hanellä ei ole kylmä.

Apparently the negative does not require partitive here, or these words are special.

Next: Translation of my favorite Viikate song at the moment - He eivät hengitä (They dont breathe).

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Yksi - One

Minä olen Hazel. Minä olen bulgarilainen. Minä asun Sofiassa.
Minä puhun englantia. Minä en puhu suomea. Minä olen nainen. Minä en ole naimisissa. Minulla on kaksi lasta. Minulla ei ole koiraa eikä kissaa.


Oh, that was hard. These are the verbs olla (be), asua (live) and puhua (speak). Conjugation here. Negation and quantity requires partitive, which reminds me of Russian. Minulla on (I have) is a construction I have not mastered at all. The last sentence however is an example of a 'neither - nor' construction: I have neither a dog nor a cat.

well...

mieluinen (?) :)

Päivää!

This is my blog for studying Finnish language and culture. Stay tuned!