Finnish

[edit] Guide Note

Finnish is the official language of Finland. Finnish is also spoken in Sweden and Norway.¹

[edit] Fast Facts

1. Language family: Baltic-Finnic, Finno-Ugric language²
2. Number of speakers: 6,000,000 million²
3. Official language: Finland
4. Major dialects: South Pohjanmaa, Southeastern Finnish, Perapohja, Savo, Central Pohjanmaa, North Pohjanmaa, Southwestern Finnish, Hame¹
5. Finnish speaking countries: Canada, Estonia, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United States¹
6. Number of letters in alphabet: 29 letters, 8 vowels, 21 constants

• Welcome: Tervetuloa
• What's your name?: Mika sinun nimesi on?
• My name is ...: Nimeni on ...
• Good morning: Hyvaa huomenta
• Good evening: Hyvaa iltaa
• Good night: Hyvaa yota
• Have a nice day: Hyvaa paivanjatkoa
• I don't understand: En ymmarra
• Can you help me?: Voitko auttaa minua?
• How much is this?: Paljonko tama maksaa?
• Hi: Terve
• How are you?: Mites menee?
• Thank you: Kiitos paljon
• Congratulations!: Onneksiolkoon!

When Finnish was first created, some of the other languages in the Finno-Ugrian group (such as Estonian and Hungarian) had an influence on the vacabulary and grammar. As the centuries went by, the linguistic similarities became less. Finnish started to take on its own identity, and developed separately from the other languages. In the present day, with easier access to different cultures, the Finnish vocabulary is now influenced by other lanaguages on a wider scale, mainly in Europe.³