Hyvää itsenäisyyspäivää!

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

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:)

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.

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.

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

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.

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!