It’s always fun to spot a familiar word or two when you’re learning a new language—it’s like getting a freebie! English loanwords are common in many languages, and plenty have been incorporated into Finnish over time. The earliest English loanwords were introduced into Finnish in the nineteenth century. Globalization and the internet have accelerated the process, and new loanwords are entering our language faster than ever. Sometimes, English is mixed so liberally with Finnish that the end result is known as Finglish.
In this article, we’ll answer your burning questions about English words in Finnish. For example, what exactly is Finglish? And how do you tell the difference between Finglish and the use of loanwords? Do loanwords change over time? Are English loanwords and Finnish grammar a good fit? How do Finns feel about the influx of English words? Are there any Finnish loanwords in the English language?
Let’s find out!
Languages have always influenced one another.
Table of Contents
- Finglish and Loanwords – What’s the Difference?
- English Loanwords in Finnish
- More About Finglish
- When Finnish and English Clash
- Finnish Loanwords in English
- Lopuksi
1. Finglish and Loanwords – What’s the Difference?
First of all, let’s clarify the difference between the use of English loanwords and speaking Finglish.
Loanwords
Loanwords are words that have crossed from one language to another and have become more or less established. These words may retain their original spelling and pronunciation in their new environment, though they may also be adapted in different ways to better fit within the structures of the host language.
Why do we use loanwords? Often, English loanwords are borrowed when a native Finnish word doesn’t yet exist for that thing (this is commonly the case with technological terminology). Other times, an English word may be borrowed because it’s more succinct, exact, or comprehensive than a Finnish alternative—or just because it’s trendy!
In a bit, we’ll take a look at three different categories of English loanwords used in Finnish.
Finglish
The word ‘Finglish’ was first coined to describe the language spoken by Finnish immigrants in North America. Today, speaking Finglish refers to the act of peppering one’s Finnish with an excess of English words and expressions to such an extent that the end result sounds like some sort of strange hybrid language. We’ll come back to Finglish later in this article.
Finglish is strongly associated with internet slang and youth culture.
2. English Loanwords in Finnish
As you learn Finnish, you’ll come across many loanwords that you’ll instantly recognize. There are other loanwords that may look familiar yet strange at the same time. The difference usually comes down to how long ago the word was borrowed. The longer a loanword has been used in Finland, the more likely it is that it has gradually changed to resemble native Finnish words.
Let’s look at three different groups of loanwords.
Non-Integrated Loanwords
This type of loanword is known as sitaattilaina (literally: “citation loan”) in Finnish. These words are borrowed from English exactly as they are, complete with their original spelling and pronunciation. In other words, these are the true freebies for a language learner!
Non-integrated English loanwords are frequently seen in the fields of technology, business, social media, food, music, and sports. Proper nouns (such as Sydney) are also adopted from English without any changes.
A loanword may also appear as part of a compound word:
- cashewpähkinä (“cashew nut”)
Sometimes, a Finnish term exists but the English loanword is more popular. For example, popcorn is used far more often than paukkumaissi.
Let’s take a look at some examples of these common English words in Finnish:
Information technology
- Bluetooth
- Internet
- Hands free
- Online
Hands free – laitteiden kysyntä on selvästi vähentynyt.
“The demand for hands-free devices has clearly decreased.”
- → Can you spot other English loanwords on our technology vocabulary list?
Food
- Popcorn
- Smoothie
- Brownie
- Hot dog
Hanna-tädin browniet ovat ihania.
“Aunt Hanna’s brownies are wonderful.”
- → Learn how to say “I am going to buy popcorn and drinks,” and other useful Finnish words and phrases for going to the movies on FinnishPod101.com.
Sports
- Curling
- Squash
- Baseball
- Golf
Tiesitkö, että curling kehitettiin Skotlannissa?
“Did you know that curling was developed in Scotland?”
- → Spot even more familiar words on our Olympic sports vocabulary list.
Work
- Freelance
- Bonus
- Copywriter
- Deadline
Yrityksemme uusi copywriter aloitti työt viime maanantaina.
“The new copywriter in our company started working last Monday.”
- → Learn the word for ‘Christmas bonus’ on our vocabulary list for talking about the workplace in Finnish.
Music
- Rock
- Pop
- Blues
- Heavy metal
Heavy metal on todella suosittu musiikkilaji Suomessa.
“Heavy metal is a really popular musical genre in Finland.
- → “Learn more Finnish music vocabulary on FinnishPod101.com.
Finns favor the word popcorn over paukkumaissi.
Partially and Fully Integrated Loanwords
Non-integrated loanwords tend to be relatively new additions to the Finnish language. That’s because few English loanwords survive in their original form forever; most go through various changes over time to make them a more natural fit for Finnish.
Remember how Finnish has an almost complete agreement between letters and sounds? A lot of the changes that loanwords undergo simply reduce the discord between pronunciation and spelling.
Common changes to loanwords include:
- The replacement of letters like b, d, g, f, x, and q with letters that are more common in Finnish
- The replacement of the letters a and o with the letters ä and ö to more accurately reflect the pronunciation of a loanword
- The duplication of the final consonant
- The addition of i to the end of a word
The last change is extremely common. It applies, for example, to ‘-isms’ borrowed from English, including kapitalismi (“capitalism”).
Can you tell what changes these loanwords went through?
- Elektroni (“Electron”)
- Taksi (“Taxi”)
- Brändi (“Brand”)
- Trendi (“Trend”)
- Viski (“Whisky”)
- Pekoni (“Bacon”)
- Vinssi (“Winch”)
- Tiimi (“Team”)
- Greippi (“Grapefruit”)
Confusing to language learners and native Finns alike, both the original spelling and an adapted spelling of the same word may be in use. For example, take a look at these two musical genres:
- jazz / jatsi (“jazz”)
- country / kantri (“country”)
Loanwords can also exist simultaneously with endemic Finnish words:
- läppäri / kannettava (“laptop”)
- printteri / tulostin (“printer”)
The English word “team” has evolved into tiimi in Finnish.
Calques
Our final category of English loanwords in Finnish is one that causes zero problems with pronunciation, spelling, or inflection: käännöslainat (“calques,” or literally “translation loans”). These are word-for-word translations of English compound words or word pairs.
- Jalkapallo (“Football”)
- Sähköposti (“Electronic mail”)
- Kotisivu (“Homepage”)
- Maksumuuri (“Paywall”)
- Musta aukko (“Black hole”)
- Sohvaperuna (“Couch potato”)
- Emolevy (“Motherboard”)
- Baarikärpänen (“Bar fly”)
- Lasikatto (“Glass ceiling”)
- Haamukirjoittaja (“Ghost writer”)
- Hyvinvointivaltio (“Welfare state”)
- Luottokortti (“Credit card”)
Idioms hop from English to Finnish as translation loans, as well:
- Kieli poskessa (“Tongue in cheek”)
The word luottokortti (“credit card”) is a translation loan.
3. More About Finglish
As promised, here’s some detailed information on Finglish for you!
North American Finglish
The word ‘Finglish’ was originally coined in the 1920s by Professor Martti Nisonen. He was referring to the mixture of Finnish and English spoken by Finnish immigrants in the United States and Canada. The Finnish term for it is amerikansuomi (“North American Finnish”). Examples of Finglish used by American Finns include:
- leeki (from ‘lake’)
- milkki (from ‘milk’)
- tätsrait (from ‘that’s right’)
- haussi (from ‘house’)
- äpyli (from ‘apple’)
New Finglish
In Finland today, the term ‘Finglish’ refers to the end result of native Finnish speakers using excessive English terms and expressions. Finglish is strongly associated with young people, though IT professionals and business people have also gained a reputation for relying a little too heavily on English terminology.
Finglish absorbs new English vocabulary and expressions, particularly from TV, cinema, music, social media, and various subcultures.
Characteristics of Finglish include a liberal use of English words as they are (like “anyway,” “basically,” and “about”) and a frequent adaptation of new English words. These adapted words differ from regular English loanwords in the sense that they sound like slang—although the line between the two can become rather blurred!
Here are a few terms that are considered Finglish (the first word) with their equivalent Finnish terms (the second word) for comparison:
- Biitsi / Hiekkaranta (“Beach”)
- Kreisi / Hullu (“Crazy”)
- Keissi / Tapaus (“Case”)
- Bugi / Ohjelmointivirhe (“Bug” – in IT)
There are also new verbs derived from English that follow Finnish conjugation rules:
- Skipata (“To skip”)
- Klikata (“To click”)
- Tsekata (“To check”)
Many IT-related words like Ethernet have been borrowed from English.
4. When Finnish and English Clash
Now you know what Finglish and loanwords look like in Finnish, but how do they affect the language and those who speak it? Take a look.
How Do Finns Feel About English Loanwords?
Unlike countries such as Iceland and France, Finland has no official rules to regulate the introduction of new loanwords. However, Kielitoimisto does provide guidance and recommendations on how to use them.
While many Finns embrace English loans, many others are deeply skeptical. In one survey, the participants were almost evenly divided on the matter. The narrow majority of respondents felt that loanwords enrich the Finnish language and are often necessary. For example, they would welcome loanwords if a Finnish alternative didn’t exist or was clumsy compared to a loanword.
Those who felt uneasy about the introduction of English loanwords felt that there were already too many and that they can be very difficult to spell and pronounce. The latter group expressed a desire for active efforts to coin new Finnish terms to replace loanwords.
When English Loanwords Meet Finnish Grammar
Inflecting (non-integrated) English loanwords according to Finnish grammar rules can feel like forcing a square peg into a round hole—the two are often not compatible. A lot of the trouble and confusion stems from the fact that Finnish pronunciation is very different from English pronunciation. This creates a dilemma: should Finnish grammar rules like vowel harmony be applied according to a word’s spelling or according to its pronunciation? Should consonant gradation apply to loanwords at all?
There’s usually no perfect solution, and the best course of action may be to tweak sentences to avoid inflecting loanwords in the first place. When this isn’t possible, Finns may have to make a choice between an option that ‘looks wrong’ and one that ‘sounds wrong.’
This is probably the greatest driver behind the adaptation of loanwords in Finnish. When a loanword is tweaked into a more Finnish-friendly form, it becomes far easier to inflect with confidence.
A man with a puzzled look on his face.
5. Finnish Loanwords in English
By now, you may be wondering if there are any Finnish words in the English language. The short answer is: not many! It’s been mostly a one-way street between Finnish and English as far as loanwords are concerned.
The most famous Finnish loanword in English is sauna. The other loans are decidedly more niche, such as rapakivi (a type of granite rock) and palsa (a permanently frozen peat mound).
Finnish sauna.
Lopuksi
In this guide, we’ve discussed various types of English loanwords that are used in Finland, Finns’ attitudes toward them, and the grammar problems they sometimes cause. We’ve also looked at the strange hybrid language known as Finglish, and how it differs from the use of established English loanwords.
We’ve listed some of the most common English words used in the Finnish language, but naturally, there are a lot more out there. Do you know of any that we didn’t mention in this article? Feel free to share them by leaving a comment below!
Keep your eyes peeled for more familiar words on our Finnish vocabulary lists on FinnishPod101.com, or head over to our free resources for an overview of Finnish pronunciation, grammar tutorials, and much more.
