Learn about formal Finnish
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| Michael: How does formal Finnish work? |
| Anni: And when is it used? |
| Michael: At FinnishPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Roni Ranta, a high-school student, meets the mom of his neighbor friend, Karen Lee. He says, |
| "Mrs. Lee, how are you?" |
| Roni Ranta: Rouva Lee, miten voitte? |
| Dialogue |
| Roni Ranta: Rouva Lee, miten voitte? |
| Karen Lee: Hyvin, kiitos. Mitä kuuluu? |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Roni Ranta: Rouva Lee, miten voitte? |
| Michael: "Mrs. Lee, how are you?" |
| Karen Lee: Hyvin, kiitos. Mitä kuuluu? |
| Michael: "Fine, thanks. How are you?" |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Michael: You probably have noticed that, when asking the question, "How are you?" Roni and Karen used different expressions to address each other. |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Let’s take a closer look at the dialogue. |
| Do you remember how Roni Ranta says "Mrs. Lee, how are you?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Päivi as Roni Ranta: Rouva Lee, miten voitte? |
| Michael: Here, “How are you?” is |
| Anni: Miten voitte? |
| Michael: where the word |
| Anni: miten |
| Michael: is the adverb “how,” and the word |
| Anni: voitte |
| Michael: is the second-person plural indicative present form of the verb, |
| Anni: voida |
| Michael: which means “can,” “to feel,” “to do,” or “to be able to.” In a sense, Roni was asking Karen, “How do you do?” There is more than one way of asking someone in Finnish how they are doing, and the one Roni used here is one of the more formal ways of doing it. A more polite alternative would be to use the word |
| Anni: kuinka |
| Michael: instead of |
| Anni: miten |
| Michael: It means the same thing but carries a more polite nuance. |
| [Recall 2] |
| Michael: Now, let’s take a look at our second sentence. |
| Do you remember how Karen Lee says "Fine, thanks. How are you?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Päivi as Karen Lee: Hyvin, kiitos. Mitä kuuluu? |
| Michael: Since Karen is much older than Roni, she is not expected to greet him in a formal manner, which is why she used the more colloquial expression, |
| Anni: Mitä kuuluu? |
| Michael: Here, the word |
| Anni: kuuluu |
| Michael: is derived from the verb |
| Anni: kuulla, |
| Michael: which connotes the idea of hearing or becoming aware of something through second-hand knowledge. In this context, the word is used to refer to someone's state of life. In the beginning, we have the interrogative word |
| Anni: mitä |
| Michael: or “what.” So, when Karen asked Roni, |
| Anni: Mitä kuuluu? |
| Michael: she was, in a sense, asking “How is your life going?” |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: So far, you have learned two common ways of greeting people in Finnish. The standard way is by saying, |
| Anni: Mitä kuuluu? [SLOW] Mitä kuuluu? |
| Michael: which is the less formal way of saying, “How are you?” It’s another way of saying, “How is your life going?” The more formal approach is by saying, |
| Anni: Miten voitte? [SLOW] Miten voitte? |
| Michael: Here, the second-person plural form of the verb is used. This is one way you can convey politeness in Finnish, and it applies to other phrases as well. For instance, if you want to ask someone to repeat what they have said, you would say, |
| Anni: Anteeksi, voisitteko toistaa? [SLOW] Anteeksi, voisitteko toistaa? |
| Michael: “Could you repeat that, please?” Here, the second word |
| Anni: voisitteko |
| Michael: or “could you” is also derived from the word, |
| Anni: voida |
| Michael: and, yes, it is also in the second-person plural form of the said verb. Now, what about when you want to say goodbye? How do you do it in a formal manner? In Finnish, the formal way to say goodbye is |
| Anni: Näkemiin. [SLOW] Näkemiin, |
| Michael: which literally means “Until seeing.” The equivalent term to use when you’re on the phone is |
| Anni: Kuulemiin. [SLOW] Kuulemiin, |
| Michael: which literally means, “Until hearing.” |
| Expansion/Contrast |
| Michael: Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then, repeat after the native speaker focusing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember how Roni Ranta says "Mrs. Lee, how are you?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Päivi as Roni Ranta: Rouva Lee, miten voitte? |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Päivi as Roni Ranta: Rouva Lee, miten voitte? |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Päivi as Roni Ranta: Rouva Lee, miten voitte? |
| Michael: And do you remember how Karen Lee says "Fine, thanks. How are you?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Päivi as Karen Lee: Hyvin, kiitos. Mitä kuuluu? |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Päivi as Karen Lee: Hyvin, kiitos. Mitä kuuluu? |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Päivi as Karen Lee: Hyvin, kiitos. Mitä kuuluu? |
| Cultural Insight/Expansion |
| Michael: There are two main types of Finnish used throughout Finland. The first one is the standard language, or |
| Anni: yleiskieli |
| Michael: and the other one is the spoken language, or |
| Anni: puhekieli. |
| Michael: The standard language is also considered formal Finnish and is used in formal situations, such as in newscasts and political speeches. Meanwhile, the spoken language is the variety of Finnish used in TV and radio. It’s the variety of Finnish you will hear used in everyday conversations. Now, you might think that Finnish people use the standard language in the workplace, but, in reality, the spoken variety is more preferred even in a corporate setting. When in a business meeting, it’s enough to shake another person’s hand and say |
| Anni: Hauska tutustua |
| Michael: or “Nice to meet you” after introducing yourself. That said, the more natural you sound, the better. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We’re here to answer them! |
| Anni: Hei hei! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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