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Vocabulary/Translations - basic terms (ex: hello, how are you...) - Language Exchange


Category: Vocabulary/Translations
Discussion: basic terms (ex: hello, how are you...)

All messages in this discussion:
# Message Posted By
53771
basic terms (ex: hello, how are you...)
Hi, I'm Tina and I don't know one word of Finnish and realized I should at least find out some basics first. I was wondering how you say these:
"Hello."
"How are you?"
"My name is..."
"I love you."
"Thank You."
"You're welcome."
If there's any slang that could be used for any of those, I'd like to learn those too, and if it's possible, could you tell me how to pronounce them properly? Thanks!

Language pair: Finnish; All
ArchivedMember
June 10, 2005

Reply
54106
Re:basic terms (ex: hello, how are you...)
Hi Tina!
Here are the expressions you wanted to know, and how to pronounce them:

"Hello" = hei / moi/ terve
"How are you?" = Miten voit?/ Mitä kuuluu?/ Miten menee?
"My name is..." = Minun nimeni on...
"I love you." = Minä rakastan sinua.
"Thank You." = Kiitos.
"You're welcome." = Ole hyvä./Ei kestä.


A is roughly the same sound as in German or French; thus AA
is pronounced roughly as A in AFTER (in British pronunciation);
short A resembles u in British English "cup" or o in American
English "hot"
D is a normal D (but often replaced by other sounds or just
omitted in dialects)
E is like E in HEN; you might find Finnish long E (EE) difficult
since it does not occur in English, but it is simply a
prolonged E
G occurs, in purely Finnish words, only in the combination NG
which is a double consonant: the last sound of SING doubled (so
there is no G-sound in Finnish NG)
H is like H in HAT
I is like I in FIT
J is like consonantal Y in English
K is softer than English K
L is normal L
M is normal M
N is normal N (except in NG, see above, and in NK, which is
pronounced as in English)
O is like O in TOP
P is softer than English P
R is a relatively clear R-sound (much stronger than American R in
ARE and even stronger than R in RAIN); just let your tongue
tremble; long R (RR) may require some practice
S is a rather neutral S-sound, near to English S, but pronounced
less acutely (since the contrasts to Z and SH are missing)
T is softer than English T
U is like U in FULL
V is normal V
Y is like French U or German U-umlaut (Ü, i.e. U with two dots
above it); this can cause some difficulties for English-speaking
people, but you might try the following: prepare your mouth for
pronoucing the i sound (as in "hit") but round your lips and
breathe out
Ä (A with two dots above it) is roughly like A in HAT
Ö (O with two dots above it) is roughly like the same letter as in
German or EU in French; the nearest equivalent in English is the
(long) vowel in "fur" which would be written in Finnish as "föö"
or "föör"


The first syllable always takes the main stress, but the stressing is usually not very emphatic. (This is one of the causes of the somewhat melancholic "melody" in Finnish.) In long words, other syllables (usually the 3rd or 4th) may have secondary stress.




Language pair: Finnish; All
This is a reply to message # 53771
Hanna
Heiskanen

June 15, 2005

Reply
54107
Re:basic terms (ex: hello, how are you...)
Hi Tina!
Here are the expressions you wanted to know, and how to pronounce them:

"Hello" = hei / moi/ terve
"How are you?" = Miten voit?/ Mitä kuuluu?/ Miten menee?
"My name is..." = Minun nimeni on...
"I love you." = Minä rakastan sinua.
"Thank You." = Kiitos.
"You're welcome." = Ole hyvä./Ei kestä.


A is roughly the same sound as in German or French; thus AA
is pronounced roughly as A in AFTER (in British pronunciation);
short A resembles u in British English "cup" or o in American
English "hot"
D is a normal D (but often replaced by other sounds or just
omitted in dialects)
E is like E in HEN; you might find Finnish long E (EE) difficult
since it does not occur in English, but it is simply a
prolonged E
G occurs, in purely Finnish words, only in the combination NG
which is a double consonant: the last sound of SING doubled (so
there is no G-sound in Finnish NG)
H is like H in HAT
I is like I in FIT
J is like consonantal Y in English
K is softer than English K
L is normal L
M is normal M
N is normal N (except in NG, see above, and in NK, which is
pronounced as in English)
O is like O in TOP
P is softer than English P
R is a relatively clear R-sound (much stronger than American R in
ARE and even stronger than R in RAIN); just let your tongue
tremble; long R (RR) may require some practice
S is a rather neutral S-sound, near to English S, but pronounced
less acutely (since the contrasts to Z and SH are missing)
T is softer than English T
U is like U in FULL
V is normal V
Y is like French U or German U-umlaut (Ü, i.e. U with two dots
above it); this can cause some difficulties for English-speaking
people, but you might try the following: prepare your mouth for
pronoucing the i sound (as in "hit") but round your lips and
breathe out
Ä (A with two dots above it) is roughly like A in HAT
Ö (O with two dots above it) is roughly like the same letter as in
German or EU in French; the nearest equivalent in English is the
(long) vowel in "fur" which would be written in Finnish as "föö"
or "föör"


The first syllable always takes the main stress, but the stressing is usually not very emphatic. (This is one of the causes of the somewhat melancholic "melody" in Finnish.) In long words, other syllables (usually the 3rd or 4th) may have secondary stress.




Language pair: Finnish; All
This is a reply to message # 53771
Hanna
Heiskanen

June 15, 2005

Reply
54108
Re:basic terms (ex: hello, how are you...)
Hi Tina!
Here are the expressions you wanted to know, and how to pronounce them:

"Hello" = hei / moi/ terve
"How are you?" = Miten voit?/ Mitä kuuluu?/ Miten menee?
"My name is..." = Minun nimeni on...
"I love you." = Minä rakastan sinua.
"Thank You." = Kiitos.
"You're welcome." = Ole hyvä./Ei kestä.


A is roughly the same sound as in German or French; thus AA
is pronounced roughly as A in AFTER (in British pronunciation);
short A resembles u in British English "cup" or o in American
English "hot"
D is a normal D (but often replaced by other sounds or just
omitted in dialects)
E is like E in HEN; you might find Finnish long E (EE) difficult
since it does not occur in English, but it is simply a
prolonged E
G occurs, in purely Finnish words, only in the combination NG
which is a double consonant: the last sound of SING doubled (so
there is no G-sound in Finnish NG)
H is like H in HAT
I is like I in FIT
J is like consonantal Y in English
K is softer than English K
L is normal L
M is normal M
N is normal N (except in NG, see above, and in NK, which is
pronounced as in English)
O is like O in TOP
P is softer than English P
R is a relatively clear R-sound (much stronger than American R in
ARE and even stronger than R in RAIN); just let your tongue
tremble; long R (RR) may require some practice
S is a rather neutral S-sound, near to English S, but pronounced
less acutely (since the contrasts to Z and SH are missing)
T is softer than English T
U is like U in FULL
V is normal V
Y is like French U or German U-umlaut (Ü, i.e. U with two dots
above it); this can cause some difficulties for English-speaking
people, but you might try the following: prepare your mouth for
pronoucing the i sound (as in "hit") but round your lips and
breathe out
Ä (A with two dots above it) is roughly like A in HAT
Ö (O with two dots above it) is roughly like the same letter as in
German or EU in French; the nearest equivalent in English is the
(long) vowel in "fur" which would be written in Finnish as "föö"
or "föör"


The first syllable always takes the main stress, but the stressing is usually not very emphatic. (This is one of the causes of the somewhat melancholic "melody" in Finnish.) In long words, other syllables (usually the 3rd or 4th) may have secondary stress.




Language pair: Finnish; All
This is a reply to message # 53771
Hanna
Heiskanen

June 15, 2005

Reply
54163
Re:Re:basic terms (ex: hello, how are you...)
[About Finnish pronunciation]

> K is softer than English K
> P is softer than English P
> T is softer than English T

English speakers should also
note the lack of aspiration, i.e.
pronounce K rather as in "skate"
than as in "Kate". Ditto with
P and T.

> Ö (O with two dots above it) is roughly
> like the same letter as in
> German or EU in French; the nearest
> equivalent in English is the
> (long) vowel in "fur" which would be
> written in Finnish as "föö"
> or "föör"

Also note that Finnish Ö is pronounced
with rounded lips and the tongue is not
even near to touching the palate. You
can produce it by modifying the E of "get"
by rounding your lips and lowering your
lower jaw just a little bit.

Puti


Language pair: Finnish; All
This is a reply to message # 54107
Juha-Petri
Tyrkkö

June 16, 2005

Reply

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