I tend more to the “let’s switch to English” category
Yes. As a foreigner in Finland, I find this to be accurate.
depends on their level, the situation we’re in and the mood I’m in, tbh
Most people switch to English, but they also ask why you would bother to learn such a difficult and small language. It’s different from the “cute, but let’s switch” category because everyone is mostly impressed but question the usefulness of your endeavor. Not dismissive of you for trying, just confused why you’re doing it.
Perfectly
I’ve heard and read many people trying to learn Finnish to be frustrated as so many of us automatically switch to English when we get the sense that the person’s vocabulary is not big enough for the conversation.
No, they didn’t. The reaction would be more of “Why you are talking to me?” and then running the fuck away because we don’t talk to people.
French hate when you speak english, but speaking french is bad as well
No, finns are really impressed if anyone actually bothers to try. It is just we are so polite we automatically default to english because we want to make it easier for the other person.
If you live here the only way to truly understand this country is through language.
Finnish is kind of a beautiful language. But then I’m a native speaker. My wife has been trying to learn and man she kind of sucks at it. I think it’s wonderful that she wants to learn though.
“Nice try, but I can’t understand the word you’re trying to say in Finnish.”
I work in customer service. If somebody starts with Finnish I reply in Finnish, no matter how well they speak the language. Will change to english if the other person wants to.
And I do appreciate the effort, especially when the speaker is clearly still learning the basics.
Yes.
Ah, French people. Disgusted if you dare attempt French, but also refuse to speak English unless absolutely critical.
Foreigner: So I’ve been learning Finnish lately
Finn: Why?
Finns will switch to English if they realize you don’t understand enough grammar to say anything; however, I found them to be very patient teachers otherwise and I eventually made my way to fluency. Some do occasionally ask why I put in the effort but they have always appreciated it.
I would say more like:
“This is awkward, let’s switch to English.”
I have a suspicion that Finns might be pretty happy about foreigners trying to learn Finnish. I can definitely say that the Baltics do.
Years ago when I’d been in Finland for just a few months and was signing up for a library card at Helsinki University, I tried speaking Finnish. The person helping me get the card looked immediately disgusted and quite loudly scolded me in front of everyone saying I shouldn’t bother speaking Finnish if I was going to sound like *that* and to not speak until I sounded better. Destroyed my confidence for years and even to this day I can’t speak to really anyone besides my Finnish wife but I was only able to start doing that within the last year/year and a half. It also gave me the feeling of dreading learning and definitely slowed me down. I’ve had a few other instances since then where I’ve been told I have a good accent and speak fine but a few more that are similar in tone to the first guy. Overall it’s been mostly negative reactions in my experience but I’m not sure if that’s the norm to be honest
If I hear a foreigner speaking Finnish, I become slightly embarrassed since they have gone through the trouble of learning a fairly difficult and niche language, while I probably can’t speak their language at all unless their language happens to be English.
Seems legit
I do yeah. I’m super impressed when someone goes out of their way to learn finnish, I just tend to question why. If they want to learn a challenging language they could take up mandarin or cantonese, those are at least useful.
If your Spanish is not near enough to the listener’s Spanish, a Spaniard will not understand you.
In my experience, it’s a mix between orange and pink. Some people may be curious about the usefulness/difficulty of learning the language, but the vast majority appreciated when I speak Finnish.
I indeed notice a shift in how Finnish people behave when they see me respond in Finnish while not fluent: they become kinder, more patient, more smiley, and more talkative!
It happened exactly once in my 4-5 years here that a Finnish person received my attempts negatively. I was in a store and an employee laughed at my face for trying at all. This was 3 years ago and my skills have strongly improved since then though.
I’m a US citizen. I spoke no French but worked in France for several months. I wanted to learn what French I could when I was there. My coworkers were happy to teach me a little French and would generally speak English with me at lunch and at the coffee machine.
When in Finland, I always open a conversation with Finnish then it’s quickly apparent the conversation will be easier for both parties if we switch to English.
26 comments
I tend more to the “let’s switch to English” category
Yes. As a foreigner in Finland, I find this to be accurate.
depends on their level, the situation we’re in and the mood I’m in, tbh
Most people switch to English, but they also ask why you would bother to learn such a difficult and small language. It’s different from the “cute, but let’s switch” category because everyone is mostly impressed but question the usefulness of your endeavor. Not dismissive of you for trying, just confused why you’re doing it.
Perfectly
I’ve heard and read many people trying to learn Finnish to be frustrated as so many of us automatically switch to English when we get the sense that the person’s vocabulary is not big enough for the conversation.
No, they didn’t. The reaction would be more of “Why you are talking to me?” and then running the fuck away because we don’t talk to people.
French hate when you speak english, but speaking french is bad as well
No, finns are really impressed if anyone actually bothers to try. It is just we are so polite we automatically default to english because we want to make it easier for the other person.
If you live here the only way to truly understand this country is through language.
Finnish is kind of a beautiful language. But then I’m a native speaker. My wife has been trying to learn and man she kind of sucks at it. I think it’s wonderful that she wants to learn though.
“Nice try, but I can’t understand the word you’re trying to say in Finnish.”
I work in customer service. If somebody starts with Finnish I reply in Finnish, no matter how well they speak the language. Will change to english if the other person wants to.
And I do appreciate the effort, especially when the speaker is clearly still learning the basics.
Yes.
Ah, French people. Disgusted if you dare attempt French, but also refuse to speak English unless absolutely critical.
Foreigner: So I’ve been learning Finnish lately
Finn: Why?
Finns will switch to English if they realize you don’t understand enough grammar to say anything; however, I found them to be very patient teachers otherwise and I eventually made my way to fluency. Some do occasionally ask why I put in the effort but they have always appreciated it.
I would say more like:
“This is awkward, let’s switch to English.”
I have a suspicion that Finns might be pretty happy about foreigners trying to learn Finnish. I can definitely say that the Baltics do.
Years ago when I’d been in Finland for just a few months and was signing up for a library card at Helsinki University, I tried speaking Finnish. The person helping me get the card looked immediately disgusted and quite loudly scolded me in front of everyone saying I shouldn’t bother speaking Finnish if I was going to sound like *that* and to not speak until I sounded better. Destroyed my confidence for years and even to this day I can’t speak to really anyone besides my Finnish wife but I was only able to start doing that within the last year/year and a half. It also gave me the feeling of dreading learning and definitely slowed me down. I’ve had a few other instances since then where I’ve been told I have a good accent and speak fine but a few more that are similar in tone to the first guy. Overall it’s been mostly negative reactions in my experience but I’m not sure if that’s the norm to be honest
If I hear a foreigner speaking Finnish, I become slightly embarrassed since they have gone through the trouble of learning a fairly difficult and niche language, while I probably can’t speak their language at all unless their language happens to be English.
Seems legit
I do yeah. I’m super impressed when someone goes out of their way to learn finnish, I just tend to question why. If they want to learn a challenging language they could take up mandarin or cantonese, those are at least useful.
If your Spanish is not near enough to the listener’s Spanish, a Spaniard will not understand you.
In my experience, it’s a mix between orange and pink. Some people may be curious about the usefulness/difficulty of learning the language, but the vast majority appreciated when I speak Finnish.
I indeed notice a shift in how Finnish people behave when they see me respond in Finnish while not fluent: they become kinder, more patient, more smiley, and more talkative!
It happened exactly once in my 4-5 years here that a Finnish person received my attempts negatively. I was in a store and an employee laughed at my face for trying at all. This was 3 years ago and my skills have strongly improved since then though.
I’m a US citizen. I spoke no French but worked in France for several months. I wanted to learn what French I could when I was there. My coworkers were happy to teach me a little French and would generally speak English with me at lunch and at the coffee machine.
When in Finland, I always open a conversation with Finnish then it’s quickly apparent the conversation will be easier for both parties if we switch to English.
Comments are closed.