Finnish Language

Finland is a Nordic country located in Northeastern Europe and surrounded by water on 3 sides. The people of Finland speak the Finnish language. The Finnish language is spoken by over 90% of Finland, and also in Estonia, Sweden, Norway, and Northwest Russia. In addition, there are pockets in the United States (in the state of Michigan and around Lake Superior) of Finnish-speaking communities. In total, there are over 6 million speakers of the Finnish language worldwide. Finnish is the official language of the country of Finland, of course, but it is also an official language of the European Union, and it is considered an official minority language of the country of Sweden.

The Finnish language is a member of the Finno-Ugric language family, which is a form of a sub-family within the Uralic language family. It is an agglutinative language (words are formed by joining together roots with prefixes and suffixes). The Finnish language is a notoriously difficult language to learn and comprehend (for a non-native speaker). It has an unfamiliar vocabulary, for the reason that there are few languages closely connected to it.

The history of the Finnish language involves a great deal of revision down through the generations. The language began its journey when the Baltic Finnic languages, from which the modern Finnish language has evolved, splintered sometime around the 1st century. Both the Baltic family of languages and the Finnic group of languages continue to influence one another.

Mikael Agricola, a Finnish bishop, is credited with generating the very first written form of the Finnish language in the 26th century. The written language was based on Swedish, German, and Latin. Several revisions of the written language have since occurred. Nevertheless, Agricola's work still remains the foundation of the Standard Finnish language.

Within the spoken Finnish language, there are 2 separate dialects, which are thought of more as accents. These dialects are known as Eastern Finnish and Western Finnish. They are easily understood by one another, with only minor changes in pronunciation, which is why they are considered more like accents than actual dialects. The Western dialects are spoken in Finland, Satakunta, Ostrobothnia, Tavostia, and Lapland. The Eastern dialects are spoken in Savo, South Karelia, and Ingria.

In addition to the 2 distinct Finnish accents (or dialects) spoken, there are 2 varieties of the Finnish language itself spoken within the country of Finland. "Standard Finnish" is the formal tongue that is used politically, religiously, and by the television media for news broadcasts. Children also learn this more formal version of Finnish in school. "Spoken Finnish" is the language that is used more colloquially on television shows (for entertainment purposes), radio broadcasts, and for everyday communications (conversationally).

The Finnish language has borrowed heavily from other languages through the centuries. Early on in the language's history, many vocabulary words were derived from the Indo-European family of languages, including Turkic, Baltic, and Slavic languages. More recently, the Swedish language has shown influence on Finnish, as well as the Russian language. Even more recently, though, the English language has become a very common source of vocabulary for the Finnish language. Rather than coming from a source on the basis of proximity and social interaction, the English contribution seems to be coming from more cultural influences, such as music, movies, and the Internet. Also, many Finnish-based businesses that wish to operate on a global level have begun using English as their official corporate language.

Though challenging for non-native speakers to learn, there are many means by which the Finnish language can be learned. There are many sources on the Internet that provide basic vocabulary and comprehension lessons, as well as books and tapes, and even classroom-based Finnish language courses. The Finnish language is a unique tongue, with few other languages like it in the world, and for the person who likes to learn new languages, is a stimulating one to take on.