Mostly, I have been learning Finnish...
My drop-in class on Wednesdays has at least allowed me to meet other people, both Finn and non-Finn. The teachers are all very helpful, but there is little structure to the lessons and so I can't easily see any progress in my own learning (cue guilt reflex).
Since many of the official language courses are full or extremely costly, one of the volunteer teachers, Liisa, has suggested that I visit her house to have some one-to-one lessons (for free!). She works as a gardener but it is a short season of work here, so she is planning to teach some courses for the Open University. Whilst designing her course she thinks that we can work together, to help us both. Liisa laid out a scheme of work and suggested a couple of visits a week for maybe two hours at a time.
So far, this has been very successful. As well as forcing me to catch a bus and therefore overcome fear of learning a new form of transport* she has been giving me the lists of verbs to conjugate in groups of their type! This may sound like gobbledegook, but I am aware that the Finnish language is extremely structured. I have just been unable to grasp the patterns from the two or three examples that most courses give.
Many of the nouns I have already learned but I only know the root-word (infinitive). Every word changes once you apply it to a time, place or person. The endings change and whilst these suffixes follow a rule, I can only guess at what it is.
Many of the courses seem to say 'this is the way it happens - just accept it'. If only I were built this way! I need to see a reason. Which is where Liisa comes in. She is very interested in the roots of Finnish language and even has books which go beyond ordinary dictionary explanations to reveal ancient applications for labels commonly used today. This helps me a lot with remembering such strange concepts and gives a 'hook' to help me remember them.
I have explained that I am mostly a visual and kinesthetic learner so Liisa introduces new nouns a room at a time, showing me and letting me handle the item we have named. This is brilliant and I am really enjoying my homework for her. She provides lists of nouns in Finnish, in both singular and plural, and I can sit in the room as I identify the objects.
We have done the 'olohuone' (living room) and the 'keittiö' (kitchen), each with around 30-40 new words to learn. Plus clothes and colours. All with a physical item to see. She is very good.
So, it seems, nouns change their suffix whenever they are described in relation to something else ie if A is on B, or in B, then there is a different suffix for the root word - Finnish does not use 'on' and 'in' - they add -lla or -ssa at the end of the word.
eg I am in Tuomarila - Minä olen Tuomarilassa.
Verbs change suffix for tense, for the person you address, for relation to the object and for number of the object. There are 5 main different verb types (plus a rarely used sixth) but the rules are only different according to how the original verb ended. It is similar to the reasons that we say, in English, 'a book' or 'a jar', but 'an apple' - it changes for ease of speaking the words.
I am not even starting on adjectives yet, though I have noticed there seem to be plurals applied when the object is a plural - curious.
However, there is light at the end of my particular verbal tunnel. Though the last thing I shall learn is how all the words I have learned to spell correctly and say correctly are all actually abbreviated in daily conversation, so that words like Minun (my) become 'mun' and 'sinua' (you) becomes 'sua', but that will come in time. I'd rather be laughed at for speaking old fashioned text-book Finnish wihout offending anyone, than for abbreviating something to a swear word by accident!
So there! - you have had an involuntary Finnish lesson.** Please take a tissue and form an orderly queue - a counsellor will be appointed to you shortly.
So far this year that is the only thing I can lay claim to doing. Oh, I suppose I have also larned to use the trains and buses here, but that is not exactly rocket science. I have discovered that my favourite green and red tea is available here, so I have my 'uppers' and 'downers' to hand. I have resourced most of my supplements (calcium tablets, etc). Plus Oatly is relatively easy to find, so I am managing to function almost as well as usual.
Meanwhile, I cooked a quick ryebread pizza base last week which, though flavoursome, was like hard-tack biscuits in texture, so that will need some work. The wheat-free concept is not too tricky, but expecting wheat-style results can often disappoint. Adapt and survive is a good motto for me now. For just about everything.
That will do for now.
I'm off to make some green tea before my 6pm curfew (strictly red before bed!).
Näkemiin! (see you!)
*I know it sounds ridiculous, but getting on a bus to a place name I don't know, with no spatial awareness of where it is taking me, where I have no language to ask the driver anything is actually truly daunting. I don't even like using public transport in UK!
**Disclaimer: though by no means thorough or necessarily accurate!.
Since many of the official language courses are full or extremely costly, one of the volunteer teachers, Liisa, has suggested that I visit her house to have some one-to-one lessons (for free!). She works as a gardener but it is a short season of work here, so she is planning to teach some courses for the Open University. Whilst designing her course she thinks that we can work together, to help us both. Liisa laid out a scheme of work and suggested a couple of visits a week for maybe two hours at a time.
So far, this has been very successful. As well as forcing me to catch a bus and therefore overcome fear of learning a new form of transport* she has been giving me the lists of verbs to conjugate in groups of their type! This may sound like gobbledegook, but I am aware that the Finnish language is extremely structured. I have just been unable to grasp the patterns from the two or three examples that most courses give.
Many of the nouns I have already learned but I only know the root-word (infinitive). Every word changes once you apply it to a time, place or person. The endings change and whilst these suffixes follow a rule, I can only guess at what it is.
Many of the courses seem to say 'this is the way it happens - just accept it'. If only I were built this way! I need to see a reason. Which is where Liisa comes in. She is very interested in the roots of Finnish language and even has books which go beyond ordinary dictionary explanations to reveal ancient applications for labels commonly used today. This helps me a lot with remembering such strange concepts and gives a 'hook' to help me remember them.
I have explained that I am mostly a visual and kinesthetic learner so Liisa introduces new nouns a room at a time, showing me and letting me handle the item we have named. This is brilliant and I am really enjoying my homework for her. She provides lists of nouns in Finnish, in both singular and plural, and I can sit in the room as I identify the objects.
We have done the 'olohuone' (living room) and the 'keittiö' (kitchen), each with around 30-40 new words to learn. Plus clothes and colours. All with a physical item to see. She is very good.
So, it seems, nouns change their suffix whenever they are described in relation to something else ie if A is on B, or in B, then there is a different suffix for the root word - Finnish does not use 'on' and 'in' - they add -lla or -ssa at the end of the word.
eg I am in Tuomarila - Minä olen Tuomarilassa.
Verbs change suffix for tense, for the person you address, for relation to the object and for number of the object. There are 5 main different verb types (plus a rarely used sixth) but the rules are only different according to how the original verb ended. It is similar to the reasons that we say, in English, 'a book' or 'a jar', but 'an apple' - it changes for ease of speaking the words.
I am not even starting on adjectives yet, though I have noticed there seem to be plurals applied when the object is a plural - curious.
However, there is light at the end of my particular verbal tunnel. Though the last thing I shall learn is how all the words I have learned to spell correctly and say correctly are all actually abbreviated in daily conversation, so that words like Minun (my) become 'mun' and 'sinua' (you) becomes 'sua', but that will come in time. I'd rather be laughed at for speaking old fashioned text-book Finnish wihout offending anyone, than for abbreviating something to a swear word by accident!
So there! - you have had an involuntary Finnish lesson.** Please take a tissue and form an orderly queue - a counsellor will be appointed to you shortly.
So far this year that is the only thing I can lay claim to doing. Oh, I suppose I have also larned to use the trains and buses here, but that is not exactly rocket science. I have discovered that my favourite green and red tea is available here, so I have my 'uppers' and 'downers' to hand. I have resourced most of my supplements (calcium tablets, etc). Plus Oatly is relatively easy to find, so I am managing to function almost as well as usual.
Meanwhile, I cooked a quick ryebread pizza base last week which, though flavoursome, was like hard-tack biscuits in texture, so that will need some work. The wheat-free concept is not too tricky, but expecting wheat-style results can often disappoint. Adapt and survive is a good motto for me now. For just about everything.
That will do for now.
I'm off to make some green tea before my 6pm curfew (strictly red before bed!).
Näkemiin! (see you!)
*I know it sounds ridiculous, but getting on a bus to a place name I don't know, with no spatial awareness of where it is taking me, where I have no language to ask the driver anything is actually truly daunting. I don't even like using public transport in UK!
**Disclaimer: though by no means thorough or necessarily accurate!.