Enthusiastic Bull or the Art of Finnish Palindromes

This week, I found out that, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the Finnish language holds the world record for the longest palindromic word in "every day use" with "saippuakivikauppias" (19 letters). That magnificent specimen of a word means a "dealer in caustic soda", which does beg the question as to how much daily use that word actually gets. But hey, if Guinness says it is in daily use, then it must be.

As a child, I was fascinated by palindromes. I loved the idea that a word or sentence could be read the same backward or forwards (isn't it ironic that the word "palindrome" isn't one itself?). I can still remember learning the classic: "A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!" Aaaah, happy memories of a nerdy childhood...

Anyhow, the discovery of the Finnish world record prompted me to rekindle (all be it briefly) my fascination for palindromes, and to take it to the next level by exploring the bizarre world of Finnish palindromes.

Obviously, Finnish being a language with compound words, the possibilities for creating long palindromic words are potentially endless, even if the resulting efforts are not always very meaningful.  So on the soap theme, I have found:

saippuakalasalakauppias

soapfish bootlegger

saippuakuppinippukauppias

soap dish wholesale vendor

saippuakippokukkakivikakkukoppikauppias

soap-bowl-flower-stone-cake-box seller (huh?)

Other equally silly constructions include:

solutomaattimittaamotulos

the results of the tomato cell measurement

innostunut sonni

enthusiastic bull

And then there are the palindromic sentences, such as:

Nisumaa oli isäsi ilo aamusin

In the mornings, wheatfields were the joy of your father.

Ananas oli isäsi ilo sanana

The word "pinapple" was the joy of your father

Iso rikas sika sökösakissa kirosi

A very rich pig cursed in a stud poker gang

Iso tupakkavakka putosi

The big tobacco-basket fell down

Isä, älä myy myymälääsi

Father, don't sell your shop

And my own favourite:

Neulo taas niin saat oluen

Knit again, you will get a beer

And then, I found a palindromic Finnish poem:

Uupuu, uupuu puu heiluva		Tires, tires, the waving tree
Havu liehuu		The spruce branch waves
Liehuva havu heiluu		The waving spuce branch swings
Heiluva havu liehuu		The swinging spruce branch waves
Puu, puu uupuu		The tree, the tree tires

Apparently, there are even palindromic people in Finland, including:

Olavi Valo

Emma Lamme

Sanna Rannas

Anni Linna

Asko Oksa

I wonder if those people are into palindromes also. After all they would be in good company. Even Stevie Wonder was interested in palindromes once upon a time, though he was not very good at them: in 1968, he released an album called "Eivets Rednow"... Keep trying Stevie!

PS: For those of you dying for more, a Finnish comedy group, Alivaltiosihteeri, have created a large number of palindromes that can be found here (in Finnish only).