Joke - How the Finns Came to Finland

Lovely as Finland can be at times, I have always wondered why the Finns chose to settle in that inhospitable northern corner of Europe – back in the days before central heating, double-glazing, cars, snowmobiles, GORE-TEX®, winter holidays in Thailand and other such things.

Doctor, Doctor, My Car Needs Fixing!

When your knowledge of a language is fairly basic, understanding what people say is largely guess-work. It relies on trying to link logically together the words you recognise, and the gestures that accompany the narrative.

Sometimes though, some sentences seem to defy logic.

Mini-Post: Autumn is Here

Back in late March, as I stood in 50cm (20 inches) of snow in the Finnish countryside, I was told that spring was in in the air.

This week, while staying at the same location on the river Kokemäenjoki, I have been walking around in shorts and T-shirts, enjoying the sunny weather and the temperatures in the mid-20sC (mid-70sF). Yet, I have heard from a couple of people and read in a blog that apparently it's beginning to feel autumnal.

Go fathom.

Never Trust a Dictionary!

At a recent event, I wanted to say a few nice words in Finnish about someone dear to me. As there is no way I could ad-lib something like that with my limited command of the language, I decided to prepare my mini-speech beforehand, in writing.

A good thing I did too, because I came close to making a bit of a faux-pas.

Volcano Erupts Near Finnish Village

Last week, a volcano erupted near a small Finnish village, throwing hot ash and smoke thousands of feet into the air, forcing thousands of people to flee.

Got a Spare Moose?

“Hey Jyrki”, I shouted to my colleague through the small cubicle wall that separates our respective workspaces. “Do you have spare hirvi [moose]?”

You see, even though my Finnish is very, very basic, I like to pepper my English sentences with Finnish words – just to show off my hard-learnt vocabulary to my work colleagues in Helsinki.

Ten Short Finnish Jokes

Finnish jokes seem to involve primarily 3 subjects:

	- Drinking
	- Being taciturn
	- Swedes

Here is a small selection of short Finnish jokes collected from various sources (I'll keep the longer jokes for a later date).

Disclaimer: Laughs not guaranteed.

Your Name Means Nothing To Me

One of the many challenges of trying to learn Finnish is that the vocabulary is so very different from other languages. I have already mentioned how words don't come easy to me, not least because I have a terrible memory.

As a result, I have had to develop various strategies to try and remember words. One of these is an obsessive analysis of Finnish surnames.

Top of the Finn-Pops

Have you wondered how many Finnish acts have actually appeared in the UK's top-40 pop charts? Oh, so it's just me then.

Well the answer (since you don't ask) is: not many.