It's something I've struggled with before, back when I was only a tourist here. I'm afraid to use what little Finnish I know. What if it comes out garbled? What if I say "kylla" instead of "kyllä," or "muta" instead of "mutta" ? Clearly, this is something I'll have to overcome, and quickly.
I've been studying Finnish a little on my own with a beginner's textbook (that's oppikirja) that I bought while still in The States. I'm proud of the modest progress I've made as well as overwhelmed with how much there is still to learn. Finnish doesn't belong to the Indo-European language tree (as does English), and is instead Finno-Ugric. As you might imagine, this makes for a real dissimilarity between English and Finnish.
Fortunately for me and for all would-be Finnish learners, the language makes a lot of logical sense. It's really just that damn linguistic barrier between Finnish and my native language that makes learning it so difficult. It's been fun for Rami and me to go through it together, though; I read dialogues aloud from the oppikirja, piece together the meaning and attempt to wrap my head around verb conjugations and noun suffixes. He fills in the gaps. If it weren't a pursuit of such import to me, it would be a fun intellectual challenge.
The problem is, I find it hard to imagine a time when I'll feel equipped to actually use Finnish. It's not just Finnish I'm reticent to speak, though; I'm equally afraid of speaking English. I hate the idea of seeming like an ethnocentric American who thinks she can survive with English because "everyone here can speak it so well!" I mean, it's certainly true that the Finns generally tend to speak English quite well, but I don't want to rely on their skills to make up for my lack of facility with their language. If I really want to assimilate as seamlessly as possible, I have to learn Finnish as well as possible. I just wish I knew how "well" is possible for me.
Welcome to the club! I try to justify my ineptude by pointing out to others (well, mostly myself) that I speak other languages, so the problem can't be me, it must be Finnish. But deep down, I know that's not true. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI can relate. It can be pretty debilitating but, It's important to get out there, give everyone you meet the benefit of the doubt, take what comes, and try. I know that in the Czech Rep., just saying "hello", "thank you", and "good-bye" was very much appreciated by those I encountered. Even if it meant the rest of the conversation was all in English. I found that my students in Prague were confused as to why I would spend time tring to learn a language that is not spoken anywhere else. (!)So, I am not suggesting giving up, I'm just suggesting that people may be more forgiving than you expect. Full disclosure, I will never forget when I was in Aix on the side-walk,yelling up to Florian (who is German) to throw down some grocery bags for me, a woman passed me on the street and said, in English: "You could AT LEAST say that in FRENCH!" But, alas, the bourgeoisie in France, I imagine, probably don't have many things in commone with the Fins. And, well, I hope not!
ReplyDeleteLearning a language can be hard, but, the more you use it, the better you'll get. One of my friend's dad learned English by watching cartoons, maybe something like that would help.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think people are more forgiving than you realize if you goof. Unfortunately, Americans tend to not want to learn other languages, so to be the exception definitely gives you bonus points.
You have all the tools you need to do this: you live there, have a husband who speaks the language, you have the smarts, you can do it.
I wish Rosetta Stone had Finnish, I love the way they teach language, it's much how you learned your first language. Practice, practice, practice, and don't get discouraged.
PS, whenever the Fisherman's talking in Cantonese, I'll ask him what different phrases mean. That also helps :)