About Finnish
There are nearly 5 million native Finnish speakers in the world. The Finnish language is spoken by most of the people in Finland, in addition to being the native language of many ethnic Finns outside of the country. In Sweden, it is an official minority language. Finnish is a Baltic-Finnic language, which is a subgroup of the Finno-Ugric language group.
It wasn’t until the 19th century that the Finnish language began to be used more commonly in Finland eventually moving it toward becoming the country’s national language. Before the 19th century, it had been primarily used in religious services. In 1893, Finnish became Finland’s official language. Over 90% of the population of Finland now speaks the language, while the remainder of the population (about 5%) speaks Swedish as a first language.
The modern Finnish language uses many loan words (borrowed words from other languages). When the language was first developing, it “borrowed” many words from the languages of the Indo-European family. Loan words from Swedish and Germanic languages are also used by Finnish speakers. As with many languages, English cultural words have also found their way into the Finnish language. As a global language in media and other business, many Finnish speakers and Finnish companies have adopted English words into their language.
If you are planning a trip to Finland, you will be able to communicate with a greater number of people by learning how to speak Finnish. While most Finnish people speak English these days, learning a few common Finnish phrases is a great way to get off on the right foot when traveling in the country. Simply making an effort to speak the native language is a respectful way to travel and to gain a more in-depth traveling experience.
Finnish is also a great language to learn if you are striving to master a second language. You will find that there are many ways to learn the Finnish language so that you can fit lessons into your schedule and adapt Finnish lessons to best meet your unique learning style. For instance, you may choose to take advantage of an innovative Finnish podcast that is suited to your current language level. Listening to audio lessons will help you to speak and comprehend Finnish accents with greater ease. Use additional tools to build up your understanding of the Finnish alphabet and Finnish words so that you can begin to put together sentences in order to more effectively communicate in a second language.