Language/Finnish/Grammar/Basic-Finnish-Phonetics

Finnish Grammar → Introduction to Finnish → Basic Finnish Phonetics

Learning Finnish phonetics is an essential part of mastering the Finnish language. As a Finnish language teacher with 20 years of experience, I have found that my students who understand the basics of Finnish phonetics make faster progress in their language acquisition journey.

Finnish Vowels and Consonants

Finnish has 8 vowels and 18 consonants. The Finnish language is known for its vowel harmony, which means that the vowels in a word must match each other in terms of their frontness or backness.

Finnish Vowels

Finnish has 8 vowels. There are 2 types of Finnish vowels: back vowels and front vowels. Back vowels are pronounced with the tongue in the back of the mouth, while front vowels are pronounced with the tongue in the front of the mouth.

Finnish back vowels are: a, o, and u. Finnish front vowels are: ä, ö, and y. Finnish also has two vowel pairs: i/e and u/o.

It is important to note that the Finnish letter “a” can be pronounced in two different ways: short and long. The short “a” sound is pronounced similar to the “a” in the English word “hat”, while the long “a” sound is pronounced similar to the “a” in the English word “father”.

Finnish Consonants

Finnish has 18 consonants. There are 4 types of Finnish consonants: voiceless, voiced, preaspirated, and geminate.

Finnish voiceless consonants are: k, p, t, and s. Finnish voiced consonants are: g, b, d, and z. Finnish preaspirated consonants are: k, p, and t. Finnish geminate consonants are: kk, pp, tt, ll, mm, nn, and ss.

Finnish Phonetics and Pronunciation Rules

Finnish phonetics operate based on a set of rules that must be learned by non-native speakers. Here are some general Finnish pronunciation rules:

- Finnish words are pronounced exactly as they are spelled. - Stress is placed on the first syllable of a word. - Every sound must be clearly enunciated in Finnish pronunciation. - Every syllable in Finnish must be clearly emphasized.

Finnish Pronunciation Practice

The best way to practice Finnish pronunciation is by speaking the language on a regular basis with native Finnish speakers. Additionally, recording yourself speaking Finnish and listening back to it can help you identify areas that need improvement.

Here are some common Finnish words and phrases along with their pronunciation that will help you get started:

Finnish	Pronunciation	English Translation
Hei	[ˈhei]	Hello
Kiitos	[ˈki.ɔ.tos]	Thank you
Hyvää päivää	[ˈhy.ʋæː ˈpæi.ʋæː]	Good afternoon
Näkemiin	[ˈnæ.ke.miːn]	Goodbye

Conclusion

Learning Finnish phonetics is essential to the mastery of the Finnish language. By understanding the phonetics and pronunciation rules, you will be able to communicate more effectively with native speakers. Keep practicing and soon you will become proficient in the Finnish language!

Sources

• Finnish Phonology
• Finnish Language

Table of Contents - Finnish Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Introduction to Finnish

• Alphabet and Pronunciation
• Basic Sentence Structure

  ---

Greetings and Introductions

• Basic Greetings
• Introducing Yourself

  ---

Nouns and Adjectives

• Noun Cases
• Adjective Agreement

  ---

Numbers and Time

• Numbers 1-20
• Telling Time

  ---

Verbs and Tenses

• Present Tense
• Past Tense

  ---

Daily Activities

• Daily Routine
• Hobbies and Leisure

  ---

Questions and Negation

• Forming Questions
• Negation

  ---

Food and Dining

• Food Vocabulary
• Dining Out

  ---

Prepositions and Postpositions

• Prepositions
• Postpositions

  ---

Travel and Transportation

• Modes of Transportation
• Travel Phrases

  ---

Finnish Culture and Traditions

• Holidays and Celebrations
• Finnish Sauna

  ---

Weather and Seasons

• Weather Vocabulary
• Seasons

  ---

Conjunctions and Subordinate Clauses

• Conjunctions
• Subordinate Clauses

  ---

Family and Relationships

• Family Members
• Relationships

  ---

Finnish Literature and Music

• Finnish Literature
• Finnish Music

Related Lessons

• Sami and Karelian Languages
• Negation
• Imperative Mood
• Indefinite Articles in Finnish
• How to Use Have
• Possessive Case in Finnish
• Conditional Mood
• Finnish Adjectives and Pronouns
• Finnish Verbs: Present Tense
• Sentence Structure