Are you Swedish and want to perfect your Finnish pronunciation? This practical guide is brought to you in English. Do not let that deter you and instead let it entice you to mastering your Finnish vowels.
Background#
To understand why this guide was written I need to provide some context. I was born in Sweden and moved to England when I was 7-years old. Around the age of 12 my household switched to English as the main language and I did not use my Swedish daily after that. I have now lived in Finland almost 10 years, and whilst my Finnish is pretty awful, my pronunciation has often been praised.
When Swedish friends, colleagues and relatives of mine visit Finland we tend to speak a few random words in Finnish, especially since my daughter’s äidinkieli is Finnish, and words like "hissi" demand a good chuckle. When a Swedish speaker tries to pronounce Finnish words, and they understand the basics (e.g. double-consonant means a pause before), I found that vowels are often a sticking point.
This guide was conceived in my head over the last decade and has been my guide for pronouncing Finnish, as a native Swedish speaker who writes only in English. I hope someone finds it useful, but more importantly, entertaining.
Disclaimer#
I am not a language teacher, nor do I speak Finnish very well. And my written Swedish is on par with a 7-year old. If you do not know the Swedish alphabet this is likely to be useless. Although it might be easier to learn Swedish first and then use this guide to help you learn Finnish. That was a bad joke, though sadly, sometimes I feel it is true.
Letter mapping#
The "guide" is really just a mapping of letters. To use it, simply pronounce the Finnish letter as the corresponding Swedish letter. There are examples below to help you practice. And I suggest you practice with a Finnish speaker because you still need to "Finnish-ise" the letters a little bit, but it will be closer to the correct pronunciation, at least that is the goal.
Once you have gone through the examples, pick some random Finnish words and marvel at your improved pronunciation.
So low and behold, the table below.
| Finnish | Swedish |
|---|---|
| A | A |
| E | Ä |
| I | I |
| O | Å |
| U | Y |
| Y | U |
| Å | Å |
| Ä | Ä |
| Ö | Ö |
Examples#
Below are some example Finnish words with their English translation and pronunciation in Swedish using the vowel mapping above.
E#
| Word | Translation | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| vero | tax | värå |
| ehkä | maybe | ähkä |
O#
| Word | Translation | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| osta | buy | åsta |
| kiitos | thank you | kiitås |
U#
| Finnish | Translation | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| ulko | outdoor | ylkå |
| ujo | shy | yjå |
Y#
| Finnish | Translation | Pronounciation |
|---|---|---|
| ylös | up | ulös |
| ystävä | friend | ustävä |
