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Language skills: As an American, I was startled that Helsinki does not require Finnish
🇫🇮 Finland /Culture & Society

Language skills: As an American, I was startled that Helsinki does not require Finnish

From Helsingin Sanomat · () Finnish

Translated from Finnish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • American journalist Dawn Kikel lived in Helsinki during the summer and wanted to learn Finnish.
  • She was surprised to discover that speaking Finnish was not necessary.
  • One Finnish word recommended to her was “ihana,” meaning “wonderful” or “lovely.”

American journalist Dawn Kikel spent the summer living in Helsinki and wanted to learn Finnish. She was surprised to discover that she did not actually need to speak the language there.

The first Finnish word that stayed with her was not “thank you” or “hello,” but “ihana.” When she asked Anne Christine Dölling-Perroulaz outside Helsinki’s Central Library Oodi which Finnish words were essential, Dölling-Perroulaz suggested it without hesitation: “You will use it all the time in Finland.”

You will use it all the time in Finland.

— Anne Christine Dölling-PerroulazShe recommended the word “ihana” when asked which Finnish word a visitor should learn.
About this summary

Originally published by Helsingin Sanomat in Finnish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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