littlefinn

Actually, the phrase is often used about people who are arrogant, conceited, abrasive or unlikable due to their egotism. It might be about someone who is bitter, but if so it's because they aren't getting their way. At least that's how I usually hear it. As for that article explaining where it comes from, that doesn't really line up with the current usage at all. While idioms, phrases, can have literal meanings that explain the figurative meaning, sometimes the phrase develops so far from the original meaning over time that the link is lost. So the article explains it was likely that people would put chips of wood on their shoulders and dare someone else to knock it off in order to initiate a fight. If you really stretch you could see how it eventually maybe came to mean someone who starts fights all the time, and usually people who start a lot of fights are arrogant, and the meaning just changed.

I've never quite figured this out myself. It seems like a regional thing - this is true for a lot of words for items, especially food. Not that that clarifies the origins of the difference. Some people say catsup, some people say ketchup. I tend to associate catsup with rural areas, and older folk. It seems ketchup is the newer way of saying it, but both ways have been around for awhile. So yeah, you can use either word, ketchup seems more common, but it depends on who you're talking to, really.

Haha goodness, I wish I could! I don't know Finnish nearly well enough yet, although I'm curious as well. I do know how most of these are possible, though. (Here's my not-much-grammar-knowledge explanation:) Most of the time Finns just kind of don't use extra words. So instead of asking "Could I have coffee?" you say "Kahvi" (in a polite tone). So a lot of the words in these tongue twisters probably imply the actions needed. Many finnish words are combinations of other words. In fact, people have theorized that Finnish is an "infinite language", because it is set up so you can easily make new words. So you can combine fluffy and dog to mean a fluffy dog or a dog that seems fluffy, and so on. Although I'm not sure how 'bath whisk' (which is a bundle of branches, by the way), 'person', and the concept of responsibility all got tied in

A lot of the ideas here are great! I find I get bored of doing the same thing over and over, so I like to switch up how I practice. I've tried: - computer learning programs like Rosetta Stone and Byki - flash cards done in different ways - watching captioned television shows and movies - listening to music, especially if it has a translation - reading books, especially children's books, with either translations or that can be translated easily - making my own comics, poems, stories, so on - going to websites that are dual language or post dual language media - watching instructional language videos on youtube - reading language books and doing their exercises - listening to audio versions of language books - practicing with other speakers, of course Anything involving repetition I find the most useful, at least right now while I'm doing the basics. So flash cards and stuff like it is really useful, and the audio to language books is helpful for perfecting pronunciation.

Hi! I currently live in California of the US, though I grew up in Canada. I've moved around a lot, and that's part of the reason I no longer know Finnish like I did when I was a wee little one. I've been to Finland and loved it there, and since I want to go back to live there permanently, I'd like to learn the language so I will be able to immigrate without too many issues, and have a better base of knowledge for picking the language back up when I do move there. I love learning, but I have trouble sticking to it. So, hopefully this forum will help me figure out some ways to keep learning Finnish without getting burnt out!

Yes! Actually, part of my family is Finnish and I grew up knowing the language. However, for various reasons, as I grew up I was around Finnish speakers less, and talked it less and less, and it wasn't long before I forgot it completely. I've been to Finland once and it was amazing. I just really like the calmness, the nature, the people, and the way social interactions are so low pressure. I want to go back to go to school, since I have a citizenship and school costs here in the US are ridiculous. But before that I'd like to pick up at least some of the language again, so I have something to go off of. At least even during the short time I visited before, I started picking up the language again. It's very difficult! But I've been around it so much that at least for me it feels more natural than trying to learn other languages.

I'm a self learner, although honestly I wish I could take a class. I do a lot better in a structured environment. Unfortunately I don't have the money or the ability to go to school right now, and Finnish isn't really a commonly offered language. Which is also difficult because it's hard to find other people I can have conversations with, who can help me with my Finnish. I'm working on getting my learning structured, which at least in a non-school environment I can try a lot of different methods of learning and figure out what works best for me. I just keep getting burnt out.

Tongue twisters are actually great for developing pronunciation (which must be why some teachers force you to do them). These are all Finnish, with the English translations in parenthesis. I have these saved for practice, but I can't even say half of these slowly yet! Yksikseskös yskiskelet, itsekseskös itkeskelet, yksikseskös istuskelet, itkeskellen yskiskelet. (Are you coughing alone, crying by yourself, sitting alone, coughing while crying?) Vesihiisi sihisi hississä. (The water goblin hissed in an elevator.) Vasta vastaa vasta vastaavasta vastavastaavasta. (The bath whisk answers only for the respective person responsible for the bath whisk.) Keksijä Keksi keksi keksin. Keksittyään keksin keksijä Keksi keksi keksin keksityksi (Inventor Cookie invented the cookie. After inventor Cookie had invented the cookie, he invented that the cookie was invented.) Appilan pappilan apupapin papupata. (The bean casserole of the deacon of the rectory of Appila.) Piukka paikka, peikko: paukku puikko poikki. (It’s a tough situation, troll: the bang stick is broken.) Kokoa kokoon koko kokko! Koko kokkoko? Koko kokko. (Gather up a full bonfire! A full bonfire? A full bonfire.)