4.8.1 Finnish Grammars, primers, phrase books: p3
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This article is from the Nordic countries FAQ, by Antti Lahelma and Johan Olofsson, with numerous contributions by others.
4.8.1 Finnish Grammars, primers, phrase books: p3
Fred Karlsson: Finnish Grammar (tr Andrew Chesterman, WSOY,
Porvoo-Helsinki-Juva, 1983).
Finnish edition: Suomen peruskielioppi (1982)
Swedish edition: Finsk grammatik (1978).
Karrlsson systematically covers the grammar of Finnish. This
is an excellent book - the grammar rules are easy to read and
understand and numerous examples are given. The book uses a very
clear and understandable style of layout. However, it is a
grammar and will need to be used in conjunction with other
material. [NOM]
I've got this book, and while I find it useful, I'd
hesitate to call it "excellent". It's difficult to find things
in it sometimes, it doesn't cover everything (e.g. I would dearly
love to have information on such things as the use of "fossilised"
cases (e.g. maanatai/sin, posti/tse) and I find the rule blocks
written entirely in capitals difficult to read. There is
definite room for improvement. [Matthew Faupel]
Aira Haapakoski, Seija Koski & Mirja Valkesalmi: HUOMENTA SUOMI (Valtion
painatuskeskus, Helsinki, 1990, ISBN 951-861-175-0)
I've used it for adults and children. It
illustrates basic grammar fairly clearly and may make teaching
grammar more fun, it does not, however, give verbal rules, mainly
the info is given in "boxes". Huomenta Suomi costs around 100
FIM (= $25 CAD). [Marja Coady]
Marjatta Karanko & Ulla Talvitie: TOTTAKAI! (Oy Finn Lectura Ab, Loimaan
kirjapaino, Loimaa 1993, ISBN 951-8905-71-1)
I have not used it much yet but it would seem to
be suitable especially for teenagers since its texts are geared
towards them. Grammar is explained somewhat and the book
contains exercises as well. Everything is done in Finnish.
[Marja Coady]
Meri Lehtinen: Basic Course in Finnish (Ural and Altaic Series #27,
Indiana UP, Bloomington, 1963)
A huge book, full of drills. Unfortunately now out of
print. [Lance Eccles]
Terttu Leney: Teach Yourself Finnish (New Version, Hodder and Stoughton,
ISBN 0-340-56174-2) [An audio casette is also available]
Whitney's notorious _Teach Yourself Finnish_ has been
superseded by a new Finnish textbook compiled according to the
Council of Europe's Threshold guidelines on language learning.
It is an excellent introduction to spoken and written
Finnish. [Eugene Holman]
Teach Yourself has just recently brought out a
new version. A colleague recckons its pretty good. [Matthew Faupel]
The new version seems to be a *much* better
book [Antti Lahelma]
Anneli Lieko: Suomen kielen fonetiikkaa ja fonologiaa ulkomaalaisille
(1992) [Finnish phonetics and phonology for foreigners].
A clearly written presentation of the Finnish sound
system intended for foreigners with a good reading knowledge
of the language. The book concentrates on the learning
difficulties foreigners speaking a wide range
of languages face when trying to master Finnish pronunciation.
[Eugene Holman]
I would like to say that the book is certainly useful
but far from being a complete presentation of Finnish phonetics and
phonology for foreigners. It does not, for example, specify exactly
when a two-vowel pair is pronounced as a diphthong (instead of two
vowels belonging to distinct syllables), nor does it describe the
rules for secondary stress in Finnish. Admittedly, these are areas
which have not been studied extensively enough, and they seldom have
any phonematic effect. But the phenomena certainly affect the
naturalness of one's speech in Finnish. [Jukka "Yucca" Korpela]
Olli Nuutinen: Suomea Suomeksi 1. (Suomalaisen Sirjallisuuden Seura,
Helsinki, repr. 1992) Vocabuary available in Danish, Icelandic,
French, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, English, German, and Italian.
Teaches everything in Finnish only. Probably less suitable
for self studies. No audio cassettes available. As a student
I know only this one and can't compare, but my impression is
quite good. Seems to be up to date. The German vocabulary
contains many errors. [Uwe Geuder]
At first the book looks extremely childish but all of
the grammar is there. I have found it quite effective when used in
tandem with Karlsson's grammar. I first used this book in
1982 and I would guess it was first published in the
late 70's. This book makes Finnish feel EASY and
with a little imagination is fun to learn from (and teach with!).
[Cecelia A Musselman].
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