The Finnish find that they are rather skilled in foreign languages, 77% in comparison with the European average of 44%. Occasionally I see some posters in English or advertisements. The amount of language they speak in Africa are estimated to be 2,000 languages. How Widely Spoken is English in Gibraltar? Wikipedia says not many people speak English, but another source I know says that 50% do. But how widely spoken is English there? Finns are among the top speakers of English as a second language in the world. For a list, see Names of places in Finland in Finnish and in Swedish. Malaysia is a very vibrant and growing country in South East Asia, with a tropical climate and plenty of lure for tourists. Helsinki, the capital, had a Swedish-speaking majority until late in the 19th century. They are usually very helpful and friendly when approached, but generally only talk when they have something to say, not because they have to say something.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'howwidelyspoken_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_6',109,'0','0'])); There is the old joke about the two Finns in the bar that sums up this mentality well. I recently returned from a trip that included Helsinki, the capital. Swedish reaches these criteria in 59 out of 336 municipalities located in Åland (where this does not matter) and the coastal areas of Ostrobothnia region, Southwest Finland (especially in Åboland outside Turku) and Uusimaa. (Assuming, of course, your chosen study programme is offered in English.) There are six major linguistic categories spoken in Africa. The Finnish language is consistently ranked as one of the most difficult to learn, due to complex verb and sentence structure which can take many years to master. But I probably could learn the basics in about a year. [2] It is a Finnic language closely related to Estonian and less closely to the Sami languages. Outside these areas there are some towns with significant Swedish-speaking minorities not reaching the criteria. You don’t need to know any Finnish as an international student in Finland. 4) Denmark . The Swedish dialects spoken in Finland mainland are known as Finland-Swedish. Don't let it stop you from asking anyone questions in English … While the comparison does not include traditionally English-speaking countries, it does include some such as Singapore, the Philippines, Pakistan, South Africa and … I'm wondering about Tampere, specifically, and if they speak much english there. However, it still always helps to have a few basic phrases to at least show appreciation for the locals and the culture. As well as Finnish and Swedish, and a number of other languages. The Finnish language dates back about 500 hundred years and is closely related to Estonian and a little less closely related to the Sami languages. Finns tends to be shy and economical with words, but very friendly and loyal once you get to know them. Finns follow all the traditional sports religiously, and every now and then new competitions come along, like carrying a wife, throwing a cell phone, or dancing tango. Kiitos can be used at the end of sentences but often isnât. A more recent estimate is that there are 5000 first language speakers in Finland but the size of the language community is 30,000.[8]. The Finns are also not very emotive or expressive as some other cultures are. That Finns are amongst the best English speakers in Europe, apart from the English of course. We use cookies on this site to improve the user experience. You can find some American products in supermarkets (French’s mustard, Heinz ketchup, Doritos, Listerine, and others). [4] Swedish is a North Germanic language, closely related to Norwegian and Danish. That said, in spite of all of this talk of English fluency, the Finns in general are not known to be the most talkative population in the world. This is mainly due to the demand from the business community and the fact that there is a high standard of living in Finland, meaning many people can afford to pay for the luxury of private English lessons. Authorities of the central administration have to serve the public in both official languages, regardless of location, and in Sami in certain circumstances. Finnish (endonym: suomi or suomen kieli [ˈsuo̯meŋ ˈkie̯li]) is a Uralic language of the Finnic branch spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. Finnish reaches the criteria everywhere but in Åland and in three municipalities in the Ostrobothnia region, which is also the only region on the Finnish mainland with a Swedish-speaking majority (52% to 46%). As a subbranch of Indo-European, it is also closely related to other Germanic languages such as German, Dutch, and English. Could it be related to the practices, such as subtitles on TV ? Like most languages, you can learn to speak Finnish with time, effort, and dedication. Finland ranks sixth after neighbouring Nordic countries Sweden, Denmark and Norway, as well as Singapore. Culture. I’m from Northern Finland and the only English-speaking country I’ve been to is UK. What sets the Scandinavian countries out from the rest of the world is not just prevalence of English speakers, but the excellent command and fluency in English they have.eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'howwidelyspoken_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_4',108,'0','0']));eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'howwidelyspoken_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_5',108,'0','1'])); A 2015 survey placed Finns fourth in the world for English speaking proficiency, with the highest competency in the legal and tourist professions, but with very high overall fluency across the whole sample. If you are travelling to Finland and do not speak Finnish, you'll have no problems getting help if you need it in English. The subtitles can encourage and make it easier to learn languages, and the respondents of the Nordic countries appreciate the subtitles (93% of the Finns), so this would mean that they are used to hear different languages on TV. They also like a drink or two! However, learning a few basic phrases is not usually too hard. Thanks. In Finland, approximately 4.9 million people speak Finnish as theirfirst language, and more than 0.5 million people speak it as a second language.Finnish is also spoken in Sweden, Norway, Eastern Karelia and Ingria (inRussia), and even in the USA and Australia. Finnish and Swedish are the official languages in Finland. English has been taught in Finnish schools for a very long time now, so most people except the very oldest generations will be able to speak it to some degree, many of them very fluently. The main language in Australia is English, but there are other cultures such as French, Russian, German and Italian. Mostly everyone speaks english in the Scandinavian countries. Finnish belongs to the Uralic languagegroup. Also, … The four largest Swedish-speaking communities in Finland, in absolute numbers, are those of Helsinki, Espoo, Porvoo and Vaasa, where they constitute significant minorities. 5) Finland . [9] This is the Karelian language which has several dialects, and not a Karelian dialect of the Finnish language. [10] The Russian language has no official status in Finland, though historically it served as the third co-official language with Finnish and Swedish for a relatively brief period between 1900 and 1917. A successfully completed language test is a prerequisite for governmental offices where a university degree is required. Currently 5.9%[5] of the population of Helsinki are native Swedish speakers and 15% are native speakers of languages other than Finnish and Swedish.[6]. People and culture. They live mostly in the western part of Finland and on Åland (Finnish Ahvenanmaa) . There are also several official minority languages: three variants of Sami, Romani, Finnish Sign Language and Karelian. Both Finnish and Swedish are compulsory subjects in school with an exception for children with a third language as their native language. 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