Ask a Finnish Teacher
  • Blog
  • About
  • Ask a Question
  • Private lessons
  • Finnish courses
Picture

What is "puhekieli"?

23/11/2018

 
My KPT-post has proved trickier to write than I expected (but it's coming!) so in the meantime, a question that I answered in the Facebook Finnish study group Let's Learn Finnish Language. Kirez, who asked the question, has kindly allowed me  to publish his question along with my answer here. 

Kirez writes: 

Hyvä ilta!
Google translate käännä “puheikielallä” as “speech language”...
I’m guessing a better translation is “vernacular”?

It gives me no translation for “yleiskielallä” - I’m guessing more formal or written language?

"Puhekieli" or spoken language usually refers to standard spoken Finnish (also "yleispuhekieli"). In my opinion, vernacular is not a great translation, as vernacular usually refers to more specific dialects or registers - in Finnish, vernacular is "kansankieli" or "paikallismurre" (local dialect). Like in all spoken varieties of any language, there is no one fixed form of standard spoken Finnish: forms vary depending on the area the speaker is from and the context the language is spoken in, and there isn't a clear cut line between "yleispuhekieli" and more specific registers of the language. However, the forms used in the Helsinki region are often seen as the neutral choice (but obviously it depends on who you ask!). 

"Yleiskieli" is indeed a more formal version of Finnish and can be translated as standard Finnish. In its written form, it's also referred to as "kirjakieli". Spoken yleiskieli is used mainly in formal situations (often the speaker is reading out loud or has written and memorized what they're going to say), like the news, scripted shows on radio or tv, plays etc. In its written form yleiskieli is also called "kirjakieli", literally "book language" usually translated as standard written Finnish.
Picture

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    March 2023
    December 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018

Ask a Finnish Teacher / Toiminimi Mari Nikonen


BUSINESS ID (Y-Tunnus) 2930787-4 
​VAT NUMBER FI29307874 

​Kaupintie 11 B
00440 Helsinki

If you'd like to send me something in the mail, please email me for my postal address. 

​mari@askafinnishteacher.com
​+358 40 554 29 55


© COPYRIGHT 2015-2022 Mari nikonen. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Blog
  • About
  • Ask a Question
  • Private lessons
  • Finnish courses