If you can learn how to pronounce all the Finnish, Polish, Czech, and Slovak last names in Michigan, names like this should be easy. There’s not even a bunch of silent consonants in there!
The problem is when they have mishmashed English and Finnish to make brand new words. Kowsit Lats = Cow Shit Flats, where people put their cows out to pasture.
You’re going to have to give some hints - my browser can’t translate that and Google thinks I’m looking for exercises, doesn’t even recognize it as Finnish……. Otherwise I’ll have to remember it as “cow shit flats” because I know what that is
The current pronunciation is closer to Cow Sit Lats.
“Finlanders gave the name to a broad meadow at the top of a hill where local farmers grazed their cattle. They had trouble pronouncing the English combinations “sh” and “fl,” so in their “Finnglish” argot they called the place Kowsit Lats.”
You’re gonna need an hour or so to teach ‘em the Ä, Ö, and Y letters; and pray they don’t take the hydrofoil over to Tallinn, because then they’re really gonna get confused. “🇫🇮👈🤬👉🇪🇪 What the hell is going on, you two!”
If you can learn how to pronounce all the Finnish, Polish, Czech, and Slovak last names in Michigan, names like this should be easy. There’s not even a bunch of silent consonants in there!
Mee-Chee-gaan.
Finnish is super easy to pronounce for Anglos. Just take your time and pronounce every letter.
And put the emphasis on the FIRST vowel.
It’s NO-kia, not No-KIA.
The problem is when they have mishmashed English and Finnish to make brand new words. Kowsit Lats = Cow Shit Flats, where people put their cows out to pasture.
You’re going to have to give some hints - my browser can’t translate that and Google thinks I’m looking for exercises, doesn’t even recognize it as Finnish……. Otherwise I’ll have to remember it as “cow shit flats” because I know what that is
The current pronunciation is closer to Cow Sit Lats. “Finlanders gave the name to a broad meadow at the top of a hill where local farmers grazed their cattle. They had trouble pronouncing the English combinations “sh” and “fl,” so in their “Finnglish” argot they called the place Kowsit Lats.”
You’re gonna need an hour or so to teach ‘em the Ä, Ö, and Y letters; and pray they don’t take the hydrofoil over to Tallinn, because then they’re really gonna get confused. “🇫🇮👈🤬👉🇪🇪 What the hell is going on, you two!”
Lol the mainland Estonian õ is pretty fatal too.
TIL: Estonia has islands, I guess I had seen them on the map before, it just never registered I guess.
Yeah they’re pretty big.
Ha! I almost mentioned that, too lol