Let's aspire to not aspirate. Aspiration is a feature in Germanic languages, which can be found in most varieties of English. It means releasing a concise but violent puff of air while producing the sounds [k], [p], and [t] beginning stressed syllables, as in kind, pampered, tomcat. However, when one of these three sounds appears after the sound [s], or ends a syllable, the sounds are unaspirated, as in skydiving, wasp, stung, or Mick, lip, fat. In Finnish, [k], [p], and [t] are always unaspirated regardless of their place in the word. Native English speakers from India, Pakistan, and some parts of Africa often pronounce the sounds like Finns do - no huffing and puffing.
The instructions refer to General American English unless stated otherwise.
IPA
Notes
Examples
B
[b]
as in "banana"
zombi, banaani
C
[k], [s]
appears only in rare loanwords; usually an unaspirated [k] as in the French "café"
cancan, café
D
[d]
as in "domino"
domino, video
F
[f]
as in "festival"
ufo, festivaali
G
[g], [ŋ]
usually as in "gorilla", never as in "gentleman"
gorilla, agentti
H
[h], [ɦ], [ç], [x]
[h] in the beginning of the word, as in "hiccup"
hikka, haiku
J
[j]
always like the word initial Y in English, as in "yeti", never like the English J, as in "jolly"
jeti, jojo
K
[k]
unaspirated; always as in "risk", never as in "kiss"
kilogramma, riski
L
[l]
as in "lotus"
lootus, Englanti
M
[m], [ɱ]
most often pronounced as [m], as in "mascot"
samba, maskotti
N
[n], [ŋ], [ɱ]
almost always pronounced as [n], as in "noodle"
nuudeli, fani
P
[p]
unaspirated; always as in "sponsor", never as in "pirate"
panda, sponsori
Q
[k], [kʋ], [kw]
extremely rare and appears only in loanwords; most often an unaspirated [k] as in the Spanish word "tequila"
tequila, quiche
R
[r]
the "Scottish R" also found in Italian, Spanish, Greek, and Russian; produced by making the tip of the tongue vibrate against the ridge behind the upper front teeth; "rock music" with bagpipes
rock-musiikki, dinosaurus
S
[s], [ʃ]
usually as in "silk", never as in "easy", or "decision"
silkki, illuusio
T
[t]
unaspirated; always as in "pessimist", never as in "tango"
tango, pessimisti
V
[ʋ]
close to "vampire" but more relaxed
vampyyri, diiva
W
[ʋ], [w], [u]
extremely rare and appears only in loanwords; almost always pronounced as a [ʋ]
kiwi, watti
X
[ks]
extremely rare; always as in "Exterminate!", never as in "existence"
ex-partneri
Z
[ts]
rare and found only in loanwords; as in "paparazzi", never as in "zone"
zen, gorgonzola
Seeing double
Long consonant sounds are marked by double letters or ng. The Finnish double letter sounds are very similar to those found in Italian. Splitting words with long consonants into syllables usually helps those with trouble pronouncing them: alt-to, mok-ka, karamel-li, bas-so.
IPA
Notes
Examples
KK
[kː]
as in the Italian "mocca"; or "black_cat", but unaspirated
gekko
LL
[lː]
as in "soul_love"
balladi
MM
[mː]
as in "beam_me up"
gramma
NN
[nː]
as in "heaven_not hell"
savanni
PP
[pː]
as in the Italian "cappuccino"; or "stop_panicking", but unaspirated
ooppera
RR
[rː]
as in the Italian "guerra"
terrieri
SS
[sː]
as in "this_state"
passi
TT
[tː]
as in the Italian "frutti"; or "to be, or not_to be", but unaspirated
botti
NG
[ŋː]
as in the Spanish "tango"
tango
In spoken language and some loanwords BB, DD, FF, GG, HH, JJ, and VV are also possible.
Good luck and congratulations!
The Finnish expressions onnea and paljon onnea can be used both to wish someone good luck and to congratulate them.
Tervetuloa ja onnea!
Welcome and good luck/congratulations!
Paljon onnea Matti!
Congratulations/Best wishes Matti!
Well, hello there!
The word no is a filler word used to make moving from one topic to another less awkward, or to make something less formal and in your face. It is usually translated as "well".
No, terve! Minä olen Otso. Kukas sinä olet?
Well, hello! I am Otso. Who are you?
Minä olen Anna. No, tervetuloa!
I am Anna. Well, welcome!