About the Finnish LanguageFinnish belongs to the Finnic branch of the Finno-Ugric family of languages.Its closest relative is Estonian; Hungarian is a distant cousin.It is spoken by approximately 5.2 million people, mostly in Finland, and by some in Sweden and Russia as well.Thereare three varieties of standard Finnish which are spoken throughout the country:kirjakieli("book language") - used in official documents, official speeches and the daily news,yleiskieli -the standard language used in schools; it is formal and correct, though more relaxed than the "book language," andpuhekieli("spoken language") -more casual variety used in everyday conversation, which changes frequently.This course teaches the standard Finnishlanguage,yleiskieli.The Pimsleur® Method: the easiest, fastest way to learn a new language. Completely portable, easily downloadable, and lots of fun. Youll be speaking and understanding in no time flat!Each lesson of Finnish Phase 1, Unit 01-05 provides 30 minutes of spoken language practice, with an introductory conversation, and new vocabulary and structures. Detailed instructions enable you to understand and participate in the conversation. Each lesson contains practice for vocabulary introduced in previous lessons. The emphasis is on pronunciation and comprehension, and on learning to speakFinnish. |