We’ve been rather too neglectful of Finnish, the language so beloved of Tolkien. The South-African-born philologist and mythmaker described his introduction to the Finnish tongue as being “like discovering a complete wine-cellar filled with bottles of an amazing wine of a kind and flavour never tasted before. It quite intoxicated me.” Aside from Tolkein’s love of the Finnish language, Elias Lönrott’s Kalevala epic was a central influence on the creation of The Lord of the Rings, as numerous scholars have written about.
I mentioned kaupunkilaissuomenruotsalaiset on Facebook the other day, and Sara piped up with the remainder of the following list of Finnish words. Don’t just read them with your eyes, pronounce them. As Tolkein understood, it is the spoken word which has true power.
pyyhkäisyelektronimikroskooppi — scanning electron microscope
paikallispuolustusjärjestelmä — local defense system
ylioppilastutkintolautakunta — matriculation examination board
tietojenkäsittelyjärjestelmä — data processing system
sotasyyllisyysoikeudenkäynti — war-guilt trial
muotokuvanpaljastustilaisuus — portrait unveiling
vahingonkorvausvelvollisuus — liability for damages
tekstinkäsittelyjärjestelmä — word processing system
kokonaisyksikkökustannukset — the total unit cost of
kaksitoistasäveljärjestelmä — twelve-note composition (wikipedia)
As speakers of Finnish manage come to the end of a word, how do they manage to remember how it began?
As speakers of Finnish come to the end of a word, how do they manage to remember how it began?
Any of these might make great computer pass-words, if 1) only one could remember them 2) correctly !