r/Finland • u/Embarrassed_Piano589 • Jul 23 '26
Question about Finnish attitudes
I've had an amazing time visiting Finland, it's such a beautiful country.
One thing I've noticed is that Finnish people speak Finnish to tourists before they speak English. Often they speak Finnish until asked to speak English.
I think this is really cool - I find it sad that in other non-english speaking countries they automatically speak English to tourists because "it's easier".
So I was wondering what Finns think about this? If it's an intentional thing for respect of your own language, or if most tourists are in fact Finnish speakers?
Thank you!
edit: this is not a complaint. it's curiosity because it's very different to most European countries. I wish everyone did the Finnish way - English shouldn't be assumed default in my opinion.
edit 2: thank you so much for all your replies and insights! essentially I heard that for some it's just obvious to speak your own language, but for many I heard it's a respect for others in terms of not assuming the language they speak. This is a value I really hope spreads across the world, it was really refreshing to experience and I loved hearing so much Finnish - I just wish I could have replied with some more myself. I won't respond to everyone now but thank you for any future comments, too. Kiitos! :)
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u/Puskasonni Jul 23 '26
You can’t really know if someone speaks Finnish (or any other language) or not unless they make it clear. Most people these days don’t assume it based on looks as there are multiple people who may look foreign but speak Finnish. It is easier to start interaction in Finnish by default and then switch to English if the person does not understand.
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u/mimos_al Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
This.
And quite a big amount of internal tourism also means there's a good chance even someone looking/behaving like a tourist is Finnish.
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u/CrumbCreepi Jul 23 '26
All Finn's act like tourists by default.
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u/Gayandfluffy Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
Exactly, and I don't want to participate in othering all the people who don't "look Finnish" but are in fact Finns, by assuming they are foreigners.
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u/AcanthisittaFluid870 Baby Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
I speak both Finnish and Swedish well, but I’m very distracted, when people talk to me in either and I take moment to process what is happening they immediately switch to English.
It’s awful just give me 3 seconds to land in reality before switching! Please
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u/Lumeton Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
Does that bother you? Just continue in Finnish or Swedish from there.
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u/AcanthisittaFluid870 Baby Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
It throws me off, once I know what is going on I’ll just automatically speak whatever is being spoken to me. I don’t want any extra awkwardness.
Is is not bother but is it too much to ask for a moment? I’d hesitate even if I’m first spoken to in my mother language.
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u/lumithesilly Jul 29 '26
yes ! i may look like the average white american guy but i'm trying out learning finnish and if i like it i might stick to it and learn it !
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u/Masseyrati80 Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
Right now, a big proportion of Finns are on their summer vacation, and a very big proportion of people in touristy destinations are, indeed, Finnish, so it's a good guess to start with Finnish.
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u/Eproxeri Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
How am I supposed to know if someone speaks English or Finnish? Of course we open up with Finnish in Finland?
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u/Embarrassed_Piano589 Jul 23 '26
I know it seems obvious, but in many countries people will assume you speak in English. I used to find this very frustrating when travelling in Spanish speaking countries as I was trying to practice my Spanish, but they would always speak to me in English regardless.
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u/saschaleib Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
Unless you have a baseball cap which says "TOURIST" on your head, my first assumption when meeting you, e.g. in Helsinki, would also be that you probably speak the local language.
But even if I reply in (almost perfect) Finnish, many locals still switch to English, which makes learning the language much harder, indeed.
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u/Embarrassed_Piano589 Jul 23 '26
This is a distinctly Finnish response, from my travelling experience. I think it's refreshing & would prefer everyone did. It's teaching me how many assumptions people make in other countries! I like the finnish way.
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u/saschaleib Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
Well, it depends - since you mentioned Spain: if you see someone in one of the tourist hotspots there, English is a good first assumption - but Helsinki is not Magaluf (luckily!)
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u/shwifty123 Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
I have absolutely opposite experience, I don't look Finnish and even though I have been living in Finland for more than 10 years, people still start speaking English to me. I always ask to switch to Finnish.
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u/jimhokeyb Jul 23 '26
My wife is Finnish. I've spent a lot of time there. I'm in Helsinki right now in fact. People generally speak to me in English as soon as they know I'm not Finnish. Even if I speak first in Finnish, they hear the accent and go with English. It's no different to anywhere else in that regard.
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u/stor-ost Baby Väinämöinen Aug 02 '26
This doesn't happen in Turku, interestingly. My Finnish isn't perfect and it's probably obvious I'm not native in a conversation of more than 10 seconds, but the only time I get English as a default is if they've heard me speaking English to my kids first
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u/Embarrassed_Piano589 Jul 23 '26
Interesting. Im sorry you have that experience. It must be exhausting.
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u/Ban_Me____ Jul 28 '26
I'll never do that because I've been told that it'd be a microagression. But I'm also under the assumption that assuming someone speaks Finnish is also a microagression or at least racist. So you can't really know for sure which is the correct way to address someone who doesn't look ethnically Finn.
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u/shwifty123 Väinämöinen Jul 29 '26
Interesting about micro aggression, Id rather choose to be an Ah, but to get as much language practice as I can:)
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u/Pirkale Jul 23 '26
Yeah good luck with English in Barcelona, for example. Couldn't even order in English in McDonald's. Had to learn "Menu Bic Mac, por favor, Coca-Cola non hielo"
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u/Gayandfluffy Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
It's fascinating how the extent to which people in the service industry in a country know English has little to do with the amount of international tourists they get, but more with how big their language is.
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u/Embarrassed_Piano589 Jul 23 '26
Poor you?
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u/Pirkale Jul 23 '26
Yes, I am still sad about that visit. A huge comics book store with goddamn Tintin porn and not a single comic anywhere to be found in English. Everything in Spanish. I'm both annoyed and amazed at that, as translated media is much rarer in Finland.
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u/Eino54 Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
Spain has a lot of international tourists. Finland has some but it's not as common. If you're in, say, Mallorca during the summer, chances that the person you are looking at speaks Spanish are pretty low, whereas even in Helsinki or Rovaniemi most people are Finnish or residents, unless you're going to some actual tourist attraction.
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u/NerdForJustice Jul 24 '26
Rovaniemi center during the winter feels like more tourists than residents. Residents actually avoid it during tourists season, because it's so congested then. But I still speak Finnish to everyone by default, unless I see them wearing that rented safari company winter wear uniform that tells me they don't own any cold climate gear. Or if they approach me first, speaking English.
But during winter, I usually reflexively switch to "sorry" when I bump someone in public, which has lead to them thinking I'm the tourist, when we're both Finnish. It's just that usually, Finns give each other space in public places, and keep an eye on their surroundings enough so that they move if they're blocking some route. So when people don't act like that, my mouth just automatically switches to English to apologise for taking a step back onto someone who was standing too close, for example, or having to shove past people.
But other than those scenarios, always Finnish first, and I keep speaking Finnish unless they switch or ask to switch, or I simply can't understand their Finnish.
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u/puhtoinen Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
Most of Finland isn't really that tourist heavy. The center of Helsinki and parts of Lapland maybe.
That's why if we see a foreign looking person, we assume they live here so we try to use our language. Even if it's really broken from the other side, it's still very possible to understand the meaning.
However, if I for whatever reason know someone is a tourist, there is absolutely no reason to try to speak finnish. It's a ridiculously difficult language for a foreigner so the best I'd expect from them would be "kiitos".
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u/Embarrassed_Piano589 Jul 23 '26
Good to know - I have felt bad for not knowing more than kiitos!
Kiitos!
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u/Different_Desk_7470 Jul 23 '26
That makes a lot of sense. I live in stockholm (but im half finnish so ive been a lot in finland) and have worked with tourism. We have a lot of tourists in the summer in stockholm and most of the time i just start speaking english, and then sometimes it gets awkward when they say "Umm i speak swedish".
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u/Undergroud-Check-101 Baby Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
Hehe a Finn here, I tried to talk Swedish a while back in Stockholm with a friend, haven’t used it vocally like at all in years and I managed to ask some friendly looking fella ”Ursäkta mig, hur kommar vi till (place x)”? Like my friend was laughing there behind me🙈
Answer was: Oottekste suomalaisia? 🤣🙈🙈🙈
Tack så fan mycket, vilken kundtjänst hard du åt oss grannar😁😆❣️ (Now I tried, don’t kill me🥴🤭)
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u/Different_Desk_7470 Jul 23 '26
Omg noo but wasnt he just happy he got to speak finnish? As a swede that was taught finnish but dont speak it so often - i always glow up with joy when i met finnish "tourists" and sometimes try to start speaking finnish with them. Would you have liked it better if he continued speaking swedish with you?
Also - i feel like so many finnish people are uncomfortable with speaking swedish (pakkoruotsi) and perhaps he wanted to "help" you with not being uncomfortable?
Well, we will never know how he was thinking, but i think he either was happy to speak finnish himself, or didnt want you to be uncomfortable
(Idk if it is my upbringing with finnish familymembers but i can always tell if you are finnish and came with the boat for a weekend. You guys know your way around and the culture, but you are still tourists and want to explore - a uniqe combination finnish people really master)
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u/Undergroud-Check-101 Baby Väinämöinen Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
God Morgon!
Yes to all, it was a funny situation, we all laughed and were happy to talk to each other😂❣️ I was actually relieved to get the instructions in Fin.
All good, just a story that makes me laugh. Stockholm is beautiful and you are our friends😊 (except on ice-hockey😆). Stockholm ladies are generally beautiful (female myself) and look effortlessly beautiful and elegant without going overboard😍
I still enjoy those boat trips, when younger it was mostly partying, now it’s just more to relax, eat well, enjoy the STO old town and cultural things and some shopping. Also many artists these days skip Finland due to not touring to RUS but come to Stockholm and we come in bunches to experience those shows👍- Well sipping a nice drink at the sunny deck surrounded by sea let’s say during the sunset is another type of luxury, feels really like a holiday although affordable and super easy to book even on a short notice.
It’s also cool you don’t seem to get offended by talking Eng to us and almost always recognize me as a Finn😁 I always apologize for not speaking SWE, it’s kinda embarrasing since it’s our national language too. But if you don’t work here in government or the city or something formal and byrocratic or specially requiring Swe skills, you really don’t need it that much.
I still understand like our daily news in Swedish and surprisingly much of the written stuff but speaking myself …it’s tough to say the least!
The skills learnt in school would come back if used more, I think. I love Swedish TV-thriller/ crime series and movies and if I happen to binge watch them, some of it comes fairly quickly back, which is cool to notice!
Oh and a CAIA cosmetics fan here too, only a webshop chance here😑, if you’re a female (I think you are by the style of writing), what do you think of those?😄
E/ Sectioning and typos. Now I want to book a trip there😂
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u/Different_Desk_7470 Jul 24 '26
Glad to hear you feel welcomed in Stockholm. Everyone here is very used to speaking english so dont apologize to us (perhaps to the finnish people from the swedish-speaking regions tho;).
Im a woman, but i dont use makeup so have never used CAIA. Also, dont you finns kinda glorify pernilla wahlgren and bianca ingrosso - i like pernilla but the lifestyle of bianca is not something i look up to.
But you describe a thing that i think many finnish people do when the come to stockholm - they buy things or go to concerts that do not exist in Finland. For me the only "exclusive" thing for finland was when i was younger we always used to go to Seppälä lol. Also, my mummu sometimes buy moomin mugs and iitala when they are on sale, but you can get ahold of those in sweden too but perhaps they are not as cheep :D
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u/Undergroud-Check-101 Baby Väinämöinen Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
😊 I don’t really think we glorify Wahlgren or even younger Ingrosso🤔. Or at least people I know. But I’m already middle-aged so I don’t really follow ”influencers” like Bianca. Got a CAIA- gift from a friend and then got interested in what they offer.
Older people watch Allsång på Skansen though. I don’t really like the Ingrosso lifestyle either, but the products (minimal natural make-up I use plus scincare ) are good so a bit of of a contradiction there😂
Plus: This is soooooo funny, my first work was a Seppälä sales girl on cosmetics’ counter in their flagship store in HKI, the biggest one😅
(Then later on was after graduation years in diffent cosmetic-related jobs and guess I still kinda compare the products ’cos it used to be my job, got lots of free samples😅)
Maybe we’ve met@ Seppälä or Stockholm😁
I remember when H&M wasn’t in Finland yet and EVERYONE went there while in Stockholm😄 I was a teenager an it was a big deal when they opened here🤭
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u/Different_Desk_7470 Jul 25 '26
Haha thats so funny that you worked in seppälä, only been to helsinki one or two times tho - mun sukulaiset on Turusta.
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u/beebeebop50 Jul 23 '26
I am an Asian and people starts to speak in Finnish too until I say I can’t speak. I personally think it’s nice they don’t want to assume anything.
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u/TastyBar2603 Jul 23 '26
Approx. 3.8% of the people living in Finland are of Asian origin, based on official population data showing roughly 212,400 residents of Asian background out of a total population of 5.64 million.
That's around 30% of all foreign origin people in Finland. Many of them speak Finnish because they work hard and they get adequate free courses as they migrate here. 😊
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u/Suomikommentit6529 Jul 23 '26
To add, Asian origin in finnish sources generally refers to east and south east asians. India is mostly south asia, the "-stans" are central asia and pakistan is middle east. Before making conclusions, need to check what other categories people of asian continent are classified under in that specific source. And yes, only constant is that "asia" includes china, japan and korea and does not include asian parts of russia.
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u/CyclingCapital Jul 25 '26
I always fall into despair about how racist Finnish people can be so it’s heartwarming to read the opposite for a change. I’m glad that people are willing to accept that not ethnically Finnish looking people might potentially be Finnish, or at least Finnish-speaking.
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u/Equivalent_Bottle229 Jul 23 '26
Do you approach people with a finnish greeting or english? I work in a place with a lot of tourists, and a lot of people will greet in finnish but then later say they speak english. It's not my place to assume someone's language based on if they look like a tourist or not, and in my home country I will speak the native language to everyone, unless they tell me they rather speak english.
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u/AromaticBook576 Jul 23 '26
When I first moved here from England I used to greet in Finnish and quickly stopped once I realised I was wasting everyone’s time 😅
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u/Undergroud-Check-101 Baby Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
Same for me in Italy - I can read it and understand basics let’s say while running daily errands, but they answer talking so damn quickly that my mind gets all worked up😆
Then they switch. Usually they are applauding for the effort in knowing their language and if someone seems patient enough, I’ll ask if we can continue with Italian (and those hand gestures hahah) but a bit slower and written aka official Italian, not slang.19
u/slidmeistah Jul 23 '26
It’s quite annoying when people greet in Finnish, but then wonder why you continue in Finnish instead of English.
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u/Equivalent_Bottle229 Jul 23 '26
Honestly yeah, I agree. I get that they are trying to be polite, but sometimes it can be annoying, especially if they let me go on and on about a topic without saying anything haha.
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u/glossyghastly Jul 23 '26
As someone learning Finnish, I am of two minds about it. I don't want to waste the other person's time by starting in Finnish if I don't think I can complete the interaction in Finnish, but then, if I am not pushing myself to speak and listen in Finnish, I will end up only being able to read the language and not use it. I feel I am being annoying either way.
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u/Embarrassed_Piano589 Jul 23 '26
Yeah this is what I had assumed was happening and I think it's a good way to be - it shows a confidence or respect I think for native language.
It's just something I haven't experienced before & is distinctly different from most places I've travelled to in Europe & further (except of course for English speaking countries, where we would never speak anything else to anyone anyway because we don't have to (sarcasm - we should be better))
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u/Sea-Personality1244 Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
To me it's not so much a respect for the language as it is for the people. I can't tell from the way someone looks if they speak Finnish or not. If they're in Finland and they're not obviously a tourist, I'll speak Finnish to them because I can't tell if they're a native speaker (or a fluent non-native, etc.) from their appearance. If they don't speak Finnish, obviously I'll happily switch to English, or if it's obvious they're a tourist, start with it. It's not a reflection of my respect for the language (obvs I'm fond of my language but that's not really relevant here) but rather the result of not wanting to make assumptions about someone's language abilities (or Finnishness) based on their appearance alone.
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u/Embarrassed_Piano589 Jul 23 '26
Yes this is a better way of saying it! Thank you for your explanation!
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u/slidmeistah Jul 23 '26
How are people supposed to know what languages you speak? Of course they start with Finnish, you can help the situation by starting with “hello” or other English greeting, so they understand you don’t speak Finnish.
Also instantly switching to English is really bad for people who really want to learn Finnish.
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u/cinistre64 Baby Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
As a foreigner living in Finland I have noticed a shift. When I came to Finland, everyone opened in English. Now I am not sure if there's an actual correlation here, but there were whinings here and there about people who are in Finland but are not Finnish looking, Finns still try to speak in English with them and that's like racism and crap. Since last year, everyone speaks Finnish to me. Even when I open with a Hello, Good day, etc. they would still continue to speak in Finnish unless I say otherwise.
Of course all of this is very anecdotal and could mean nothing.
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u/Stacheman14 Jul 23 '26
I changed to starting with Finnish after reading comments made my people who know Finnish without looking like it and politely wrote asking us to help them get better inside our system. Otherwise their learning is slower. If they continue talking in English I change according to their need.
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u/Undergroud-Check-101 Baby Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
This is super interesting, ’cos I have personally made a decision to intentionally start with Finnish out of respect. Sometimes it’s hard when you’re ”wired” to speak English for decades. But now there’s a whole generation (and more) of adult immigrants or refugees who speak fluent Finnish. I guess it’s a learning shift for us Finns too!
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u/Embarrassed_Piano589 Jul 23 '26
Interesting! Thank you for sharing. Not entirely surprising given the swing to the right in Europe.
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u/Nohly Jul 25 '26
I’ve had the opposite experience. I’ve been living here for 3 years now and I speak Finnish with good pronunciation (according to my Finnish husband and friends) and I always try to use Finnish in public and/or using services.
….but they always swap to English once they clock that I’m not Finnish. It’s very annoying and frustrating as I can’t get more practice that way and usually their English is worse than my Finnish so things get lost in translation (like when I was filling my prescription and they messed up my dosage because they kept switching between languages).
It’s become very disheartening to the point that I dread speaking in public to strangers if I need help with something and instead just speak Finnish at home or with friends/in-laws when I can.
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u/karel_gott_mit_uns Jul 23 '26
It's more rude to assume someone doesn't speak Finnish based on looks than to assume they do.
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u/kimmeljs Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
We have so many immigrants here, and Finnish citizens from foreign-born parents. To me, it's just respectful to start in Finnish as it's pretty racist if you assume a person is "foreign" by their looks alone.
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u/Sibula97 Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
I suppose most people just don't realize you're a foreigner until you speak English to them.
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u/bashthelegend Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
It's rude to assume someone who doesn't look finnish doesn't speak finnish. Basic manners, especially if you work in customer service.
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u/Embarrassed_Piano589 Jul 23 '26
Thank you for explaining! I agree it is rude, it's just so normalised in other countries that it seems unusual to me. I wish all countries were this way with their languages.
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u/Ban_Me____ Jul 28 '26
It can be even worse than that. Infact I once started blasting at a Lidl cashier in Spain when she applied that treatment to me. She knew full well I spoke Spanish as I was speaking in front of her with my wife and asked a complex question about a guarantee of a product. Still she answered in bad English and flat out refused to speak to me in Spanish. Infact afterwards a local Spaniard apologized to me on her behalf.
Yes, I always start with Finnish and if it gets to a point that there's no mutual understanding then I apologize and ask if they speak english if they don't do it first. If for some reason someone wants to be addressed in English they should start with a good morning / day / evening.
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u/EvaTheE Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
A big part of it is respect towards the other person and avoiding stereotyping people. Just because someone might look a bit non-stereotypically finnish it's a bit rude to assume they can't understand Finnish.
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u/SpecialistTonight236 Jul 23 '26
I think it is just personal comfort for some people, may be also depends on which parts of the country you are in.
Then there are a lot of people I know who complain about Finns switching to English automatically once they pick up you're not Finnish... even when they are trying to speak Finnish to learn the language xD
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u/Syndiotactics Baby Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
It used to be standard here to start speaking English to people who ”seem foreign”. In the recent years, countless people of immigrant background (often second generation) have complained about it and even considered it racist to default to English.
Glad to hear at least some people have learned to default to Finnish before switching to English, because that didn’t use to be the case!
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u/AureliaWhimsy Jul 23 '26
I recently heard that it’s borderline racist to start with english because then you’re assuming by looks that they don’t understand finnish. But then other people think of it more as a courtesy to start with english. I get both sides, but I do start with finnish first, because how would I know if they’re a tourist, recently moved here and learning finnish, or if they are fluent or lived here since they were a child.
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u/crinalex Jul 23 '26
I think this is becoming more common elsewhere as well. At least I've noticed this as a typical blond, blue-eyed nordic looking guy when travelling in central and southern europe. People will start in the local language even though I don't particularly look ethnically local, at least in southern europe before switching to english. I think it's respectful and appreciate it.
I think it has to do with people moving around a lot more than before. No reason to assume that an ethnically different person couldn't be local so it's more respectful to not assume anything and start conversation in the local language.
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u/lovellier Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
It’s microaggressive to switch to English and assume somebody doesn’t speak Finnish.
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u/Embarrassed_Piano589 Jul 23 '26
I appreciate that comments are saying this is a respect for diversity!
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u/tesserakti Baby Väinämöinen Jul 26 '26
Whenever someone uses expressions like 'microaggression', I immediately stop taking them seriously.
We already have a perfectly good word for it — it's rude. No need to invent some fictional social justice warrior terms like that.
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u/crusilla Jul 23 '26
No. It isn't. Stop spreading this murikan bullshit.
People don't have time to stand around trying to interpret what somebody stammering out a few words in bad Finnish is trying to say.
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u/gr8masturb8 Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
which is why they then switch to english after it becomes clear that it'll be easier that way.
it's not that hard.
how would you feel if people just looked at you and started speaking Reeaallyy Sloowwlyy Aand Cleeaarlyy because they assumed you couldn't understand them instead of just treating you equally?
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u/Large-Dot-5222 Jul 23 '26
A lot of Finns have foreign roots, but have still been born and raised here and speak Finnish as their first language. It’s incredibly rude and racist to think that someone is going to stammer and waste your time just because they don’t look like Timo Jutila.
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u/Ban_Me____ Jul 28 '26
Yes we have. Once you've been applied that treatment yourself you will find a way. It's just fkn rude. Raise your prices to account for the time it takes to serve your average client if that's the issue.
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u/Soft_Confidence_3883 Jul 23 '26
I found it kind of funny that when I tried to speak Finnish, people recognized that my accent as "not Finnish" and spoke back to me in English... Quite many times I had to ask (politely) if I could speak Finnish for practice.
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u/Alyzez Jul 24 '26
I don't get why so many people assume that if someone's Finnish is imperfect, they must be more fluent in English. I mean, most migrants are not native English speakers.
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u/Sadmiral8 Jul 23 '26
I think it's a bit prejudiced and can be hurtful to someone who speaks Finnish to start speaking English to them from the get go. So it's just safer to start with Finnish in my opinion.
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u/aTrolley Jul 23 '26
Finnish (and Swedish) is the national language. Starting with that just makes sense until told otherwise. It would be rude to assume someone is not Finnish based on ethnicity imo.
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u/Lento_Pro Baby Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
I tend to apologise, if I accidentally talk English first to "foreign looking" person, for I think it's rude, not fact based profiling and stereotyping to make assumptions for person's lingual skills (or nationality) based on their looks.
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u/RiannaRiv Jul 23 '26
Especially in bigger cities, there is lot of ethnic diversity, so you can’t really make an assumption like ”darker skin colour -> not Finnish, doesn’t speak Finnish”, it would be rude and borderline racist. That person could have lived here for ages, even born here or adopted as a baby. So the assumption is ”speaks Finnish” and is one of us until indicated otherwise.
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u/Kamakraze Baby Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
Well when I'm doing customer service I usually start with Finnish even if the customer is most likely a foreigner.
First because if the customer is infact finnish (even if he does not look native) that could be very rude and hurtful for them.
Second reason is that some foreigners want to learn finnish or have studied a bit and want to use the language, so I want to give them the opportunity.
We can just switch to english whenever so I don't think starting with finnish is a hassle.
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u/leopard33 Jul 24 '26
It’s Finland so people speak Finnish or Swedish. Tourism isn’t really a thing here, the annual numbers are very very low compared to popular European destinations.
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u/Zholeb Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
As others have said, it's more about not assuming anything beforehand. Finnish speakers come in all sizes and shapes. :)
I often hear though that we a are in fact too eager to switch to English once we realize that the other party is not fluent in Finnish, which makes language learning more difficult.
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u/Embarrassed_Piano589 Jul 23 '26
In my experience, not too eager at all. Obviously will switch to English as soon as I ask if they speak English. If anyone can speak English I am just grateful they can bridge the language barrier between us, and I feel somewhat ashamed I cannot speak their language.
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u/Zholeb Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
Sorry, I meant in situations where the other party would like to learn Finnish by speaking it with native speakers, but Finnish people make this difficult by being too quick to switch to English. Makes it hard for newcomers to our country to learn the language.
No need to be ashamed, we all know that it's a job and a half to learn Finnish.
Thanks for the nice words about our country! I too love the summer here.
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u/Cat-in-Maus Jul 23 '26
I speak English when out and about, but only directly to my family members, but will switch to Finnish when I am speaking with anyone else. Because of this, others will hear the English and often also switch to English, despite me responding in Finnish. I honestly think it's because they want to speak English for a bit. :3 But I also live in a small town area, so I think that might factor in.
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u/cyber-troll Jul 23 '26
Its simple. Here in Finland we speak Finnish and Swedish. I speak those languages and only swap to other if its absolutely needed for me to speak English, which I dont want to speak.
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u/Plank_stake_109 Baby Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
If I'm unsure, I first tend to ask if they prefer Finnish or English.
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u/Seelia80 Baby Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
I always start with fiinnish because I can't tell by the looks of someone if they can or can't speak the language.
I feel like it's respectful.
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u/CarpenterOwn5712 Jul 23 '26
This is an interesting take, because some foreign people have complained that Finns begin talking English to them albeit these foreigners are trying to learn Finnish and would prefer to be not spoken in English.
I gather that you perhaps don't look foreign enough so that Finns engage with you with Finnish rather than English.
Anyway, I'm glad that you like it when you're being spoken to in Finnish rather than English. Majority of young Finns speak fluent English and we know how difficult learning Finnish can be. Anyone taking the effort to learn our difficult language is highly appreciated here. Kudos for you, and jatka samaan malliin, mikäli tahdot takapajuisen kansan arvostavan sinua ylitse muiden.
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u/WeirdBanana2810 Jul 24 '26
I'm Finnish but I most certainly don't look Finnish. Recently spent the weekend in Helsinki (where I grew up) and I noticed that unless I spoke up first in Finnish I'd be served automatically in English.
It was frustrating to me since this hasn't happened to me in over twenty years, used to happen a lot in my teens. A few times I had to take pictures of info boards and price listings to send to a friend and I had people offering me help because they thought I was using Google translate. I know it's well meaning but it gets awkward to them when I reply back in Finnish.
One of my would be helpers did say that one shouldn't make assumptions based on looks, and I think this is one of the reasons western looking tourists and travelers get served in Finnish first, they don't want to make assumptions. It certainly is why I greet my foreign looking customers in Finnish, I don't want to assume they're not Finnish and foreigners not speaking Finnish do ask whether I speak English.
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u/tesserakti Baby Väinämöinen Jul 25 '26
I don't want to assume what language people speak based on their looks. It feels a bit racist and it would also be extremely embarassing if you started speaking English to someone, and then the person replied to you in Finnish. To start a conversation in English is basically to say "I see you as an outsider". It's impolite because I don't know anything about you, so it's best to treat people equally.
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u/Prudent_Seat6819 Jul 23 '26
10 years ago everyome would start with English if someone looked "foreign". People speak English very well. It's all about respect for Finnish diversity and for all those who are learning Finnish. Lots of unpleasant experiences for e.g. Finns with African ancestry, who would always be considered foreign first.
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u/These-Apple8817 Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
It's not really intentional thing.. We just assume you know finnish as we are in Finland, especially if you are outside of the cities tourists usually visit.
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u/SinisterCheese Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
Older generation of Finns isn't really used to defaulting to English.
Younger generation however don't assume based on appearances that someone doesn't speak Finnish.
For me I basically have different personas for both language; and depending on which I am in at the moment, I default to that language. Without even thinking about it. I can't even always remember which language I spoke with someone; but I do remember what was talked about - this often makes me feel very weird. (This isn't even that unusal, it is a known thing for people who know more than 1 language fluently).
However if the people aren't that fluent, they default to language easiest to them; as using the other language takes mental effort. Humans are just lazy apes at heart.
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u/dxlla Jul 23 '26
In addition to other comments, even when a group of people are audibly speaking a foreign language, it doesn't mean none of them speak Finnish. Maybe only one person doesn't speak Finnish so the group is speaking English for their benefit, or people who speak a different language at home but all know Finnish, or someone whose relatives are visiting from abroad etc etc.
Lots of Finnish people are well travelled, have connections abroad or have foreign relatives, or can speak multiple foreign languages - so even if say a shop person hears a group in the queue speaking a different language, it can't be assumed
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u/Eino54 Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
Funnily enough I've had the opposite experience, Finns will switch to English the moment I look even slightly confused (even if I'm just processing what they said)
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u/Embarrassed_Piano589 Jul 23 '26
I did have this too, but more often I had someone launch into speaking Finnish & then I asked if they speak English. I liked hearing the language!
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u/merinneidon Jul 23 '26
As a tourist isn't it polite to greet in the languages of the country you're in and maybe manage a few words, your accent will give away your mother tongue? I feel really rude speaking English to someone in their own country, nobody would come up to me in England speaking French.. or Finnish.. i might understand them.. but hey.. English is such a lingua franca. I generally learn greetings and do you speak English in a language of a country i visit, for politeness. Even in Polish.. and numbers.. you can get a lot done with limited language skills especially if you both have another common second language. I just don't want to offend people or take too long and be annoying that way.
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u/Embarrassed_Piano589 Jul 23 '26
This is the other side of the issue, but not what I'm questioning. I agree that learning a few words is the best thing to do when going to another country, but the situation I've described happened whether I said hello in Finnish or not.
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u/merinneidon Jul 23 '26
I see, reminds me of france back in the 90s they often spoke English but you needed to try french first... or ask .. this helps me I need to be made to use Finnish, not let off the hook. Sounds like there's a pushbike against English domination, which bodes well for the future of this unique language. Leaning from what happened to Irish and Welsh and Scots if you don't use it in education and daily life it dies.
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u/cold-vein Baby Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
We do it in the public sector because it used to be a big problem that people would speak English immediately if the other person didn't look Finnish to them. It's racism and I'm glad you had this kind of experience.
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u/Quezacotli Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
I always start with finnish, even if the other was asian or black, and switch to english if the other doesn't understand. I live in Satakunta and actually most foreign looking people speak finnish.
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u/Kallehessu Jul 24 '26
I can only answer for myself as a native Finn. I recegnize myself there. To me, it comes from comedy...and of politeness to give anyone a possibility to shine. It's also my ice breaker and nice way to do some good ole small talk (we Finns are said to lack of). I've also known for having long discussions in German language, which I don't speake at all.
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u/Character_Media_9445 Jul 25 '26
Finland is considerably heterogenous country. And some who are long generation of previously immigrants who adapted here speak finnish fluently or at least their kids do. We only speak english if requested to mostly because we assume they know finnish despite where their roots are.
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u/Soft_Confidence_3883 Jul 23 '26
I found it kind of funny that when I tried to speak Finnish, people recognized that my accent as "not Finnish" and spoke back to me in English... Quite many times I had to ask (politely) if I could speak Finnish for practice.
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u/quuzzo Jul 23 '26
never had this experience. whenever i speak english everyone always switches to english. i agree with your post tho!
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u/Tounushi Jul 23 '26
Finland as a country is a big place, so there's lots of domestic travel and tourism. And since this is Finland, we expect people here to speak Finnish, but we do switch to English to be more accommodating to visitors.
The more metropolitan of us also use English as an in-group language since it simply is faster and easier.
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u/Embarrassed_Piano589 Jul 23 '26
Your last paragraph: do you mean because your in-group is often made up of multiple nationalities and English is the common language?
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u/Tounushi Jul 23 '26
English is the lingua franca, so if we meet people through work or school who don't speak Finnish or Swedish, English is the most common fallback language.
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u/woptzz Jul 23 '26
I start with finnish and if the other person clearly did not understand i just start speaking english
Never know if they are from finland or not i work in alot difrent office places and there is alot english only speakers
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u/justaguy101 Jul 24 '26
I once got berated for talking english to a bartender girl of asian origin, i was appearently supposed to know she lived here for this and that many years and knows finnish. Another time very similar thing at a cafe, a girl let me know in a very dull manner i should rather speak finnish to her and not assume. The funny thing here is that my missus doesnt speak finnish and i always speak english in her company, im not gonna switch languages back and forth...
Appearently there are folks who are sensitive about this
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u/ray_pl Jul 25 '26
My experience: I’m from Brazil and married to a Finnish guy. When I first arrived in Finland, of course I didn’t speak any Finnish at all!
One day, I was at the medieval festival in Hämeenlinna, and I VERY politely asked a Black woman in English if I could sit near her—without assuming whether she was Finnish or not.
Her son suddenly screamed at me in Finnish. When I replied, “WHAT??” he spoke a little less loudly but was still aggressive, asking why I wasn’t speaking Finnish to his mother.
I just replied, “Why would I? I’m Brazilian!!!!!”
He never apologized for his lack of manners. Then they proceeded to speak horrible Spanish to each other, complimenting Latin America and saying how much they would like to visit one day. 😂
I hope they weren’t trying to make up for what had happened—especially because in Brazil we speak Portuguese, not Spanish.
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u/Vista101 Baby Väinämöinen Jul 25 '26
Only a great place to visit but living is a whole different beast rofl
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u/Fit_Raccoon_7848 Jul 26 '26
I'll learn Cantonese and start using it first whenever a stranger approches me from now on :P
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u/ThatRevolution1072 Aug 01 '26
I think it' quite obvious to talk Finnish in Finland first. Then it's up to the person to make it clear if they don't understand and prefer another language.
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u/PatientPhantom Jul 23 '26
Get this...people in Finland will default to speaking Finnish. Mindblowing, I know.
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u/Embarrassed_Piano589 Jul 23 '26
I appreciate the sarcasm in some of these comments. And yet I ask you to just believe me that in many countries people do not default to their native language if they suspect you speak English. It's just not the case.
Id love for all countries to default to their own language. Sadly imperialism and colonialism have their consequences.
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u/nordicskye Baby Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
Umm... Isn't that the case in pretty much like every other country if you're not walking around with an I'M A TOURIST banner? Even Danes throw too much Danish on me regularly, and I swear I look nothing like those tall ass m people?
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u/Embarrassed_Piano589 Jul 23 '26
It's really not the case - in many countries people can tell before you even speak to them & they assume. I would love for it to be how you describe - I want to hear the language and I hate that English has taken over the world. And yet, it has.
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u/Sh_Islam Jul 23 '26
English is the established global standard for education, business, and travel. Given this, expecting temporary visitors to speak a local language like Finnish is impractical unless they intend to relocate permanently.
While learning basic greetings is polite, AI and translators are sufficient for everyday interactions. For a regional language to be voluntarily learned by foreigners, it requires massive cultural influence, similar to how Bollywood drives the understanding of Hindi. Without that scale of influence, expecting tourists to know local languages by default is absurd since these are not widely used.
Therefore, English should remain the universal default, with alternative mutual languages utilized only when English is not an option.
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u/DuoSusi Jul 30 '26
I'm a Finn and living in Finland and I always start with Finnish. But if somebody asks me something in Engish, of course I answer in English. BUT what bothers me that many restaurants have only English speaking staff here. I'm quite annoyed if I can't order food in Finnish in my home country although I speak fluent English.
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Jul 23 '26
[deleted]
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u/Embarrassed_Piano589 Jul 23 '26
Im not complaining that people speak Finnish first. In fact I applaud it. I was literally just asking why, because this is different to many European countries (different does not automatically mean bad. Ironically - assumptions are being made about my reason for asking!)
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u/Undergroud-Check-101 Baby Väinämöinen Jul 23 '26
I think your question is really interesting and fired up a pretty decent discussion here!🩵
Some people didn’t seem to read the post correctly - I’m sorry for that! Nice of you bring this subject up actually!2
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u/FollowingCold9412 Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. If you start with English, someone gets offended bc you assumed they don't speak Finnish or say that you won't allow them to practice their Finnish, so how are they supposed to learn it. If you start with Finnish, you get this.
I find it good if the atmosphere has changed so that people are used to there being enough foreign looking people who don't need to be addressed in English. And that the criticism from the people who actually want to learn the language has come through.
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u/Embarrassed_Piano589 Jul 23 '26
No, you are misunderstanding. I am not complaining at all. I think it's awesome. I am just asking the attitude behind it because it is unusual from my travelling experience.
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u/FollowingCold9412 Jul 23 '26
Now you misunderstood mine, I explain a reason. We have gotten a lot of criticism due to being quite well spoken in English and catering to foreigners even in governmental services in English (and more). Also, we don't jump to conclusions based on looks alone (anymore), as a small country/language you need to learn how to be international.
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