Discussion Thinking of learning Swedish + Finnish: Any Swedes or Finns here?

[Oheao]

Yeah, random languages I know. But for some reason I became interested in Finland after watching Finngamer years ago (pretty random I know), and Swedish and Finnish are the two official languages of the country. So, I figured it'd be interesting to learn them (OK I know Swedish is only spoken by 5% of the population natively but hey =)). I don't know when I'll be comfortable enough to try practicing them but I was wondering if anyone from Sweden or Finland was on this website so I could practice them when I do want to try.

 

[Arbitrary Function]

I'm Swedish! Happy to aid you in your learning process.

I understand it can be a quite a hard language to learn because of various peculiarities. I've heard children's shows can be a good way of learning, so maybe try the kids section SVT Play (if it works in your region)?

 

[Mbolibombo]

Also Swede here, Can also provide some help if needed!

I would also suggest Utbildningsradion (national educational radio) which has a website for learning the language.
It's pretty basic but it's a good start =)

Svenska för alla | UR Play

Svenska en-ord och ett-ord. Lär dig hur orden sägs i obestämd och bestämd form.

urplay.se

I'd imagine there's something similar for finnish - but I'd also expect it to be a bit harder as it's quite a unique language, Sweden is a part of the germanic languages which makes it a bit easier for a native english speaker. But I'm sure here's a few finnishs speakers here that could provide all the good stuff =)

 

[Oheao]

Also Swede here, Can also provide some help if needed!

I would also suggest Utbildningsradion (national educational radio) which has a website for learning the language.
It's pretty basic but it's a good start =)

Svenska för alla | UR Play

Svenska en-ord och ett-ord. Lär dig hur orden sägs i obestämd och bestämd form.

urplay.se

I'd imagine there's something similar for finnish - but I'd also expect it to be a bit harder as it's quite a unique language, Sweden is a part of the germanic languages which makes it a bit easier for a native english speaker. But I'm sure here's a few finnishs speakers here that could provide all the good stuff =)

Yeah, Finnish is completely different which worries me, but it's not the first time I'd be learning a non Indo-European language (having versed in Chinese and Japanese). The main thing I worry about, is that I may have trouble finding content since Sweden and Finland have much smaller populations, so I appreciate any resources and suggestions =)

 

[juuso]

I am Finnish and speak both languages. The two languages have little in common outside some vocabulary. I'd imagine Swedish is easier to learn for an English speaker, as it is structurally a lot more similar. As you mentioned though, it's a minority language here and despite it being taught to everyone in school, people aren't usually very fluent with it.

The Finnish national public broadcasting company has this service for learning both Finnish and Swedish:

Kielikoulu Språkskolan

Yle Kielikoulu – Yle Språkskolan on palvelu, jossa voit opiskella suomea tai ruotsia katselemalla Ylen videosisältöjä sovelluksessa tai selaimella.

yle.fi

Don't know about it's quality though! I also know Duolingo added some Finnish courses a year or two ago.