RE: When will I grow up?
What is sarcasm??? They are generally very literal people and although they can be really funny, the humor is an acquired taste. Also, even thoguh they are quite proficient with languages, the way they teach is more grammar based than spoken so idiomatic expressions and allusion often get lost in translation.
There is a tendency to be literal when it comes to timetables, agreements and other things like that. I suppose it's not very different in Australia. You deal with Finns nearly exclusively in English. You may get the impression that they don't get your humour. But you may not be getting theirs because while they are held back by their imperfect knowledge of English you are held back by your lack of knowledge of Finnish.
Also, people can seem to not get your joke because it's not a particularly good one. ;)
My impression is that differences between large human populations such as nationalities are dwarfed by the vast variation between individuals within those populations. In my dealings with foreigners I've noticed that knowing which country a person I will meet is from is next to useless in trying to figure out what kind of person he or she is. I get vastly more information by talking with that person for a couple of minutes. If you watch Finnish television sketch shows, for example, you get everything from the lowbrow to the intellectual, from satire to parody, you name it.
I'm interested in accurate information and understanding things. I find stereotypes worse than worthless because they bore me to tears at least if people take them seriously to any degree. It's another thing to joke about them. But I also find the anti-stereotype and anti-generalization crusade nearly equally boring. In reality, differences between individuals in a large group of people, let alone their interactions, are a very complex, very multi-dimensional space. Most people severely underestimate the difficulty of making accurate observations of such things. There must be behavioral tendencies within populations because otherwise there couldn't be such a thing as culture but it's wise to be prepared to lose your preconceptions fast if you want to be successful in your interactions with people.
Hi Markku. I agree with what you are saying. My cousins are Danish and the reason why I bought it up is that there was a difference and it was down to the language. not necessarily the culture or anything else. I get on well with everyone but it helps to understand the people. A lot of people don't take this time and make presumptions. I find this fascinating and very helpful. I enjoy the conversations we have and find you very intelligent. There are not many people out there who have your insights but your language skills are exceptional for a second language.
My wife and sister are both language teachers. Both have English as one of the languages they teach. I'm the guy they ask if they don't know or are unsure about something. If I don't know the answer, I'll go and do research. I don't mind it at all. Thanks to blockchain technology my efforts are finally paying off financially.
No. I am not shocked. You are super intelligent and it shows in how you think. Have you thought about learning another language?
Finland is officially bilingual (Finnish & Swedish). We all have the other national language as a mandatory subject in school. I also had German as one of the compulsory elective subjects in middle school and continued studying it in upper secondary school. My English is perhaps 60% of my native Finnish. My Swedish and German are about 30% and 15%, respectively. I know about 500-1000 words of Russian and basic Russian grammar.
Impressive.
Not that rare in this country. Many Africans are real polyglots, too. Their native tongue may be some smaller or larger language spoken by their ethnic group. In addition to having knowledge of a language spoken by their neighbours, they might speak a regional lingua franca such as Swahili and the national language of education and governance like English. Their proficiency in all these languages tends to be at high level if they have had an education.
Very true.
Yes, this is why i think they can be funny. There is a lot in the language i don't get in finnish but in English, hard. Fingerpori is a good example, i only understand 30% of them,.. i think :D
There has to be some heuristics in play otherwise life is too complicated and time consuming. also for safety concerns. Err on the side of caution in safety issues.