(no subject)

[camwyn]

And yet another way you know you're me:

You are in the Times Square subway station. You hear three women singing in a language you do not know.

You suddenly think 'I will bet any money you like that's Finnish', and yes, you address yourself as 'you', because it's just easier that way.

You remember the group doing Finnish folksongs in the Music Under the Streets programme that the Daily News talked about some months ago and wonder if it's them.

yes, it is. And they're selling CDs for ten dollars a pop.

So you buy one... even though you speak not a word of Finnish beyond 'Olen pahoillanen, mutta olen amerikkalainen,' and the accompanying music is accordion-based, and all that stuff.

And you like it.

The group is called Kaiku. The songs are entitled Musta Poika Mulleroinen, Puhurin Poika, Laulajan Messu, Paha Mieli, Yksi Ruusu On Kasvanut Laaksossa, and a remix of Musta Poika Mulleroinen. The web site is http://www.kaikumusic.com. To the best of my knowledge they're still singing in the subways somewhere.

Comments

[pelogrande.livejournal.com]

More Finnish for you: Pystyn syömään lasia. Se ei koske yhtään.

Pulled from http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=493597 (http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=493597)

You knew I wouldn't be able to resist this

[kelathefinn.livejournal.com]

What you are saying in Finnish is, approximately, "I'm a SORRY DEVIL, but an American." (I won't ask where you learned this.) The word you want is 'pahoillaani'. The word for Devil is 'paholainen'. You have managed to mix them up brilliantly. Lewis Carroll would be proud.
One of the songs is a standard Finnish folk song. 'Musta Poika' is 'Black Boy' or 'Gypsy Boy' - Mulleroinen could be a family name, or it might have something to do with being a revolutionary. Changing one letter in a Finnish word changes the meaning completely, not to mention you've left out all the diacritics. Puhurin Poika is 'Son of the North Wind' or 'Son of the Storm'. Laulajan Messu is 'The Singer's Mass' or 'The Singer's Fair' (take your pick: 'Messu' is church mass, fair, and exhibition). Paha Mieli is 'bad mood' or 'unhappy'. 'Yksi Ruusu' (One Rose) was the first Finnish song I ever learned. The words translate as "A rose grew in the valley, and is blooming beautifully. A wandering boy saw it, and, once seen, cannot forget it." The song continues that the boy would like to pluck the rose and take it with him, but he knows that he is too poor to even think of doing so. It's a nice tune, and a true Finnish sentiment. 'Kaiku' means 'Echo' and is used both literally and metaphorically. ENJOY. (Did they have a triangle? or some other metal thing to go 'ping' every now and again?)

Eating glass?

[kelathefinn.livejournal.com]

I can eat glass. It doesn't hurt a bit.
Why on EARTH would you want to say this?
Guess I'd better check this site out...

Re: Eating glass?

[kelathefinn.livejournal.com]

OK. Being able to say 'I love you' in 200 languages might be worth something, but 'I can eat glass'???? Maybe I'm too old to appreciate the humour of this...

[lwood.livejournal.com]

I wanna hear! I wanna hear!

-- Lorrie, with the randomly Norse folk music-and-similar collection, wanting to add a little of the Finno and the Ugric.

Re: Eating glass?

[pelogrande.livejournal.com]

The original website seems to have vanished into the mists of the internet, but I just found a copy of it in the Wayback Machine (http://web.archive.org/web/20040201212958/http://hcs.harvard.edu/~igp/glass.html). From their explanation:

The Project is based on the idea that people in a foreign country have an irresistable urge to try to say something in the indigenous tongue. In most cases, however, the best a person can do is "Where is the bathroom?" a phrase that marks them as a tourist. But, if one says "I can eat glass, it doesn't hurt me," you will be viewed as an insane native, and treated with dignity and respect.

That's the internet for you.

Re: You knew I wouldn't be able to resist this

[camwyn]

Early on in my time on FurryMUCK I had a character that used the name Kyllikki, because I thought it was a mythological name that had faded from use. I was unaware that the Finnish Prime Minister's wife was using it. After the third or fourth person addressed me in Finnish I pulled aside a friend on another online game and asked him to tell me how to say 'I am very sorry but I am only an American'. He taught me the right version- I keep messing up the specific word you corrected me on- and I had quite a fun time watching the Finnish gamers laugh when I relayed that fact to them. They thought the apology was hilarious coming from a Yank.

I did not mean to leave out any diacritics; the album liner hasn't any. They're all printed in lowercase, too. The women in the subway had no instruments of any kind on hand, not even stuff that went ping, but the liner notes credit them as having an accordion, a cello, and a guy on percussion as backup. (The women's names are Jaana Kantola, Paula Jaakkola, and Erja Vettenranta, for what that's worth. Again, no diacritics.)

[goldjadeocean.livejournal.com]

Quite off-topic, but I thought maybe you'd want to know. Up here, four RCMP officers got killed on a drug bust on a farm (http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/EdmontonSun/News/2005/03/05/951093-sun.html). It's the biggest number of mounties dead in the line of duty since the Metis rebellion.

It's not what we're used to up here. At all.

[camwyn]

Yeah, mountainspeak told me. That's awful. I'm so sorry to hear it... let's hope something good comes out of it.

Re: You knew I wouldn't be able to resist this

[kelathefinn.livejournal.com]

Yes, the Kalevala names are *very* popular, even today. The women's family names - as most family names in Finnish - actually MEAN something, BTW, 'Kantola' is the place where things are supported, or where the 'carriers' live, (-la, means 'dwelling of', hence Sibelius' home was called 'Ainola' - his wife's name was 'Aino', Ainola is 'the place where Aino dwells' - not Sibelius himself, you notice), Jaako is a man's name, hence 'Jaakola' is 'the place where Jaako (Jacob) dwells', and 'Vettenranta' is 'Water Shore' or 'Edge of the Water' or, 'Beach'. AND, for all I care, they could throw the diacritics out, except they make differences in meaning. When I put the diacritics IN, and post something, sometimes *very* strange letters result, so I tend to leave them out no matter. The percussion/accordion thing is very common, but the cello is a new note!

[kelathefinn.livejournal.com]

This made the news in Finland. Condolences.