Northern Europe has been an area I’ve long neglected to visit or think much about, but the more information I gather on countries like Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Finland I’m starting to sing another tune. Today I’ll say Finland and their sauna’s are slowly winning me over, but tomorrow I’ll probably say it’s Denmark. For the Finnish a trip to the sauna is part of everyday life. Today they are considered a common luxury, serving as a focus for family and community as noted by the tourism site. If you’re considering a trip to Finland’s saunas check out the site here for all the details and remember the season for sauna is summer.
Today’s word is a Finnish word used in Finland:
löyly – quality of steam
Finnish is a member of the Finno-Ugric language family and classified as an agglutinative language. This particular Finnish language site provides some examples of easy words and phrases, an intro to the lingo, pronunciation guide and a list of additional Finnish material elsewhere. Another excellent way to advance your skills and engage your senses is to listen to the local music. Try the Finnish Music Information Center for audio and background information on the country’s favorite sounds. Online Finnish Lessons is another site offering lists of links to check out and if you’re in the city of Helinski stop by one of the schools to enroll in Finnish courses.
Past Finnish words: väsynyt