2007-03-27 11:32:33 · 5 answers · asked by Arlette 2 in Travel ➔ Europe (Continental) ➔ Other - Europe
I would disagree with previous answerers... At least it is a lot easier than in many other countries where English is not an official language (I suppose you speak English). Generally Finns tend to understand English very well. And again I disagree with the comment about learning Swedish: it is true that Swedish is the second official language here, but if you want to live somewhere else than on the coastal parts of Finland, then you'll get yourself understood far better if you speak good English than if you try bad Swedish...
My point of view may be a bit biased, because all my foreign friends who live in Finland are part of the university world (where it is common that many people don't speak Finnish and everyone speaks at least decent English). However, all of these foreign friends only give positive feedback about how they get well along without understanding Finnish. But again, no matter where you live, I strongly advice to at least try to learn the local language a little. You'll get much more out of everything happening around you, and it is also a polite thing to do. You may get along really well without learning Finnish here, but you'll enjoy yourself more and get more respect in the eyes of the Finns and also among many other people if you can learn this hard language at least a little. After all, it's not that hard to learn when you live surrounded by it.
2007-03-27 21:56:53 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is a bit difficult to say without knowing your background.
Most Finns speak at least decent English, many (especially young people) speak very fluent English. Swedish is an official language, but only about 6% speak it as first language. An average Finn speaks much better English than Swedish.
TV shows and movies are shown almost without exception with original voice and Finnish subtitles. Big part of them are in English, so it is easy to find entertainment :-)
Many employers require at least bacic knowledge of Finnish. It varies, though. In many big international companies the internal language is English.
I know some exchange students who don't speak any Finnish, but they haven't had any major problems because of that. You can go to pretty much any shop, restaurant, theatre, bureau etc and find someone who can help you in English.
It is probably easier to come to a big city like Helsinki (yes, it is a big city. In fact, it is Finland's biggest with its 564,908 residents) than some small town.
2007-03-28 15:33:15 · answer #2 · answered by Heidi 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pretty easy. Tens of thousands of people do it.
Most people (under the of 40) speak pretty good english, so you won't have any problems in shops, restaurants etc.
Foreign tv channals are available throught premium cable, and satellite. And all of the foreign tv shows and films are not dubbed, but have finnish subtitles (with original language) so you enjoy Homer Simpson saying D'oh in his native language :)
2007-03-29 08:15:01 · answer #3 · answered by Kari L 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Would be very very..hard..unless u can least speak a lil swedish.Best u get a 3mth crash course if u really wanna live in Finland.Cheers! :)
2007-03-28 02:45:08 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
very difficult, its hard to visit even harder to live
2007-03-27 18:39:41 · answer #5 · answered by acta non verba 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋