timppu: English is a much simpler language than Finnish
dtgreene: Out of curiosity, could you elaborate on this? I am curious what makes Finnish more complicated than English.
(Keep in mind that I don't know any Finnish.)
I recall there's some Finnish "linguist" in this forum that could give a better explanation, but for starters, how words change e.g. whether they are a subject, object etc.
A car blew up. = Auto räjähti.
I drive a car. = Minä ajan auto
a (or "Minä ajan auto
lla", in case you want to stress more it is a car you are driving, and you are not riding a horse, or a bike, or whatever...)
I own a car. = Minä omistan auto
n.
Also how verbs change (basic form "to drive" = "ajaa"):
I drive = minä ajan
you drive = sinä ajat
he/she drives = hän ajaa
we drive = me ajamme
you (plural) drive = te ajatte
they drive = he ajavat
And third example being how long and complicated words can become when you add things to it (conjugate etc.), it may take a whole English sentence to explain what it means exactly, a good example being the word:
epäjärjestelmällistyttämättömyydelläänsäkäänköh&au ml;n
(I don't know why GOG doesn't let me write that correctly, it replaces an "ä" near the end with some & uml shit); see the word here, the last word in the list:
https://www.facebook.com/LearnUselessFinnish/posts/333657186705550 It is an extreme example, but still proper Finnish, showing how a single Finnish words can be conjugated from its basic form. That Facebook page says a somewhat correct translatation of that monster of a word to English would be something like:
"I wonder if it is possible, even with his unreflectional attention to antiunorganizationalize?"
Maybe that gives you an idea. Note though, I am talking about grammar. Pronunciation, on the other hand, is simpler and more logical in Finnish IMHO. Someone here explained before it is because English words come from so many different languages, hence they may be pronounced in completely different and even contradictory ways; Finnish pronunciation is more phonetic, ie. "it is pronounced as it is written, damn it!".