Hello everyone!
Today I'm here to nerd out as per usual, and discuss two parallel marvels of linguistic adaptability and versatility that I know from the two Nordic countries in which I have sojourned and whose languages I have studied - Finland and Iceland. It's always funny and fascinating to find little patterns like these between different cultures and languages; though Finland and Iceland certainly aren't too alien to each other as two Nordic cultures, but their two beautiful and complex languages come from entirely different language families (being Germanic/Indo-European and Finno Ugric respectively), so that makes this similarity all the more striking to me as a non-native learner of both.
Since this title probably makes very little sense to anyone who isn't familiar with a bit of Icelandic or Finnish, let alone someone who knows none of either of them, here is a little context:
First on the word "jæja," courtesy of my favorite Icelandic writer, the talented Alda Sigmundsdóttir (check out her great work on Icelandic culture, history, and language), from her book The Little Book of Icelandic:
"A highly versatile word that can be tricky for those not well versed in the cultural nuances of Icelandic. It can be used to herald in a conversation, as in: Jæja, það er blessuð blíðan í dag - "jæja, the weather sure is nice today." It can also be used as a standalone when a silence becomes uncomfortable - you know, when you don't really know what to say but aren't comfortable saying nothing. The other person would then likely respond já - "yes," which would mean nothing except that they heard your jæja and they, too, are feeling kind of awkward.
Jæja can also denote your mood or feeling, depending on the intonation. If the inflection goes up at the end you are probably feeling buoyant and would like to start a conversation in that vein. If the inflection drops at the end you are probably feeling downhearted and pessimistic, and the other person with pick up on this instantly.
Jæja can also be a response to someone who has just told you something fascinating - as in jæja já! It can also signal that you want to bring a conversation or exchange to an end. In such an instance you might arise from your seat with a jæ-ja that is slightly elongated on the second syllable, and the tone of that jæja would absolutely tell the other person that you think it's time to go."
Shortly into my stay in Finland, I learned about the word "noniin," sometimes rendered without the final "in" or with an extra "n," which I felt performed a pretty similar linguistic function:
(According to Paju N. Luola, a "native speaker and enthusiast" answering in a thread on Quora:)
“No niin” (or “noni” or “nonnih”) is a very versatile interjection which most people use at least a few different ways. The different meanings/implications are true vernacular and vary according to the area and the microdialect. Some variations are very widely understood and close to settled, while others may be understood in the same way by just a few people within a single group.
Ismo Leikola is also astute in noticing that this specific word has intensive homophone variation conveyed via stresses, elongations and constrictions as well as tonal shifts, which as a rule do not carry more meaning in Finnish than slight nuances and basic tonal questions which are well known in many languages. (As in “Savvy?”)
Just some examples of the variations that are best known around where I live:
NON-ni (high-low) — “now you’ve gone and done it!”
non-NI (high-low) — “whew, all done now”
non-NI (low-high) — “let’s get going”
no-NII (low-dipping) —”didn’t I tell you? yes I did”
no-nii (neutral-falling) — “aww lookit you” (to babies/pets)
For an English counterpart, I’d suggest “yeah” or “sure”. They do gain a surprising list of meanings when you sit down and think about the many many ways they can be said.
(Here is a video by a well-known Finnish comedian named Ismo Leikola, for a vocal aid to help contextualize the various applications and usages of noniin.)
The similarity of the two words, and their multifaceted characterizations and usages, struck me, as two little versatile syntactic components of two of my favorite corners of the far north, so I thought I'd just share that special little linguistic feature with y'all.
Best,
Nico
Today I'm here to nerd out as per usual, and discuss two parallel marvels of linguistic adaptability and versatility that I know from the two Nordic countries in which I have sojourned and whose languages I have studied - Finland and Iceland. It's always funny and fascinating to find little patterns like these between different cultures and languages; though Finland and Iceland certainly aren't too alien to each other as two Nordic cultures, but their two beautiful and complex languages come from entirely different language families (being Germanic/Indo-European and Finno Ugric respectively), so that makes this similarity all the more striking to me as a non-native learner of both.
Since this title probably makes very little sense to anyone who isn't familiar with a bit of Icelandic or Finnish, let alone someone who knows none of either of them, here is a little context:
First on the word "jæja," courtesy of my favorite Icelandic writer, the talented Alda Sigmundsdóttir (check out her great work on Icelandic culture, history, and language), from her book The Little Book of Icelandic:
"A highly versatile word that can be tricky for those not well versed in the cultural nuances of Icelandic. It can be used to herald in a conversation, as in: Jæja, það er blessuð blíðan í dag - "jæja, the weather sure is nice today." It can also be used as a standalone when a silence becomes uncomfortable - you know, when you don't really know what to say but aren't comfortable saying nothing. The other person would then likely respond já - "yes," which would mean nothing except that they heard your jæja and they, too, are feeling kind of awkward.
Jæja can also denote your mood or feeling, depending on the intonation. If the inflection goes up at the end you are probably feeling buoyant and would like to start a conversation in that vein. If the inflection drops at the end you are probably feeling downhearted and pessimistic, and the other person with pick up on this instantly.
Jæja can also be a response to someone who has just told you something fascinating - as in jæja já! It can also signal that you want to bring a conversation or exchange to an end. In such an instance you might arise from your seat with a jæ-ja that is slightly elongated on the second syllable, and the tone of that jæja would absolutely tell the other person that you think it's time to go."
(According to Paju N. Luola, a "native speaker and enthusiast" answering in a thread on Quora:)
“No niin” (or “noni” or “nonnih”) is a very versatile interjection which most people use at least a few different ways. The different meanings/implications are true vernacular and vary according to the area and the microdialect. Some variations are very widely understood and close to settled, while others may be understood in the same way by just a few people within a single group.
Ismo Leikola is also astute in noticing that this specific word has intensive homophone variation conveyed via stresses, elongations and constrictions as well as tonal shifts, which as a rule do not carry more meaning in Finnish than slight nuances and basic tonal questions which are well known in many languages. (As in “Savvy?”)
Just some examples of the variations that are best known around where I live:
NON-ni (high-low) — “now you’ve gone and done it!”
non-NI (high-low) — “whew, all done now”
non-NI (low-high) — “let’s get going”
no-NII (low-dipping) —”didn’t I tell you? yes I did”
no-nii (neutral-falling) — “aww lookit you” (to babies/pets)
For an English counterpart, I’d suggest “yeah” or “sure”. They do gain a surprising list of meanings when you sit down and think about the many many ways they can be said.
(Here is a video by a well-known Finnish comedian named Ismo Leikola, for a vocal aid to help contextualize the various applications and usages of noniin.)
The similarity of the two words, and their multifaceted characterizations and usages, struck me, as two little versatile syntactic components of two of my favorite corners of the far north, so I thought I'd just share that special little linguistic feature with y'all.
Best,
Nico
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