I've lived in Finland over 10 years. I've always managed in English. I do not speak Finnish and my Swedish is limited. Is this normal? Is this ok? Well...
It starts with: “Timmo. Sorry. I don’t [pause] English very well.” That sentence. I have heard that sentence hundreds of times since I came to Finland. If you have ever said those words to me, I love you.
Let’s imagine I am meeting Timmo for the first time. When greeting someone new I usually go for a short:
- Hi, Steve, nice to meet you!
Simple, right? Not so fast. Because this is what Timmo might have actually heard:
- Hi, my name is Steve, I speak an alarmingly fluent English and I am really looking forward to taking you out of your comfort zone by speaking this foreign tongue in your home-court, nice to meet you.
Timmo might have conveyed all of that simply because I am fluent in English, outgoing, smiling, relaxed. And nothing puts off a Finn like an outgoing, smiling, relaxed foreigner fluent in English*.
So, right now, Timmo has 3 options:
The first one is him being fluent in English and confident enough to eloquently respond:
- Hi, Steve, nice to meet you!
- Timmo.
No no, don’t walk away: that’s a good sign. That’s Finnish eloquence for you. You’re good to go. Keep building up the conversation slowly, you’ll be fine.
The second case scenario is, well, less pleasant. It's what we could call the Rough-this-is-Finland road:
- Hi, Steve, nice to meet you.
- Moj mitä tota kikeli kossu en puhu englantia.
(Note: You might have guessed I don’t speak Finnish).
Timmo doesn’t know English or won’t even try. This is a no-no road. It’s his choice. I won’t get mad. I’ll respect it. This is Finland after all.
Finally, the third case scenario:
- Hi, Steve, nice to meet you.
- Timmo. Sorry. I don’t [pause] English very well.
Magic. Pure communication magic. Because this is what Timmo actually meant:
- Hi, Steve, nice to meet you.
- Hi, Timmo, I am sorry I do not speak English very well. I am very uncomfortable saying these words because admitting a weakness does not go well with my Finnish identity -which is, on the other hand, very kind and much more friendly than what you foreigners might think- so allow me to stumble in my poor English just so we can establish a good ground, open up this communication channel but, please, do not come any closer and no hugs. Not yet, not ever.
(Note: might be an exaggeration, but you get the point).
This third option, the glorious “I don’t [pause] English very well” implies a mentality: the patient attitude of people who will still give me a chance to use a foreign language, in Finland, 10 years after my arrival. People who know their English is not great but they will try, for the sake of chatting with me. Which is why, again, I am grateful.
And please, don’t give me the “but Steve, everybody speaks English anyway in Finland!” line. Yes, most do speak some English but: is that a reason why you should impose it? Just because the average Timmo speaks much better English in Finland than the average Pedro, Jacques or Klaus in Spain, France or Germany is no ground to assume they must. “Everybody speaks English” sounds to me as educated as “speak Finnish, this is Finland.” You’re just on the other side of the scale.
“But they need English anyway to do business with the world? And why do I need Finnish to flip burgers in McDonalds?”. Well, some professions require English, Spanish, Persian, Chinese, Greek… some others don’t. Period. I know it is frustrating at times: I have been 22 and desperate for a job, any job, and turned down by cleaning companies for not speaking Finnish. But, again and again: if anything, be grateful you are able to job hunt only in English.
All in all, the ability of Finns to speak English is one of those daily things that should be appreciated and nurtured instead of taken for granted. Did you ever wonder why all Erasmus learn Spanish after 2 weeks in Salamanca, Valencia or Madrid? Because they want to survive. So, consider yourself lucky and grateful if you survive here only with English.
So thank you, Timmo. You do [pause] English very well. I appreciate the effort. I will always cherish the fact that you do speak English very well but, somehow, refuse to use that verb. You [pause] English very well and that’s it. Who needs verbs anyway when you’re in a country where a silence, [long pause] is often more meaningful than words.
*“… nothing puts off a Finn like an outgoing, smiling, relaxed foreigner fluent in English”: well, actually, maybe a couple of examples come to mind but they are not politically correct. Let’s save that for another day…
[Originally published on Fb page]