The difference between short and long sounds is used very widely in Finnish
to distinguish different words. Long sounds can occur in almost any position
in a word, and there are few restrictions on permissible combinations of long
and short sounds. This is clear from the following examples.
Tule tänne. Come here.
Ulkona ei tuule. Outside it is not windy.
Ulkona ei tuulle. Outside it is probably not windy.
Ulkona tuulee. Outside it is windy.
Pekka tulee. Pekka comes.
Pekka tullee. Pekka will probably come.
Ulkona tuullee. Outside it is probably windy.
Almost all the possible combinations of short and long sounds occur: short-
short-short, short-long-short, long-short-long, long-long-short, short-long-
long, long-long-long, etc. Note in particular the following three points:
There is a difference between a short and a long vowel before a short
and a long consonant.
Pronunciation and sound structure 13
Examples:
tili account – tiili brick – tilli dill
tuli fire – tuuli wind – tulli customs
mutta but – muuttaa change – muuta other
(partitive
case)
muna egg – muuna other (essive case) – muunna transform!
The following six words are all pronounced differently and have distinct
meanings:
takka fireplace
taakka burden
takkaa fireplac (partitive case)
taakkaa burden (partitive case)
taka back
takaa from behind
Examples:
karta avoid! – kartta map
korpi wilderness – korppi raven
arki weekday – arkki ark
kansa people – kanssa together with
pelko fear – palkki beam
lampi pond – lamppu lamp
valta power – valtti trump
sanka spectacle frame – sankka dense
Thus, kanssa ‘together with’ is pronounced [kans?a] while kansa ‘people’ is
pronounced either [kan?sa] or [kansa].
The main stress is always on the first syllable of the wor(§10). Long
vowels elsewher than in the first syllable are pronounced without main
stress, cf. táloon ‘into the house’, hýppään ‘I jump’, káappiin ‘into the
cupboard’, rávintolaan ‘into the restaurant’, tálossaan ‘in his house’.
