A Finnish Grammar — Themes and Context

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Authors: Eliot, Charles, 1862-1931 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2019 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Finnish language -- Grammar Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Words 82,822

Reading time 361 min

Text sections 19

The source record for A Finnish Grammar — Themes and Context measures this digital text at 82,822 words, 6 hr 1 min estimated reading time, and 19 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 11.9 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Finnish language -- Grammar,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #59795

This 1890 grammar by C. N. E. Eliot, the first English-language Finnish grammar, systematically describes written Finnish morphology and syntax using examples from the Kalevala, the Bible, and proverbs, with careful attention to case usage and verb forms.

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Transcriber’s Note: _italics_, =bold=.

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE AMEN CORNER, E.C.

BY C. N. E. ELIOT, M.A. FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, OXFORD

Oxford AT THE CLARENDON PRESS 1890

[_All rights reserved_]

Oxford PRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRESS BY HORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY

My object in writing this book has been to give an account of Finnish sufficient to enable any one to understand the grammatical structure of the written language, and also to place before the student of philology an account of the chief phenomena it presents. In this latter respect I am conscious that my treatment is very inadequate on account of my inability to make myself acquainted with the many dialects spoken by the peasantry in various parts, the importance of which for the scientific history of the language cannot be overrated. I trust, however, that I may meet with indulgence, as the present work is, to the best of my belief, the only grammar of Finnish in English, and the only syntax (except brief sketches) in any language more generally accessible than Swedish.

The Finnish language is still in so unsettled and fluid a condition, as regards both forms and style, that it is often hard to say what is correct and what not. A foreigner naturally cannot venture to decide what ought or ought not to be, and I have merely endeavoured to give an account of the forms and constructions found in existence. The examples are taken chiefly from the Kalevala and Bible (which are generally cited by references), from the Suomen Kansan Sananlaskuja of Ahlqwist, from various modern works, and some from the dictionaries of Lönnrot and Geitlin. The remainder have all been approved by natives, and will, hence, I trust, be found idiomatic.

I must acknowledge my obligations to the grammars of Genetz and Hämäläinen, to the Finska Språkets Satslära of Jahnsson, and especially to the excellent Suomen Kielen Lauseoppi of Setälä.

But more than to all of these I am indebted to the constant assistance and collaboration of my friend Mr. Putro of the Finnish School in St. Petersburg, to whose thorough knowledge of the language this work owes whatever accuracy it may possess. I have also to thank Mr. J. Marshall for several philological suggestions.

HÄNEN KUNINKAALLISEN MAJESTETINSA

LÄHETTILÄÄLLE PIETARISSA

HÄNEN YLHÄISYYDELLENSÄ SIR R. MORIERILLE

In this book I have endeavoured to give a simple and clear account of the Finnish language, chiefly of that form of it which is now recognised as the ordinary vehicle of literary composition, and have thought it better to set aside as far as possible scientific disquisitions. I now proceed to briefly discuss from a purely theoretical point of view some of the phenomena presented by this curious tongue, in doing which I must express my special obligations to the various works of Professors Donner and Setälä, and also to the account of Die Sprachen der Uralischen Völker in the second volume of Dr. Friedrich Müller’s Grundriss der Sprachwissenschaft.

The phonetic system of Finnish is characterized by a great paucity of consonants and a correspondingly great development of vowels. The alphabet has but thirteen of the former: =d=, =g=, =h=, =j=, =k=, =l=, =m=, =n=, =p=, =r=, =s=, =t=, =v=. Of these it must be observed that =d= is in modern times only a literary invention, though as it exists in Esthonian and other cognate languages there is no reason to object to its use. It always represents a =t= which has been weakened by phonetic laws, but in the mouths of the peasantry the sound is either entirely omitted, or else replaced by a cerebral letter (represented in writing by =l= or =r=) or by =v= or =j=. =G= also is only found in the combination =ng=, which has exactly the same sound as in English. The letter =h= is apparently never original in the middle of words. It appears to me to have really two sounds—as an initial or between vowels, it is simply the English =h=, but before =t= and =k=, it is =χ=. The other consonants offer no remarkable peculiarities; =v= appears to be pronounced as in English (labio-dental), and not to be a labio-labial (modern Greek β).

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Eliot’s 1890 grammar, the first of its kind in English, opens with a frank admission: Finnish was then “in so unsettled and fluid a condition” that even native speakers disagreed on correctness. Rather than prescribe, Eliot set out to record forms and constructions actually found in print, drawing examples chiefly from the Kalevala, the Bible, and Ahlqvist’s proverb collection. The result is a descriptive snapshot of late-nineteenth-century literary Finnish, shaped by the author’s collaboration with his Finnish-speaking assistant, Mr. Putro, and by his reliance on the grammars of Genetz, Hämäläinen, Jahnsson, and Setälä.

A Grammar Built on Examples

Eliot’s method is to illustrate each rule with multiple citations, often keyed to specific lines from the Kalevala (e.g., “Itki illat, itki aamut, yöhyet ennemmin itki, Kal. v. 7, 8”). He also draws on the Bible, modern novels, and the dictionaries of Lönnrot and Geitlin. Where no published source exists, he states that the example “has been approved by natives.” This reliance on attested usage gives the grammar a documentary quality: it reports what was written, not what ought to be written. The reader is thus invited to treat the examples as primary data, not merely as illustrations of a pre-existing rule.

The Partitive and Its Expressive Range

Eliot devotes considerable space to the partitive case, which Finnish uses in ways unfamiliar to an English speaker. Beyond its core function of indicating partial objects, the partitive appears in salutations (“Hyvää iltaa”), exclamations (“kauheaa!”), and even in expressions like “voi päiviäni.” Eliot explains these as arising from “the omission of some word,” implying a grammatical ellipsis. This observation reveals how the partitive can carry emotional or conventional weight, not just syntactic information. The grammar’s treatment of such idiomatic uses is one of its strengths, showing a linguist’s sensitivity to pragmatics.

The Genitive: Possession, Measure, and Obligation

Eliot distinguishes three main genitive functions: subjective (“Alqwistin teokset”), objective (“jumalan pelko”), and determinative (“Helsingin kaupunki”). He also notes a less obvious use: the genitive with adjectives of age, measure, or character, as in “sormen pituinen” (of a finger’s length) or “venäläisen luontoinen” (Russian in character). More strikingly, the genitive appears with impersonal verbs of necessity (“Minun pitää lähteä”) and with expressions of physical state (“Minun on jano”). Eliot tentatively suggests that this may reflect an old dative in -n that merged with the genitive, a philological hypothesis that adds depth to the descriptive account.

The Accusative and the Concept of Totality

Eliot’s treatment of the accusative hinges on the notion of “total” action: the direct object is accusative when the verb’s action is regarded as complete, as in “Isä ostaa kirjan pojalle.” He also documents the accusative of duration (“Viivyn päivän”) and of frequency (“ensimäisen kerran”). A curious detail is that expressions with “joka” (every) remain in the nominative, even when they function adverbially (“Olen joka kerta matkustanut meritse”). Such fine-grained observations, drawn from multiple sources, make the grammar a valuable record of how 19th-century literary Finnish handled aspect and quantification.

Eliot’s grammar is best read as a period document: it captures a language in transition, with the author acting as a careful observer rather than a legislator. Readers interested in historical linguistics will appreciate the references to dialectal variation (e.g., the St. Petersburg use of “minulla” for “minun” in expressions of thirst) and the occasional comparative note. For learners, the dense array of examples—many from the Kalevala—offers a direct encounter with the literary language of the time, though the absence of exercises or progressive lessons means it serves better as a reference than a tutorial.

Holding Eliot’s grammar, I kept thinking how strange it is to learn a language through proverbs and Kalevala lines, as if every verb carried an echo of old singing. That same quiet feeling returned last week with a A short introduction to English grammar — Themes and Context—my own language, suddenly unfamiliar, and I was a beginner again, grateful for the patience such books ask of us.