Rauma dialect

Rauma language ("rauman giäl") is a dialect of Finnish spoken in the town of Rauma, western Finland.

The written form of the dialect was preserved by the writer and doctor Hj. Nortamo, and is currently practiced mainly as a hobby. Some of the most distinctive characteristics of the dialect (as written) are the use of letters 'g' and 'b', which are not common in Finnish language. Pronunciation of these letters is, however, closer to the more common 'k' and 'p' of mainstream Finnish.

Rauma dialect is practically extinct from real-life use. Many people in Rauma do speak in a way that carries a resemblance to this dialect - as an example, the tempo of speech is faster than average Finnish, with a lot of shortened words, but few can speak the actual Rauma dialect.

There are several subcategories of Rauma dialect, which have subtle differences and have their roots in neighbouring communities.

Examples with Finnish and English translations

• "San snää mnuu snuuks, snuuks mnääki snuu sno."
  • Finnish: Sano sinä minua sinuksi, sinuksi minäkin sinua sanon.
  • Spoken Finnish of Helsinki area: Sano säki mua suks, suks mäki sua sanon.
  • English: You should call me "thou", as I will call you "thou" too. (Used when dropping titles and starting to use first names.)
• "Ol niingon gotonas"
  • Finnish: Ole kuin kotonasi.
  • Spoken Finnish of Helsinki area: Oo niinku kotonas.
  • English: Feel yourself at home.
• "Luanikast reissu"
  • Finnish: Hyvää matkaa.
  • Spoken Finnish of Helsinki area: Hyvää matkaa.
  • English: Have a nice journey.
• "Mää on Raumalt, mistä snää ot?"
  • Finnish: Minä olen Raumalta, mistä sinä olet?
  • Spoken Finnish of Helsinki area: Mä oon Raumalt(a), mist(ä) sä oot?
  • English: I am from Rauma, where are you from?

External links

• Uusi Rauma newspaper, which publishes a complete issue in Rauma dialect once a year and publishes weekly columns in Rauma dialect. They can be found also in the net: http://www.ur.fi/raumangialise/index.html*