by Finnish ABCs
When I found my mother’s old Finnish cookbook, with it was a little aapinen, a Finnish ABC book or primer. A sad little thing without a cover, unlike this one, so I don’t know when it was published, possibly in the 1940s. I don’t recall if it was one of my books. Next time I will show you more pages of the fascinating fonts.
April 21, 2012 in Books, Finland, Estonia & Finno-Ugric, Found Objects, History, Home, Photoworks by Marja-Leena
Marja-Leena,
this one was not the one I had in school, but if it was my mother’s I don’t remember. But it would’ve been published then at the end of 1920’s or beginning of 1930’s, she was born in 1924. She would’ve started the school in 1931.
I have no idea where my father’s things from the childhood are, as the family broke up as late as 1947, and most likely his books would’ve been used by kid sister and brother. He was born 1921.
I HAVE seen this book, though. It was years back in an exhibition of book art in Finland since the Finnish publications, that means then also printed editions of prayer books and bibles.
ABC-books were published one in a kind very rarely. The old print type was needed still if the family had any books, because fraktuura (I don’t know what it is in English but it was general letter type in Europe) was still used in 1800-hundreds.
This letter type I don’t think was taught to us anymore in the 50’s. But of course later, in history lessons. And/or in visual art lessons. I can read it quite well still.
“A-umlaut” is for “aiti”…
Ripsa, so it is quite possible this may have been my mother’s reader! I tried to find a website that I had once seen of old Finnish readers and children’s books, perhaps at the wonderful Craft Museum in Jyväskylä, but without luck.
Is ‘fraktuura’ the German Gothic looking font? I remember all the Finnish hymn books that we had in Winnipeg’s small Finnish community. They were very old ones and had this lettering. I was able to read it then but now it is a bit of a struggle.
Black Pete, yes, äiti for mother. I could show you how to set up a Finnish keyboard on your Mac if you are interested.
Yes, we have all å,ä.ö in our Macs here, like this one I’m writing on.
Also they were in our typewriters, of course.
I do think it’s called fractur, which is specifically German Gothic. I don’t seem to find it in my font list…
Äiti= mother, isä = father, sisko=sister, veli=brother. And yet of course: vauva= baby, vanhus= old human.
Also remember that we have only one word for she and he=hän. No problem with it. Everybody understand the gender from the context.
It certainly is very lovely and would probably be just what I’d need to start learning the language. I’m very impressed you’ve managed to hold onto so many little treasures.
Ripsa, you must have a Finnish keyboard. Mine, and Black Pete’s have English keyboards so we have to use a setting in the Apple system which allows language choices and ‘changes’ the keyboard. I have English, Finnish, French, German and Danish as my choices. I’m fairly good now at remembering which keys give me the Finnish umlaut letters but for the others which I use rarely, I have to check.
My mother always had trouble with the he/she in English – it was quite funny sometimes.
Susan, the paper is not a good quality and without the cover it looks quite poor. I’m not sure how and why I still have it, probably mixed with my mother’s few things that I’ve kept. The contents are a treasure in the Finnish language for me – I’ve actually come across some words I did not know or had forgotten.
This may interest some readers who use a Mac:
This link tells you how to select foreign characters and symbols on a Mac keyboard, IF you have the Lion OS. (I don’t because it does not support my very beloved scanner!) Thanks, J, for the tip!
Oh, that was interesting! And I find linguistic archaeology to be appealing as well…
So lovely that you have many tangible bits of the past to share.
Marly, glad you find this interesting. I seem to be delving more and more into a lot of old personal stuff, partly because I’m going through another purge to reduce ‘stuff’. It is hard to purge these things but am digitizing some of it in case I do have to toss them one day, or our kids will. Also possible material here for some kind of art project….
I love those old books of our youth. I have some that I was given by my aunt in New Zealand I want to post about soon. And I wish that Jerry and I knew more about the Finnish language. A most interesting post.
Anne, it really is interesting comparing these old readers to what came later. I look forward to your post. Glad you found this interesting, even without knowing Finnish.
I’d like that, M-L. You might also include instructions for a Windows keyboard.
Black Pete! Okay, will send you an email soon. I’ll have to ask my hubby for the Windows directions for I don’t use it, while he uses both.