Finnish

Discovering the language

Finnish uses the Latin alphabet. It became a written language with the Reformation in the XVI^th century. Mikael Agricola, bishop of Turku, published a number of religious works from 1543 onwards, including his translation of the New Testament.

At the beginning of the 19th^e century, under the influence of national Romanticism, the discovery of a rich, distinctively Finnish oral tradition kick-started an awareness of identity, reinforced by the publication of the epic Kalevala in 1835.

Finland, which has been independent since 1917, is known today for the vitality of its literature, which offers a great diversity of both registers of expression and themes (children's books, thrillers, comic strips, fantasy literature, poetry, etc.), its culture of classical music but also its culture of poetry.

Finnish has been taught at Inalco since 1931.

Knowledge of Finnish, an official language of the European Union since 1995, is an invaluable asset for anyone interested in the Nordic countries of Europe.

Finnish is also one of the world's most popular languages.