A good way to get started learning Finnish gaming industry is by reading some of the many online resources available. Helsingin Sanomat is Finland’s largest newspaper, and its free Mango Languages translation tool allows you to mass-translate articles into English. There are also online Finnish-language newspapers like Fast Talk Finland from Lonely Planet, which focuses on cultural tips for traveling in the country. If you want to read some actual literature, try one of the online versions of the Kalevala or one of its many adaptations such as the New Testament.

Another great way to learn the language is by watching Finnish TV shows. Luottomies (Wingman) is a buddy comedy that follows the adventures of Tommi and Juhis, while Stan Saanila and Andre Wickstrom’s Tama tasta (“This Here”) lampoons political events. If you want something more serious, watch Rankka vuosi (“Tough Year”), a documentary series about the coronavirus pandemic in Finland.

Game On: Navigating the Thriving Finnish Gaming Industry

The Library has a variety of Finnish-language resources, both monographic and serial. The monograph collection includes publications from Helsinki, Turku, Oulu, Porvoo, Jyvaskyla, and Tampere/Tampere-Borga. The serial collections contain titles from the same areas as well as from the rest of Finland.

For beginning learners, there are numerous bilingual children’s books. The Helsinki-based author Tuula Pere has several heartwarming children’s stories such as Eva the Adventurer / Seikkailija Eeva and Lauri – pikku matkamies (Lauri, a Little Traveler). In addition, the Library’s online collections include an extensive collection of audio recordings of traditional Finnish music as well as digitized books on the national epic, the Kalevala.