J. Pahikkala
Finlande
1. MAIN FEATURES OF THE USE
With the programme the inflexion forms of the Finnish verbs may be examined and practised. The user has the choice of English, German, French, Swedish, Hungarian, Estonian and Finnish. The programme was originally aimed for the study of Finnish at foreign universities, but it is useful also in other types of schools and for self-study. No experience in the computers is required.
The treatment of the verbal forms in the programme takes place by handling one verb at a time. The forms will appear in doses, form groups (e.g., the present tense forms), whereby one can practise within every finite form group. Moving from one group to another may be done for example by pressing the space bar, in which case the groups will be scanned through in a certain order. There are 24 groups and they all have their own page number. Scanning is also possible by using the letter keys (z, x, c, v, b, n, m) of the lowest line, at which the forms will be equipped with enclitics. One can freely alternate these keys.
The actual learning of the forms happens of course most naturally by concentrating upon one form group at a time. The desired group is accessed with its page number directly after feeding the basic form of the verb. The programme shows the required key alternatives at the relevant points. The Exercise state is always accessible when “e!” is in sight, and it can be left by pressing once the ENTER key.
The English version of «TUULI» contains now also the interactive Grammar Inquiry state, which has different degrees of difficulty. It is accessed with the “i” key.
2. PROPERTIES OF THE PROGRAMME
The programme is very flexible. It does not matter, although one wouldn't at once press the correct key or although one would feed an absurd basic form into it. Once a verb is chosen, one can quite freely jump from one of its form groups to another with the numeric keys. The numbered pages constitute a frame of a kind from which one can turn off at times e.g.
Moving from one verb to another takes place at any point when the ENTER key is first pressed. If the verb-changing is done with the TAB key, then the programme automatically will continue on the old page.
Another characteristic is, that the programme always gives the user time for thinking himself about the form group he chooses. As the name of the group appears, one can first think about the forms or even write them on paper. The next key-pressing produces the forms (or leads into the exercise state if “e” is pressed).
The third property is the general applicability: «TUULI» is able to faultlessly generate all the finite and nominal forms (in total 282 forms) for every Finnish multipersonal verb occurring in «Nykysuomen sanakirja» and besides this for innumerable other verbs (e.g. äetä, raveta, järjestelmällistytellä, zimbabwelaistua, söheltää).¹ All rare and also old-fashionned verbs, such as sueta, vilvetä, peljätä, aterioita, do for «TUULI». If the basic form is common for the paradigms of two separate verbs, as in the cases keritä, tavata, isota, toeta, a special notice will be given, and also the other paradigm will be gotten by giving the basic form as *keritä and so forth. The same is true when a verb has two different inflexions (e.g. tietää, aueta, kimmota). The programme is not planned to treat dialectal and slangy verbs, nor the verbs with defective paradigm, as tuta, raketa, seh.
3. ABOUT THE FORMS AND SYNTAX
The basic form of the verb is in sight all the time. The letter “G” on the left signifies the consonantal gradation of the verb (e.g. ommella : ompelen, edetä : etenen, sorkkia : sorkin). Another special feature of Finnish, the final gemination, which is important in the spoken, but not denoted in the written language, is shown by «TUULI» in the relevant forms with the symbol “()”. In the exercise state, the learning of the final gemination is required of the user.
The programme «TUULI» aspires, as well, at giving the student a view to the Finnish enclitic system. The enclitics (or, suffix particles) will be joined to the finite verbal forms when using the lowest line of the keyboard, and then a clear remark is seen on the screen on the right; e.g. “(·pa/pä)”. This concerns especially the interrogative forms, which are obtained with the “z” and “x” keys (the latter gives, besides the proper interrogative enclitic ko/kö, also the supplementary enclitic han/hän). The enclitics rise the total number of the forms of each verb in the programme to 1064. One must bear in mind the enclitics in the exercise state, too.
If the verb may function as an auxiliary verb, like yrittää, its rection (e.g. yrititte tehdä, but viipyvät tekemässä, estyimme tekemästä, tulee tekemään) is gotten with the “r” key (after each of the sides 1 thru 18).
«TUULI» gives the finite forms of every verb groupwise in the persons and in the passive, likewise negatively. The nominal forms are also gotten groupwise in all their possible cases of the active and passive; as applications are given some shortened sentences (the final, temporal and participial structures). In addition, certain example sentences of the use of the third and fourth infinitives are produced.
The verb in imperative or interrogative form or with an enclitic acts on the word order of Finnish sentence. The programme teaches also it by showing the position of the subject in sentences of all kinds (one must only press SHIFT and simultaneously z, x,..., m, or “;”). Besides, enclitics on the subject are seen.
The programme will be run with the name TUULI and terminate with the ESC key or by feeding “esc” for the requested verb.