Nineteenth-Century Spelling

Level 6

Old Literary Finnish (1540–1810) spelling was a transitional orthography used before modern standardization. Its most iconic features include the use of w instead of v, archaic consonants like 'x' and 'q', alongside different rules for compound words and capitalization.

How It Works

During the era of Old Literary Finnish (1540–1810), Finnish orthography underwent significant changes before moving toward the modern standard.

Key features of this style include:

  • The letter 'w': In later older texts, w commonly represents the consonant written v today, as in wanha → vanha. In 16th-century Old Literary Finnish, 'w', 'v', and 'u' were sometimes interchangeable for both /u/ and /v/ sounds, as seen in Wsi Testamenti (Uusi Testamentti).
  • Capitalization: Capitalization was highly inconsistent and usually reserved for proper nouns and important or emphasized common nouns (especially religious terms), rather than systematically applied to all nouns.
  • Archaic Consonants: Earlier texts used 'x' for /ks/ (yxi vs. yksi), 'q' or 'qu' for /k/ (quinga vs. kuinka), 'c' before back vowels (cuningas vs. kuningas), and 'tz' in words corresponding to modern ts (metzä → metsä); its historical pronunciation could instead involve a dental fricative, depending on period and dialect. Before front vowels, 'k' was used (e.g., kesä), because 'c' before a front vowel would have been read as an /s/ sound due to Latin and Swedish influence. Additionally, 'ch' (along with 'c' and 'h') was prominently used to represent the voiceless velar fricative /x/ (similar to the German ach-laut), e.g., techtin for modern tehtiin.
  • The /d/ sound: In Old Literary Finnish, 'dh' (and sometimes 'd') represented the voiced dental fricative /ð/ (like 'th' in English 'this'). The modern /d/ sound became established in standard Finnish partly through spelling pronunciation and Swedish influence, after the /ð/ sound disappeared from most dialects (though it survived in some Western dialects, like Old Rauma, into the 20th century).
  • Inconsistent Vowel and Consonant Length: Older texts often did not mark long vowels or double consonants consistently (e.g., wsi for uusi, sarna for saarna). Furthermore, 'ij' was used for long 'ii' (e.g., sijs), 'gh' or 'g' for the /ɣ/ sound (e.g., sighan), and diphthongs were often unmarked (e.g., 'o' or 'oo' for 'uo').
  • The use of 'e' for 'ä': Historically, 'e' was frequently used to represent the 'ä' sound (e.g., peiuine for päivinä).
  • Fraktur (Gothic) Script: Older Finnish texts were widely printed in Fraktur script, which explains the preference for 'w' and poses reading challenges with letters like 's' and 'f'.
  • Compound Words: Words that are now written as single units (yhdyssanat) were often written as separate words or with hyphens.
  • Alphabetization: Historically, 'v' and 'w' were treated as the same letter for sorting purposes. While this changed officially in the SFS 4600 standard in 2022, the transition in dictionaries and general usage began much earlier.

Today, this spelling is primarily used as a stylistic choice to make something look 'old-fashioned' or 'traditional', and archaic spellings survive prominently in Finnish surnames (e.g., Wirtanen and Waltari).

Stops After Nasals and Liquids
Older spelling often uses mb, nd, ld, ng where modern words have mp, nt, lt, nk: ymbärins, andanut, sencaldaiset, cuinga. These conventions reflect older writing models, not an instruction to pronounce every b, d or g as a modern voiced stop.

Reading Old Letter Shapes
In older typefaces, ä and ö may appear as aͤ and oͤ, with a small e above the vowel. Recognize the superscript mark as part of the letter; it is not an extra syllable.

Examples (4)

  1. Waimo on miehen kunnia.

    A wife is a man's honor.

    Word by Word: Wife is man's honor.

    An illustrative sentence showing w in place of modern v; it is not presented as a verified quotation from a historical proverb collection.

  2. Suomen Kansan Wanhat Runot.

    The Ancient Poems of the Finnish People.

    Word by Word: Finland's People's Old Poems.

    Demonstrates W in the familiar title spelling. Capitalization in historical publications varies; this is not a rule to capitalize every modern title word.

  3. Täsä on se Wsi Testamenti.

    Here is the New Testament.

    Word by Word: Here is the New Testament.

    Shows archaic spelling (Täsä instead of Tässä) and the use of 'W' for 'U' or 'V' in very old contexts.

  4. Wanhan ajan jäätelö.

    Old-fashioned ice cream.

    Word by Word: Old time's ice-cream.

    A modern use of archaic spelling to evoke a sense of tradition and history.

Common Mistakes

  • Pronouncing 'w' like the English 'w' in 'water'.

    uanha
    vanha

    Read the w of wanha as the Finnish consonant in vanha, not English w. This rule is specific to its consonantal use; very early Wsi corresponds to modern uusi, with a vowel.

  • Using 'w' in modern formal writing.

    Minä wanhenen.
    Minä vanhenen.

    Unless you are intentionally writing in an archaic style or writing a name (like Wirtanen), do not use w in native Finnish words in modern writing.

How It Connects

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Nineteenth-Century SpellingLevel 6

Learn This First

To understand nineteenth-century orthography, a learner must first be familiar with the modern Finnish alphabet and standard spelling conventions, particularly the use of 'v' and the rules for forming compound words, as the older style primarily involves variations of these elements (such as using 'w' for 'v').

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