Why we can read Finnish without understanding it – a look at ‘transparent’ languages

Jon Andoni Duñabeitia, Director del Centro de Investigación Nebrija en Cognición (CINC) y Director de la International Chair in Cognitive Health (ICCH) en la Universidad Nebrija, Universidad Nebrija

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Picture this: you find yourself in a Helsinki karaoke bar one night, and someone encourages you to get up and sing a well known song in Finnish. Without knowing a word of the language you grab the microphone and, to your surprise, manage to follow the rhythm of the lyrics appearing on the screen with no idea of what you are actually saying. Fans of Eurovision can try this out for themselves with Käärijä’s 2023 Finnish language hit “Cha Cha Cha”.

But why is this possible? The secret lies in the “transparency” of Finnish, and many other languages.... Read the original article...