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The Unknown Legionnaire - In Finnish

Peter Lyderik

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In todays Helsingin Sanomat there is an article about Adi Stenroth, the only Finn who became an officer in the Legion. The article is not free, so log in if possible, or off to the library.

 

Peter Lyderik

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1d6f397998184e03a1ad8beb876a6831.jpg

Adi Stenroth somewhere in Syria
 

Peter Lyderik

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From the article about Adlay "Adi" Stenroth (1896-1931). He participates in the Finnish civil war, 1918, and then decides on a career as an officer in the Finnish army. The exact reason for leaving the army and Finland is not clear, but might have something to do with money. Anyway, Adi joins the Legion in Arras in april 1920 for five years. To begin with he serves as a private, then as an ordnance NCO, and in the beginning of 1924 is send to an officer course in Oran, graduates top of class and is promoted second lieutenant in July 1924. In 1925 and 1926 he sees plenty of combat in Morocco during the Rif war, is at one time believed to be killed in action, but ends up with a Croix de Guerre and promotion to lieutenant. From 1928 to 1930 he serves in the Levant, Syria and Lebanon. In October, 1930, he is send to Indochina to be in charge of a company, arrives there in the middle of april, 1931, gets ill and dies 23.05.1931.
 

dusaboss

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From the article about Adlay "Adi" Stenroth (1896-1931). He participates in the Finnish civil war,
Finns had civil war?!? Didn't heard about it before. What was that about? Domination over Nokia telegraph machines ? :)
I thought you Scandinavians are peaceful since Viking time.

I thought only Serbs are in war all the time. With who .... doesn't really matter much to us. But we have some favorite picks :)
 

jonny

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Finns had civil war?!? Didn't heard about it before. What was that about? Domination over Nokia telegraph machines ? :)
I thought you Scandinavians are peaceful since Viking time.

I thought only Serbs are in war all the time. With who .... doesn't really matter much to us. But we have some favorite picks :)
Dusa,
Finns are not Scandinavians. Only Norwegians, Swedes and Danes are Scandinavians. The Finns appeared from somewhere in east Asia with a strange language that nobody else relate to.

But anyway, they put up a very spirited fight against the Russians in the winter of 1939. The Finnish author Vaino Linna wrote a great book about that war, called ‘Unknown Soldier’ in English. I got that book in the Norwegian translation. One of my all time favourites.
 

dusaboss

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Dusa,
Finns are not Scandinavians. Only Norwegians, Swedes and Danes are Scandinavians. The Finns appeared from somewhere in east Asia with a strange language that nobody else relate to.
Yeah I know they are not closely connected to other Nordic nations with language. Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Island. But somehow I always so them as part of that group. Probably because of location and flag and I think they have similar culture.
They are actually connected with Hungarians. I mean "conceited" being in same lingual group doesn't mean anything.
 

jonny

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Yeah I know they are not closely connected to other Nordic nations with language. Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Island. But somehow I always so them as part of that group. Probably because of location and flag and I think they have similar culture.
They are actually connected with Hungarians. I mean "conceited" being in same lingual group doesn't mean anything.
I think about myself as a bit ofa linguist, and one way I look at different languages as in how they count to ten on their fingers. To me that is one of the basics for any language. From one to four in Hungarian, it’s eidj, kaeitju, harum, neidj, or something similar from memory. In Finnish (from memory again) it’s oeksi, kaksi, kolomen, nelja. I.e the number four in both languages seem similar. And strangely enough, in Korean number 4 is net, which is close again.

On the other hand, as a dedicatet linguist I have found one word that is the same in both Finnish and Hungarian, and as I’m concerned, fully explains the interaction of those migrants on horseback and reindeers from the steppes of central Asia to the snowy fields of northern Scandinavia, via central Europe. That word was ‘korva’!

In both Hungarian and Finnish ‘korva’ means whore. 😅

I think they had something otherthan horses and reindeer in mind.
 
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jonny

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I cand of imagine in my mind, something similar to legionnaires riding into town in the Sahara desert, and asking a passerby, ‘out est le bmc?’
 

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The Finns had a different religion than the Norse, too. In fact, Finnish paganism --'Suomenusko', I think-- is different from that of any of their neighbors. You can find some similarities between the Germanic, Norse, Slavic, and Baltic pagan faiths--- Perun, for example, is basically Slavic Thor-- and in Romuva, Baltic Paganism, you have the concept of a tree that holds up the world (Austras Koks)-- which exists in Norse and Germanic paganism as Yggdrasil.

 

Crawdad

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But, the Fins are/were different. True, they were polytheists, but they were also animists with a tradition of ancestor worship/veneration-- which would further suggest Asian origins (Along with the different genetics and language).
 

jonny

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Thank you my learned friends, but as I said before, the wildly differences between Finnish and Scandinavian languages must be a clue. Korva Crava, as we say in Croatia. Right, Capo?
 

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Yes, they are not even in Indo-Europiane group of languages. But they leave in that place so long so I'm sure they are not that much culturally different from neighbors.
 

jonny

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Yes, they are not even in Indo-Europiane group of languages. But they leave in that place so long so I'm sure they are not that much culturally different from neighbors.
Yes Dusa, not much different at all, except it’s so bloody cold in the winter your balls shrivel up, and their women are increadibly beautiful so you’re walking around like a dog with your tongue hanging out, being in heat all the time. Mind you, I have never been there in the summer. Might be different then.......

And their language? As far as I know, nnobody knows where they really got that one from. Apparently they have 8 casuses, while the Germans, e.g. only have to strugle with three ( nominative, acusative, dative, I seam to remember)

Oh well....
 

jonny

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I seem to remember it’s the Wedding night in German that gets you to Dative (in an, auf, uber, unter, swichen, durch?) 😇
 

jonny

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Thanks professor, but it stills mean whore in hungarian maybe the Finns got smething about ears as well? 😅 I’ll check on my book re the winter war, just writing from rough memory here, not to promote myself for anything, like some other posters, who have obviously experienced a lot more than me.
 

jonny

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By the way, Professor, I learned a nice Finnish song from a sailor on the bum in Genova. It goes on the tune of ‘bah bah litte lamb.’ Lokingforward to your translation.

Ba, ba veika slapsi,
onko sola villo,
ja, ja raka slapsi,
piko poika pillo

øksi strumpi...etc

Satana, perkele, jumalauta, heista vitto suomalainen!
 
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