#I’m raised semi?bilingual. It’s mainly a dialect and standard dutch but the differences aren’t as big with 2 complete diff languages

[koskela-knights]

Koskela family & Language

Random thoughts and HCs regarding the Koskela family and their relation with being bilingual.

The Koskela brothers are raised in Finnish first and foremost. Finnish Watery residents still remain proudful of their heritage and try to pass on their culture and language to the new generations as much as possible

As the years progress, the brothers learn to adapt a more American accent. Mainly becos it grants them more social status becos society favours those who are more “integrated” and sound less “foreign”. For Jaakko, it’s another way of masking so whenever he is in Watery and more intimate locations, he lets go of the American accent

Jaakko’s partner was American.

Depending on whether his partner stayed with him for a few years, his partner would try to learn Finnish

For Cult talk, the brothers often switch to Finnish, especially around BF residents if it’s urgent and they cant wait until they’re alone. I HC Watery residents are in on their secret and most are part of the Cult to some degree

Jaakko tries to speak Finnish & Finnish culture to his kids as much as he can, but also still has to teach them English.

Depending on the partner AU, Jaakko speaks mainly Finnish and his partner English to the kid

Charlie goes through a rebellious phase and refused to learn more Finnish, smth he later regrets becos he cant always communicate with elderly Finnish residents

At school, the twins also learn that some people are xenophobic toward heavy accents, so they try to use a more American accent over time

With the kids being more connected to the world through internet, they do use English more often and often

I imagine Charlie and Charlene often struggle with their Finnish-American identities. With Charlie feeling more American, often wanting to be a “real” one but his surname “betrays” his heritage. Meanwhile Charlene as she grows older, wants to know more about her dad’s culture and the Koskela history

However, Charlie likes to use his Finnish to cheat in elementary and high school. He also likes to curse in Finnish

Ilmo sometimes experiences social “dysphoria” becos he is proud to be Finnish but having to subdue some of it in order to make money in some places. However, he tries to slip in his culture whenever he can (the Ahma business being the modt obvious, but he’d also talk about Finnish legens during adventure tours)

In dire or very serious situations, the brothers speak their mother tongue. Charlie and Charline do this less

Kalle and Liina are Charlie and Charline’s nicknames/baby names. Both Jaakko and Ilmo use these names, especially when they were younger. Jaakko sometimes uses these names when lecturing his kids

For Kalevala Day, performances in the Suomi Hall are done in Finnish but also get translated to English and Swedish

Ilmo likes to switch languages whenever he finds English lacking in vocabulary or when he doesnt know the right words in either Finnish or English

He and Jaakko easily switch languages but for the kids it’s not as smooth

Bonus Huotari HCs

Ilmari struggled the most with English

Both Huotari brothers speak Swedish as their second language

They both speak with a heavy accent, Ilmari not always being comprehensible in English so he often relied on Jaakoppi

The language barrier made work difficult at times but luckily there were other Fins and Swedes at the lumbermill who could translate official English documents and procedures to their fellow colleagues who didnt know English yet

As the Dark Presence gets a stronger grip on Ilmari, his paranoia skyrockets and he suspects everyone who speaks English is talking about him in a negative light

The language barrier prevented Jaakoppi to seek help when Ilmari became mentally ill (the DP influence) They did have a Finnish doctor in their small community but he couldnt help more either

(Also feel free to add ur own ideas, thoughts or bilingual experiences 👀)