FinnishTranslationFilter: need help with an English-Finnish translation.

Disclaimer: I'm a native (finnish-as-my-first-language) Finn who isn't from Helsinki. Most people do speak English, true, but it's not always a given that they've had too much exposure to actually using it in real life. This goes double for anywhere that isn't Helsinki, and anyone who doesn't work in a shop, a bar or a restaurant. So yeah, I wouldn't think it's insulting to ask. At least I would respect the effort. Do remember that some of the bemusement might come from the actual (as a Finn might see it) polite words and phrases since those are, for the most part, optional or even superfluous. Also be careful when pronouncing the double vowels, it's something like one and a half times long as a single one, if you stretch it too far (which is an easy mistake to make) you risk sounding sarcastic. True story.

No expert on Finnish, but between "do you speak English?" And "is English ok?" the latter I find to be less confrontational- more "do you feel like doing this?" than "are you capable of this (possibly basic to you) thing?" Ask it in English and either you'll hear "yes, of course!"* or figure it out pretty quick. *I had it pointed out to me in Amsterdam once that Dutch people frequently respond to requests with a polite "of course", especially in the service industries- I.e. "of course, we'll bring you an extra blanket right away." So while to a native English speaker that response might sound like "yes, you idiot, since sixth grade", the intent might not be so snobbish as it comes off. YMMV elsewhere, but just to give them benefit of the doubt.

Formally something like: "Anteeksi, sopiiko jos puhun englantia?" (Sorry, is it OK if I spoke in English?) or "Anteeksi, ei kai haittaa jos puhun englantia?" (Sorry, hopefully you don't mind if i spoke in English?"). "Anteeksi, en osaa (puhua) suomea."(Sorry, I don't know (how to speak) Finnish.). Informally a quick "Sori, sopiiko englanti?" ("Sorry, is English fine?") will do the trick. Regional dialects do different things, of course. Responses may vary. Can't remember ever being asked anything other than "Do you speak English?" in... English :)

Oh and another reason for odd reactions is that not everyone in Finland has Finnish as their first language - Swedish is also an official language there. It's another argument towards just switching to English. (And "sorry" works in both - spelled "sori", so you can use it in place of "anteeksi" if you don't know what the other person's first language is).

"but to at least a few people it seemed like they found the question slightly insulting." Because it is, actually, insulting and shows more of your ignorance about Finland than simply not knowing the language. In Finland and across most of the Nordic countries people are expected to speak English, they do speak decent English, and it is perfectly fine to just speak in English. Asking a Finn if she can speak English is like asking her if she can read. Kiitos (pronounced KEY-toz). "Thanks" is none the less handy to have and use.

Thanks for the responses so far! They're very helpful. @three blind mice: Yeah, I realised after the first couple of people said "of course I do" that it was a rather clueless question, but at the time I was living in Romania and most of my travel was in and around that area, where English is much less common. It had become second nature to ask if people spoke English because most people I encountered didn't. Once I switched the mental gears WRT where I was it made perfect sense and I quit asking. @fraula: I'm half Icelandic and so I'm familiar with the phenomena, as it's pretty much the same there -- just about everyone speaks perfect English. But after travelling and living in so many places it just grates on me when English speakers automatically assume that everyone they interact with will speak English. I'm aware that this is a superfluous gesture in a place like Finland but I can't get over the feeling that the polite thing to do is ask. (I do realise that in most cases this question is more for me than the person I'm interacting with.)

@fraula: To pick a nit, Finns are required to learn a foreign language from 3rd grade onwards, but it's not necessarily English.

But after travelling and living in so many places it just grates on me when English speakers automatically assume that everyone they interact with will speak English. But this is not the case. It is not just English speakers. Germans, Dutch, Swedes would all naturally assume a Finn could speak English. You should not feel self-conscious in the least in making such an assumption just because English is your mother tongue.

Certainly I'd assume that a Finn is more likely to speak English than not, but I've personally met quite a few Finns who spoke little or no English. I only remember one occasion where I approached a Finnish stranger assuming that they'd speak English. In this case, my interlocutor was working at the lost property office of the main Helsinki train station. This being a tourist hub, and it being the height of tourist season, I thought I'd be safe diving straight into English. The conversation went like this:Me: Excuse me, can you help? My friend left his wallet on the -- Finnish Lady: En puhu englantia ["I don't speak English"] [Finnish Lady glares at me, disappears into back office, does not return.] Conversely, we never seemed to cause any offence starting out in Finnish. Personally I'd go with a plain "puhutteko englantia?", or one of phax's formulations. And keep kiitos handy; it's always nice (IMHO) to thank people in their own language even if you can't say much more than that.