Finland: First Name or Title?

From ExecutivePlanet.com

First Name or Title?

Finns usually use first names, unless there are big differences in age or rank or it is a very formal setting. Titles such as “Doctor” are not used in speech very much nowadays.

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Finns have been using the “sinä” form of familiar and informal address for the last 40 years (corresponds to “Du” in German or “Tu” in French). This is what you would hear in shops, on buses and on the street. But recently there is a trend to move back to a politer form (“Te” corresponds to “Sie” in German or “Vous” in French).

Unlike the Americans, Finns don’t repeat first names when meeting and feel slightly uncomfortable with this practice.