Tankero
Encyclopedia
The tankero was originally a fiction
al animal
that was quite popular in Finnish
media in the 1970s.
The word is said to have been coined when Prime Minister of Finland
Ahti Karjalainen
visited a Kenya
n zoo
in the 1970s. He is reported as having said "Kaikki eläimet ovat tankeroita" (Finnish
for "All animals are tankeros"), after misunderstanding a sign that said "All animals are dangerous."
This was so popular that one Finnish magazine held a drawing competition of what the tankero would look like. The Finnish political cartoonist Kari Suomalainen
drew a strip where Kalevi Sorsa
meets Karjalainen and a strange-looking animal he is carrying on a leash. "Is that a tankero?" asks Sorsa, and the strange-looking animal replies "No, that's Ahti."
During the same period a certain amount of jokes, based on English-Finnish language misunderstandings, were current: for example a person mistakenly greeting a Crimea
n by calling him criminal. These jokes were labelled as "tankero-jokes" and generally told with Ahti Karjalainen as the main character.
The original meaning fell into disuse after Karjalainen's death, and today it is a slang
word for something that is awkward or not properly developed, especially poor knowledge of the pronunciation
or grammar
of a foreign language.
The most common use of the tankero-word today is "tankero-englanti" or "tankero-English", meaning poorly pronounced English. The term has very strong connotations of awkward-sounding pronunciation with a very strong Finnish accent. The actual grammar and vocabulary of "tankero-English" may well be correct, though.
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
that was quite popular in Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
media in the 1970s.
The word is said to have been coined when Prime Minister of Finland
Prime Minister of Finland
The Prime Minister is the Head of Government of Finland. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President, who is the Head of State. The current Prime Minister is Jyrki Katainen of the National Coalition Party.-Overview:...
Ahti Karjalainen
Ahti Karjalainen
Ahti Kalle Samuli Karjalainen was a Finnish politician. He was a member of the Agrarian League and was Prime Minister of Finland for two terms...
visited a Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
n zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
in the 1970s. He is reported as having said "Kaikki eläimet ovat tankeroita" (Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
for "All animals are tankeros"), after misunderstanding a sign that said "All animals are dangerous."
This was so popular that one Finnish magazine held a drawing competition of what the tankero would look like. The Finnish political cartoonist Kari Suomalainen
Kari Suomalainen
Kari Yrjänä Suomalainen was Finland's most famous political cartoonist. His first cartoon appeared in the start of the year 1950, showing an infant boy contemplating two toys: a tank and a dove carrying an olive branch. The boy is saying: "Tank.....
drew a strip where Kalevi Sorsa
Kalevi Sorsa
Taisto Kalevi Sorsa was a Finnish politician who was Prime Minister of Finland four times: 1972–1975, 1977–1979, 1982–1983 and 1983–1987 and at the date of his death still held the Finnish record of most days of incumbency as prime minister...
meets Karjalainen and a strange-looking animal he is carrying on a leash. "Is that a tankero?" asks Sorsa, and the strange-looking animal replies "No, that's Ahti."
During the same period a certain amount of jokes, based on English-Finnish language misunderstandings, were current: for example a person mistakenly greeting a Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
n by calling him criminal. These jokes were labelled as "tankero-jokes" and generally told with Ahti Karjalainen as the main character.
The original meaning fell into disuse after Karjalainen's death, and today it is a slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
word for something that is awkward or not properly developed, especially poor knowledge of the pronunciation
Pronunciation
Pronunciation refers to the way a word or a language is spoken, or the manner in which someone utters a word. If one is said to have "correct pronunciation", then it refers to both within a particular dialect....
or grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
of a foreign language.
The most common use of the tankero-word today is "tankero-englanti" or "tankero-English", meaning poorly pronounced English. The term has very strong connotations of awkward-sounding pronunciation with a very strong Finnish accent. The actual grammar and vocabulary of "tankero-English" may well be correct, though.