Communicative patterns in two languages in Finland

In this project we study the relationship between language, culture and communication. How similar are the communicative patterns found in the two national languages of Finland, Finnish and Swedish, compared to communicative patterns found in Sweden? To what extent can the communicative patterns found be related to cultural preferences in Finland?

The project is a continuation of the research program Interaction and Variation in Pluricentric Languages – Communicative Patterns in Sweden Swedish and Finland Swedish (Riksbankens jubileumsfond 2013–2020). The theoretical framework is Interactional Linguistics, where communicative strategies utilised by individual speakers are related to larger social and cultural contexts. We focus on communication in two types of institutional settings: service encounters at box offices and supervision meetings with students at university level.

The project starts in the autumn 2023 and is financed by the The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland.