At the linguistics seminar researchers from a number of different languages and related fields of research (i.e. English, general linguistics and phonetics, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Russian, Saami languages, Spanish, Swedish/Scandinavian languages, and Swedish as a second language) present their research. The studies are from a broad range of perspectives (please see the links below).
Researchers within the different languages and language fields are also part of the following research groups
In English linguistics we do research within the framework of Cognitive Linguistics. We focus on motion metaphors, metaphors that go back to speakers’ experiences of artefacts, colour metonymies, spatial relations coded by prepositions, motivation and characteristics of lexical blends, and causative constructions.
Language and gender is another branch of research. Here, the researchers focus on how expectations and stereotypes affect the perceptions of speakers’ personalities and behaviours. This research has a cross-cultural angle.
Yet another area that is being researched is that of creole languages. The focus here is on typical features of creole languages as well as the post-colonial context in which creole languages appear.
Researchers
Ronia Anacoura (doctoral student, English linguistics with a focus on teaching and learning)
In Finnish linguistics we do research within a number of different research areas. Our research on present day Finnish focuses on changes in word meaning, how speakers have started to use words in new contexts, and Finnish as a foreign language. We also do research in translation and translation studies, textual linguistics, systemic functional linguistics and critical discourse analysis.
It is well known that words can have a figurative and a literal meaning at the same time (figurative in for instance metaphors and idioms). One area where this opportunity of language expression is explored is in puns and other types of word play. This is something we look at more closely in French linguistics. We also do systematic research on the relation between word play and the major subfields of linguistics (phonetics, morphology, semantics, syntax and pragmatics), and look into how stereotyped ideas, not least about men and women, are expressed in puns and other jokes, how stereotypes can be challenged, and how challenges to stereotypes influence the interpretation of language.
The specific fields of interest in German linguistics at our department are the dynamics of language change and the study of language and gender both from a structural perspective and a cultural linguistic point of view. Projects often apply a contrastive analysis between German and Swedish (or other Germanic languages). Furthermore, we are interested in the study of second and foreign language acquisition, e.g. grammar, writing, and multi-lingualism.
Researchers
Bettina Jobin (associate professor, German linguistics)
In Italian linguistics our research is focused on the following areas: philological studies, textual history and historical linguistics, translation and translation studies, comparative, contrastive and pedagogical studies.
Research within Russian linguistics focuses both on earlier periods within a broader Slavic perspective and on modern Russian, with particular emphasis on grammatical constructions.
Research on Saami languages has two independent strands. One strand of research has the overarching goal of contributing to the understanding of grammatical diversity across languages, by careful and detailed inquiry into the Saami languages. Another strand concerns language education.
Hanna Outakoski (associate professor, Saami language education)
Spanish
Information will be available soon
Swedish language/Scandinavian languages
Within Swedish language/ Scandinavian languages, research in primarily focused on Swedish, but comparative studies with other North-Germanic languages are also made.
We study the oldest North-Germanic texts from the time before the Viking Age, medieval and early modern texts, and Swedish and North-Germanic dialects and place-names in an historical context. Our focus here is on language within its cultural context, investigations on writings of ordinary people from an historical perspective, linguistic revitalization, and modern "linguistic landscapes".
Present day Swedish is studied through discourse analysis that highlights how power and gender are negotiated in conversations, through Cognitive Linguistic studies of metaphor use in spoken and written Swedish, and through reception studies that provide insights into how authorities frame their communication.
Peter Ström (associate professor, Swedish language)
Hanna Söderlund (associate professor, Swedish language/Nordic languages)
Swedish as a second language
Our research is mainly directed towards different aspects of Swedish as a second language and multilingualism. One project explores the reproduction of language ideologies and power relations in the linguistic landscape of two regional districts in thinly populated areas. Another project analyses multilingualism and multilingual literacy practices in school year 7-9. Yet other studies focus on the possibilities of visualizing and drawing on the students’ everyday experiences of multilingual and digital literacy practices in their L2 development of Swedish, and on building a platform for creating of a corpus of texts written by L2 learners of Swedish.
