Language Contacts and Discourses in the Far North

"This collection of papers brings together expertise and up-to-date research results from an area outside the usual focal points of multilingualism research. Authored by leading experts of the languages at issue, it is a truly original and valuable contribution to the research of diverse aspects of language contact."
--Johanna Laakso, Professor of Finno-Ugric Studies, University of Vienna

This open access book sheds light on 21st-Century multilingualism in the Far North of Europe – Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Estonia – an area with multifaceted contacts between many Uralic and Indo-European languages. These contacts are taking new forms as migration and English as the lingua franca are changing the linguistic situation remarkably. The national languages dominate the life of most inhabitants, while the use of indigenous Saami languages, old minority languages, and the languages of new immigrants is limited to certain areas or domains. This volume takes a close look at multilingual individuals and discusses how their lives are affected by different languages.

​Maria Frick is a University Lecturer at the University of Oulu, Finland. She conducts research in interactional linguistics and multilingual and multimodal interactional practices. She has published in peer-reviewed international journals, such as Pragmatics, International Journal of Bilingualism, and Multilingua.

Jussi Ylikoski is Professor of Finno-Ugric Languages at the University of Turku, Finland and Adjunct Professor at the Sámi University of Applied Sciences in Guovdageaidnu, Norway. He has worked on several Saami, Finnic, and other Uralic languages, specialising in morphology, syntax, and historical linguistics. He also has a wider background in general linguistics and is an experienced editor of linguistic publications.

Tiina Räisänen works as a University Lecturer in English at the University of Oulu, Finland. Herresearch focuses on professional discourse and communication in various working life contexts. She has published in peer-reviewed international journals, including IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, International Journal of Applied Linguistics, and Management International Review.