Finnish

The Making of a Language beyond Myths

Bibliographic Data

ID12497604
AuthorsJohanna Laakso (0000-0002-4892-9885, University of Vienna, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume27
Issue2
Pages157-180
Publication date2024-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Finnish Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1206-6516 • E-ISSN: 2831-5081
PublisherUniversity of Illinois Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.5406/28315081.27.2.02
OpenAlexW4408927749
LanguageEN
References cited22

The public image of the Finnish language is shadowed by popular myths (“the most difficult language of the world”) and misconceptions, sometimes maintained and reproduced by Finns themselves. These problems may arise partly from the way in which “exotic” or less well-known languages are regarded as simple ethnic attributes rather than complicated and diverse systems or sociocultural phenomena. The emancipation and standardization of Finnish as a national language played an important role in Finland's nineteenth-century national awakening, but the internal heterogeneity of the language and its complex relationships to its sister varieties and neighbors are much less visible and less familiar to nonexperts. To give an idea of the complexity of what is understood as “the Finnish language,” this article surveys the linguistic and political history and development of Finnish and its typological features in a European context

Linguistics · Mythology · Sociology · Classics · History · Linguistic Education and Pedagogy · Linguistic research and analysis · Natural Language Processing Techniques · Philosophy · Psychology