Cover not available

In:English in Nordic Universities: Ideologies and practices
Edited by Anna Kristina Hultgren, Frans Gregersen and Jacob Thøgersen
[Studies in World Language Problems 5] 2014
► pp. 147–164

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload Book PDF
authorization required

Local majority and minority languages and English in the university

The University of Helsinki in a Nordic comparison

ORCiD logo with link
Published online: 24 October 2014
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/wlp.5.07lin
This study explores the usage and demand for local languages and English in a range of universities in Nordic countries. The University of Helsinki is in focus because of its bilingual status with two national languages, which have an official but not an equal position in practice. This research site was compared with five other universities working on a unilingual or multilingual basis. The study reveals tensions between official language policies and grassroots practices; language choice also creates tensions between national and global sciences. While official language policies may be soft steering instruments, they safeguard the presence of a non-default language. However, the increasing presence of English challenges traditional university language policies, calling for a reevaluation of them.
References (20)
Aikalainen (2010). Journal of science and culture at the University of Tampere. Retrieved June23, 2014, from [URL].
Bull, T. (2012). Against the mainstream: Universities with an alternative language policy. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 216, 55–73.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Caudery, T., Petersen, M. & Shaw, P. (2008). The motivations of exchange students at Scandinavian universities. In M. Byram & F. Dervin (Eds.), Students, staff and academic mobility in higher education (pp. 114–130). Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cots, J.M., Lasagabaster, D. & Garrett,P. (2012). Multilingual policies and practices of universities in three bilingual regions in Europe. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 216, 7–32.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Easton, D. (1965). A systems analysis of political life. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gazzola, M. (2012). The linguistic implications of academic performance indicators: general trends and case study. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 216, 131–156.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Godenhjelm, S. & Östman, J.-O. (2011). Språket i staten – staten i språket: en dialog mellan discipliner [Language in the state – state in the language: A dialogue between disciplines]. In S. Niemi & P. Söderholm (Eds.), Svenskan i Finland 12 (pp. 53–61). Joensuu: University of Eastern Finland.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Grin, F. (2003). Language policy evaluation and the European charter for regional or minority languages. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Grin, F. & Gazzola, M. (2013). Assessing efficiency and fairness in multilingual communication. Theory and application through indicators. In A-C. Berthoud, F. Grin & G. Lüdi (Eds.), Exploring the dynamics of multilingualism (pp. 365–385). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Grin, F. & Moring, T. (2002). Support for minority languages in Europe. Final report. Brussels: European Commission. Retrieved May22, 2013, from [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Haapamäki, S. & Lindström, J.K. (2011). Strategier för flerspråkighet och minoritetsspråk vid nordiska universitet [Strategies for multilingualism and minority languages at Nordic universities]. Paper presented at the conference Svenskan i Finland 13, University of Vasa, 5 May 2011.
Hemlin, S. , Allwood, C. M. & Martin, B. C. (2008). Creative knowledge environments. Creativity Research Journal, 20(2): 196–210. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Liebkind, K., Moring, T. & Tandefelt, M. (Eds.). (2007). The Swedish-speaking Finns. International Journal of the Sociology of Language,187/188 (Special Issue).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lindström, J.K. (2012). Different languages, one mission? Outcomes of language policies in a multilingual university context. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 216, 33–54.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Moring, T., Godenhjelm, S., Haapamäki, S., Lindström, J.K., Östman, J.-O., Saari, M. & Sylvin, J. (2013). Language policies in universities and their outcomes: The University of Helsinki in a northern European context. In A.-C. Berthoud, F. Grin & G. Lüdi (Eds.), Exploring the dynamics of multilingualism (pp. 309–331). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
O’Hare, M. (1989). A typology of governmental action. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 8(4), 670–672. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Purser, L. (2000). The bilingual university – General reflections on its origins, mission, and functioning. Higher Education in Europe, XXV(4), 451–459. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schiffman, H.F. (1996). Linguistic culture and language policy. London / New York: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
University of Helsinki Language Policy [UHELP] (2007). Administrative publications 45. Strategies and plans. Helsinki: University of Helsinki. Retrieved February14, 2014 from [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Veronesi, D., Spreafico, L., Varcasia, C., Vietti, A. & Franceschini, R. (2013). Multilingual higher education between policies and practices. A case study. In A-C. Berthoud, F. Grin & G. Lüdi (Eds.), Exploring the dynamics of multilingualism (pp. 253–277). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (7)

Cited by seven other publications

Mendoza, Carlos, Fred Dervin & Heidi Layne
2025. ‘Doing’ interculturality through multilingual identities: Language fluidity in the internationalisation of higher education in Finland. Research in Comparative and International Education 20:2 ► pp. 268 ff. DOI logo
Solin, Anna
2025. Manuals or mission statements? Language policy documents as tools of language regulation. Current Issues in Language Planning ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Björnö, Anna
2023. Internationalization and Language Protection Through the Lens of the Critical Language Theory. In Theory and Method in Higher Education Research, ► pp. 103 ff. DOI logo
Björnö, Anna
2025. Language Policy as a Channel of Inclusion for Researchers in the Internationalized University. Social Inclusion 14 DOI logo
Saarinen, Taina
2020. Introduction: Conceptualizing Language Policy, Higher Education and New Nationalism. In Higher Education, Language and New Nationalism in Finland, ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Saarinen, Taina
2020. Language and New Nationalism in Higher Education. In Higher Education, Language and New Nationalism in Finland, ► pp. 87 ff. DOI logo
Soler Carbonell, Josep & Merike Jürna
2017. Doing Language Policy: Teasing Out the Tensions for Transnational Scholars in Estonian and Danish Higher Education. In Language Policy Beyond the State [Language Policy, 14], ► pp. 45 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 24 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue