{"id":343,"date":"2025-11-03T03:19:34","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T01:19:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.uef.fi\/kieliviha-sprakhat\/?p=343"},"modified":"2025-11-03T03:24:46","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T01:24:46","slug":"language-relationships-kielisuhteet-seminar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uef.fi\/kieliviha-sprakhat\/2025\/11\/03\/language-relationships-kielisuhteet-seminar\/","title":{"rendered":"Language Relationships\/ Kielisuhteet Seminar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Language Relationships\/ Kielisuhteet Seminar<\/strong> was held on 9 October 2025 at UEF Joensuu campus, <\/strong>in hybrid mode. (see announcement and the full programme here<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event brought together scholars and practitioners to explore the interconnections between language, media, culture, place, and mobilities and offered interdisciplinary perspectives on multilingualism and minority languages in shifting sociocultural and political landscapes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The day began with the guest lecture by Ilkhom Khalimzoda<\/a>,<\/strong> “Moderation, Media, and the Power of Words: Narrative Dynamics in Russian-Language Facebook Groups in Finland”<\/strong>, which examined how online moderation and gatekeeping shape narratives and community dynamics of Facebook groups. Connecting to earlier studies on Russian-speakers’ media use, the presentation explored the strategies used by online groups’ moderators and participants in discussions of news articles, which act as arenas for negotiating identities and belonging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was followed by Juha Ridanp\u00e4\u00e4’s<\/a> <\/strong>lecture, “Me\u00e4nkieli: Whose Language?”<\/strong>, focusing on the Me\u00e4nkieli-speaking minority in northern Sweden. Placing recent developments in the historical context, the lecture highlighted the challenges of building and maintaining linguistic identity for Me\u00e4nkieli speakers and outlined the approaches regionalists Bengt Pohjanen and Mikael Niemi adopted in preserving and celebrating the language and culture of this group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After lunch, Reiko Shindo<\/a><\/strong> delivered the lecture \u201cLanguage as a Countable Entity? Reflecting on Migrants\u2019 Relationships to Languages in Finland\u201d<\/strong>, inviting participants to rethink how the use of language is conceptualized in migration contexts. Drawing on the interview data, the lecture discussed migrants’ language use and language learning trajectories in the context of ideologies connected language, culture and identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event concluded with a panel discussion, “The changing role of the Russian language in Finland \u2013 cultural sector, education, and societal debate”<\/strong>. Combining insights from different sectors and disciplines, panelists Tuulia-Tuulia Tummavuori<\/a>, Larisa Leisi\u00f6<\/a><\/strong> and Erja Vottonen<\/a><\/strong> discussed how shifts in geopolitical contexts reflect in higher education (teaching and learning of the Russian language), the museum sector (use of language in museums and presenting difficult histories), and the attitudes towards cultural productions (particularly the reception of Russian literature in Finnish translation).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaker lineup:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guest presenters:<\/p>\n\n\n\n