Regional background and donor-language fluency as predictors of Finnish loanword frequency in Finland-Swedish

• Janine A. E. Strandberg ^[1] ; Charlotte Gooskens ^[1] ; Anja Schüppert ^[1]
  1. [1] University of Groningen

     University of Groningen

     Países Bajos

     
• Localización: International Journal of Bilingualism: interdisciplinary studies of multilingual behaviour, ISSN 1367-0069, Vol. 28, Nº. 5, 2024, págs. 761-776
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Aims and objectives:

    This study examines fennicisms (i.e., Finnish loanwords and calques) in Finland-Swedish, a Swedish variety spoken in Finland. We investigate how fennicism frequency relates to speakers’ regional backgrounds and fluency in Finnish.

    Methodology:

    134 participants from four regions in Finland performed a picture-naming task designed to elicit fennicisms. The participants also rated their own fluency in Finnish.

    Data and analysis:

    A regression analysis with the outcome variable of fennicism frequency and the predictors of region, fluency in Finnish, and gender was performed.

    Findings:

    Results show that speakers from the more bilingual regions of Southern Finland and Helsinki used significantly more fennicisms than speakers from Ostrobothnia or Swedish-speaking Åland. The study suggests that fluency in Finnish was a strong predictor for fennicism use, as speakers with low or moderate knowledge of Finnish used fewer fennicisms than speakers with high or native(-like) fluency. No significant effect of gender was found.

    Originality:

    While fennicisms are considered widespread in Finland-Swedish, there is little previous research on their use and distribution.

    Implications:

    The results demonstrate that while many of the fennicisms are well-established in the Finland-Swedish variety, their use is limited to certain groups and communities.