Transnationals’ Discourses on the English Language in Finland

Abstract

AbstractThis study concentrates on how transnationals living in Finland talk about English and its use in a Finnish context. It shows how the informants of the study construct discourses of English: the presence of English in Finnish society, proficiency in English, and the current linguistic situation in Finland. The data consist of pair conversations between transnational informants living in Finland, with 20 informants and 10 recorded pair conversations in total. The discourses show the notion of English as a widely known and spoken language in Finnish society. However, informants refined this general discourse by producing exceptions to the English skills of Finns according to speakers’ age, education, and places of residence. Finally, there was a discourse claiming that it is not possible to fully live in Finland using only English as certain areas of life remain inaccessible without knowledge of the local language.