Sociolinguistics Symposium 19
Freie Universität Berlin | August 21-24, 2012
Programme: accepted abstracts
Abstract ID: 1032
Part of General Paper Session (Other abstracts in this session)
A variant too informal for institutional settings? The case of vowel clusters in Helsinki Finnish
Authors: Rouhikoski, Anu Kristiina
Submitted by: Rouhikoski, Anu Kristiina (University of Helsinki, Finland)
In this paper, I will discuss the variation of certain vowel clusters in Helsinki region vernacular Finnish by looking at their use in service encounters. The four vowel clusters, which occur in final syllables, can be pronounced either as cluster variants (eA, OA, UA, iA; e.g. as in poikia ‘boys’; nukkua ‘to sleep’) or as long vowel variants (ee, OO, UU, ii; e.g. as in poikii ‘boys’; nukkuu ‘to sleep’). In standard Finnish, the cluster variants are used exclusively. In Helsinki region Finnish, the cluster variants vary with long vowel variants, the latter ones being perceived as more casual, relaxed and informal. The four clusters constitute a hierarchy well-known in Finnish sociolinguistic research: the colloquial variants are most likely to be heard in eA cluster (eA > ee) and least likely to be found in iA cluster (iA > ii). The remaining two clusters, OA and UA, go somewhere in between. The ii variant, which is used less than the other colloquial variants, is the most interesting one as it seems to have become almost an index of a young, urban, relaxed Helsinki-identity. It is often used in stylisations as well as in rock lyrics and radio commercials. Prior research has shown that especially young speakers favour the ii variant; however, it is by no means uncommon among middle-aged or elderly Helsinkians either. The variants ee and OO are also used in other Finnish dialects, whereas ii is not. To people living outside Helsinki, words containing the ii variant may therefore sound urban, hip and relaxed but even irritating and unpleasant – that is, perhaps too urban or too relaxed.
I will analyze the variation of the vowel clusters in service encounters in social insurance offices. My data consist of video-taped encounters, and I will focus on the speech of the employees when talking with their clients. There are four employees in my data, one male and three females, all in their early thirties. As young adults they might be expected to show high numbers of colloquial long vowel variants. However, they actually use fewer colloquial variants than their peers whose language has been studied in prior research in interviews and everyday conversations. The proportion of the ii variant is significantly low in these institutional encounters. I will show that the colloquial variants are most likely to be used with young clients and/or when taking an empathetic stance towards the client, e.g. ei mitään paniikkii ‘there’s no need to panic’, tää on niin kauhee summa ‘it’s such a dreadful amount of money’. On the other hand, the standard variants are often chosen when speaking with older clients or when the employees wish to make their point clear, presenting themselves as neutral and professional. I will argue that the seemingly low use of the ii variant in institutional settings brings evidence on its social meaning for speakers of Finnish, a meaning that gives the variant an urban and juvenile character.