The often emotional discussion about language shows that the current task of language maintenance is unclear to a large part of people.
Language matters sometimes get violently emotional. A prime example of this is the decision of the Finnish Language Board start doing -form from acceptance to universal language start doing – format ten years ago.
Several comments following the decision questioned the justification for the existence of the entire Center for Indigenous Languages, or Kotus. Messages recently received by HS show that many readers are still upset about the policy from a decade ago.
At the same time, it can be seen that there are quite varying perceptions of the task of language maintenance. So what is language maintenance and what is not?
Language maintenance is not banning words
From home and the Finnish Language Board is sometimes hoping for a complete ban on some expressions. It is against their principles and also the powers granted by law.
Kotus' language guardians are often statedthat it is more meaningful to remind the prohibition lists about the suitability of different expressions for different situations and types of text.
Even the categorical prohibition of offensive words is foreign to the thinking of Finnish language maintenance, says the current chairman of the Finnish Language Board, professor Tiina Onikki-Rantajäuskö.
“I think it's a bit sad that the board has to pay attention to respecting other people. People themselves should have a sense of modesty in their language. It's also the case that if you want to offend, you always find new ways.”
Professor Tiina Onikki-Rantajääskö is the current chairman of the board of the Finnish language.
“Right” and instead of “wrong”, the language guidelines are moving towards awareness of the diversity of text genres.
At the same time, strong recommendations are decreasing. For example, an expression to get done no longer held In the dictionary of the Language Office overall worse but only more casual than expression bring about.
The official common language with instructions is still not disappearing, but mostly getting rid of the extra burden. The basic values are also unchanged.
“I myself really emphasize the idea of common intelligibility and the basis of democracy,” Onikki-Rantajäskö says.
A lot has changed in terms of correctness
If if the general Finnish language were to be built now, the instructions might look considerably different. The ideals of today's language maintenance are far from the puristic thinking of language correctness at the beginning of the 20th century.
At that time, the young and in many ways insecure nation was still building its common language. At that time, a lot of important work was done, but on the other hand, there were numerous recommendations that turned out to be too strict. Some people's right-wrong way of thinking is also the basis of the steep standardisers.
“The whole society was more authoritarian, so there were also these linguists. In their otherwise fine work, personal taste and what is based on research easily mixed,” says Professor Onikki-Rantajäskö.
Language attitudes have not changed quickly but gradually, so many guidelines still have echoes of the past. Outdated recommendations have been dismantled for decades. In the past, for example, only one accepted form of the dialect was often selected for the common language.
“People could get used to the fact that there is not always just one correct option, but that things can be said in a different way. In that sense, this previous board start doing -decision was a good opening.”
“
“I feel that the really correct command of the common language is not given the same value that the older generation might still feel.”
Today in language maintenance, clarity and comprehensibility are emphasized, as well as the appropriateness of expressions for the respective type of text.
There is also work to be done in them, because mastering the general language includes everything is deteriorating. The board is concerned, for example, about young people who fall outside society when, for example, the language of electronic services proves to be too difficult.
The lines would therefore appear to be larger than before. At the same time, we are quite far from the generation of vocational schools, for whom writing a universal language that had been taken care of down to the last drawing was a great source of pride and a sign of erudition.
“I feel that the really correct management of the general language is no longer given the same value in Finland as the older generation might still feel,” says Onikki-Rantajäskö.
Modern language custodians also admit that the instructions can never cover the language completely, but mainly draw a general picture. This was often forgotten by the strict standardizers of the old days, who wanted to cut corners whenever and wherever.
The instructions actually change slowly
Language maintenance visibility in the media is ultimately a vanishingly small part of what the job really involves.
Start doing case was completely exceptional as a public debate. Most of the fine-tuning of the general language goes through without fuss when, for example, it is open to everyone Help bank of the language office will be updated. Big changes happen very rarely.
When a change crosses the news threshold, the perception may arise that the recommendations are constantly changing, especially in a more conservative direction.
Many people think, for example, that you shouldn't use so-called in the Finnish language come to do -future or that allowing it is recent indiscipline. In reality come to do -structure is perfectly acceptable in general language, if nothing else in the sentence reveals that we are talking about the future.
The instructions of the Language Board have remained practically unchanged since 1944, i.e. 80 years.
#Analysis #complete #mystery #modern #language #maintenance #leads #unpleasant #language #debates
