Browsing by Subject "Swedish"

Koronaviruspandemia vaikutti koko yhteiskuntaan vuonna 2020. Myös Suomi sulki valtionrajansa muulta kuin välttämättömältä liikenteeltä. Tästä johtuen kesällä 2020 ulkomaanmatkailijat hävisivät Helsingistä lähes täysin. Matkailijoihin keskittyvät yritykset joutuivat suuntaamaan markkinointinsa uudelleen kotimaisiin asiakkaisiin. Tässä tutkielmassa tarkastellaan, miten markkinoiden uudelleensuuntautuminen on vaikuttanut matkailijoihin keskittyvien yritysten kielenkäyttöön ja kielimaisemaan. Tavoitteena on selvittää paitsi muutokset, myös perustelut niiden takana, samoin kuin syyt sille, että muutosta ei olekaan tapahtunut. Tutkielma keskittyy yritysten kieliasioiden päättäjiin, heidän ratkaisuihinsa sekä heidän tyytyväisyyteensä omiin ratkaisuihinsa. Kielimaisema on sosiolingvistiikan tutkimussuunta, jossa tarkastellaan kielten esillepanoa tietyssä paikassa. Tutkimuksen kohteena ovat usein esimerkiksi katukyltit, mainosjulisteet ja infotaulut, niin julkisten kuin yksityisten tahojen tekemät. Kirjallisuuden mukaan keskeisiä ongelmia alalla on mm. tutkimusmenetelmien kehittymättömyys sekä dynaamisen näkökulman vähäisyys. Tämä tutkielma pyrkii osiltaan korjaamaan näitä puutteita. Aineisto on kerätty kyselylomakkeella sekä jatkohaastattelulla halukkaille. Lomakkeessa kysyttiin muutoksista suomen, ruotsin, englannin ja muiden kielten käytössä yrityksen sosiaalisessa mediassa. kotisivuilla, teksteissä tilojen ulkopuolella, julkisten tilojen sisäpuolella ja henkilöstötiloissa sekä yrityksen sisäisessä viestinnässä. Haastattelussa jokaista ratkaisua pyydettiin perustelemaan. Lisäksi kysyttiin erikseen koronaohjeistusta koskevista teksteistä. Sekä lomakkeessa että haastattelussa käsiteltiin myös vastaajien tyytyväisyyttä omiin kielivalintoihin. Lomakkeeseen vastasi 51 yritystä ja haastatteluihin osallistui näistä kahdeksan. Vastaukset koottiin yhteenvetotaulukoihin, joita analysoitiin pysty- ja vaakasuunnassa eri näkökulmista mahdollisimman kattavien tulosten saamiseksi. Tutkimuksesta selviää, että muutosta kielimaisemassa tapahtui suhteellisen vähän. Muutoksilla oli kuitenkin selkeä suunta: suomen kieltä lisättiin, englannin kieltä vähennettiin ja muut kielet poistettiin lähes kokonaan. Poikkeuksena oli ruotsi, joka selvästi jakoi mielipiteet yritysten kesken. Avaintekijänä yrityksen kielipäätöksiin toimi usein työntekijöiden kielitaito. Päätöksiin vaikuttivat selvästi myös toisaalta ulkomaalaisten turistien puuttuminen, toisaalta maahanmuuttajien ym. suomea osaamattomien asiakkaiden läsnäolo, joka ei ollut muuttunut. 92% vastaajista oli erittäin tai jossain määrin tyytyväisiä kieliratkaisuihinsa pandemian aikana.

Aims. The goal of the research is to open the differences between Swedish speaking and Finnish speaking kindergartengroups and their quality. The aim of the study is to find out whether there are differences in Swedish speaking and Finnish speaking kindergarten groups. Previous studies have shown that learning environments affect on the child's motivation, the way the child commits to the task and the child's performance. The quality of the classroom environment also affects on the child's well-being and development. Data and methods. A quantitative study consisted of Swedish speaking kindergarten groups (N=48) and Finnish speaking kindergarten groups (N=38). The survey consisted of respondents from Finland (N=86). The analysis was done with the SPSS-software and included examination of t-tests. The results were compared between language groups. The results and discussion. The learning environments were of better quality in Finnish speaking kindergartens. The arrangements of the environment had more quality in Finnish speaking kindergartens. The differences between Finnish speaking and Swedish speaking kindergartens were statistically significant (p<.03). Differences between Finnish speaking and Swedish speaking kindergartens were statistically significant (p<.00) in activity and transitions. Finnish speaking kindergartens also had better quality in classroom activities (p<.00). Finnish speaking kindergartens exceeded the Swedish speaking kindergartens in instructing the child's behavior (p<.00). The early childhood care takers ways to plan the work was also of better quality in Finnish speaking kindergartens as opposed to Swedish speaking kindergartens. The results were statistically significant (p<.04) The need of more research is obvious, because of the lack of studies about Swedish speaking early childhood education. The results also raised some ideas for further study, for example a study about the administrative differences between Finnish speaking and Swedish speaking early childhood education.

International degree students sojourning in Finland’s Helsinki Capital Region may acquire skills in two official languages: Finnish and Swedish, respectively spoken natively by 79.9% and 5.8% of the region’s population. This study uses 114 web survey responses from students enrolled in English-medium Master’s programmes to determine whether they report knowledge of Finnish and especially of Swedish, a minority language. The likelihood a respondent reports knowledge of a local language is predicted by a model of language acquisition used on immigrant populations in bilingual countries, a model in which local language skills are considered to be a source of both social and economic capital. Over 90% of participants stated they had Finnish abilities while 21% reported having non-native Swedish skills. Almost all of those who declared being able to speak some Swedish could also speak some Finnish, a language for which they generally reported higher skills. Knowledge of Finnish was primarily associated with having a Finnish-speaking partner, living outside of a student neighborhood and originating from Russia or Central Asia. Knowledge of Swedish was mainly associated with studying in a primarily Swedish-language institution, being male and regarding as likely to live in a Nordic country in 5 years. While Finnish dominates most spheres of social life in the Helsinki Capital Region, it appears an institution of study provided sufficient exposure to the minority language of Swedish to explain in part its acquisition by international degree students. While learning Swedish was not compulsory in their study programme, respondents enrolled at a Swedish-language institution were as much as 16 times more likely than those studying at a Finnish-language institution to report knowledge of Swedish. Consequently, for newcomers like international degree students to adopt the minority language of their bilingual host community, involvement in institutions where the language is dominant might be key.

This thesis will aim to answer at least the following questions: How is the Sūrat al-Qāriʿa (Q 101) rendered in the Nordic translations of the Qurʾān? What are the similarities and differences between different translation? In what ways do the different translations relate to the source text? What aspects of the source text are prioritized by the translators? These questions are approached from the perspective of Translation Theory. The problem of equivalence is discussed in relation to the work of Eugene Nida in his Towards a Science of Translation (1964). I will argue that translating cannot be separated from hermeneutics, since "every translation is at the same time an interpretation" as Hans-Georg Gadamer has stated. The problem of hermeneutics and Translation Theory is discussed from the hermeneutical perspective of Hans-Georg Gadamer especially as developed in his monograph Truth and Method (1960). The Skopos Theory formulated by Katharina Reiß and Hans J. Vermeer will be discussed as a possible answer to these underlying problems. The method of research applied in this thesis will consist of various hermeneutical cycles of reading, interpretation, and re-reading. After analyzing the Sūrat al-Qāriʿa in Arabic, I will provide a comparative analysis of the translations juxtaposing the texts with each other and with the Arabic text. This section will discuss similarities and differences, the proximity between the original and the translation, some possible biblical intertextualities, and possible interpretative associations of the translations in their Nordic context. This thesis will point out many subtle similarities, differences and translational tendencies related to the translator's background that can illuminate, enrich and broaden our understanding of the Sūrat al-Qāriʿa and its reception in the Nordic countries, while also opening new perspectives on the complexities involved in translating ancient texts that are revered as sacred by many.