By: Terhi Maunumäki, Sandra Miettinen, Elisa Sorajoki and Mona Lundén
The purpose of our research is to study how English language is presented in two Finnish speaking podcasts. We have chosen podcasts from different genres, the first one is an entertainment podcast, Tuplakääk, and the second one is an issue-oriented podcast, Mimmit sijoittaa. Both podcasts have two hosts who discuss their topics in interaction. We wanted to study how the speakers use English language in their speech and also to see if there is a difference how much the speakers use English between the different genres. A part of our research is to compare whether the English expressions belong to code-switching or translanguaging based on their purpose. We will analyse the use of English based on these two theories and discuss the reasons why they represent one of these types of multilingual discourse.
Code-switching
Traditionally, code-switching has been considered a phenomenon occurring when a bilingual person uses both languages in a conversation. Auer (1998: 17) has described code-switching as “part of a verbal action, the alternating use of two or more ‘codes’ within one conversational episode”. Most of the research on code-switching has concentrated on bilingual speakers and communities, with some research on L2 learners’ code-switching. However, more recent studies have taken into account the fact that code-switching does not require “full” bilingualism: a speaker may turn to code-switching even if he or she does not have native-like proficiency in one of the languages.
Code-switching has various functions in interaction: by code-switching, the speaker conveys particular kinds of meanings. Some examples of the use of code-switching in interaction include displaying emotions, marking the moment of transition, changing or adopting particular interactional roles and displaying membership, expertise or knowledge. In the podcasts included in our study, one remarkable function of code-switching is also conveying humorous aspect to the interaction, for example by telling jokes in English.
Translanguaging
Translanguaging is the process of making meaning and producing knowledge in which the speaker moves between languages and also beyond them. The speaker moves beyond the boundaries between languages that are culturally and politically defined and labelled. Translanguaging does not only involve the act of shifting between languages but considers the speaker’s complete communicative repertoire. (Räisänen 2018:3-4)
The difference between translanguaging and code-switching is that code-switching refers to a shift between two languages whereas translanguaging refers to the speaker’s use of different interrelated discursive practises in their communicative repertoire, that cannot be assigned to a traditionally defined language. (Garcia & Li 2013: 22) Translanguaging is a creative process where the agent acts according to the interaction rather than within the language system. (Garcia & Li 2013: 25)
Mimmit sijoittaa podcast
Our first example, Mimmit sijoittaa (Chicks invest), first broadcast in May 2019, concentrates on financial issues and the economy from the point of view of two young female entrepreneurs, Pia-Maria Nikström and Hanna Tikander. In their weekly podcast, the hosts talk about “money, investments, savings and all things related to a city girl’s life” (our translation of the podcast’s description). Each episode, varying between 20 and 35 minutes in length, concentrates on a different topic, such as the stock market or investment funds. In addition to their podcast, Nikström also writes a blog by the same name (Mimmit sijoittaa) in Finnish.
The structure of each episode is usually the same: the two hosts introduce their subject while talking about what is going on in their lives at the moment, and, after a short discussion, they get more deeply into their topic. The manner in which they introduce the topic is usually very conversation-like: the hosts’ goal is to talk about their subjects so that even an average listener who does not necessarily have any experience on economy or financial issues understands the basics of the topic. Often the two hosts offer tips and advice on how to take care of one’s finances or how to, for example, buy stocks. As the two hosts are young women in their mid-twenties, we assume that their podcast is targeted at an audience about the same age and socio-economic background: young women who live in larger cities (the hosts often address their listeners by using the Finnish word “mimmit” (‘chicks’) and who are interested in financial issues and urban lifestyle.
We chose this podcast for our study because its genre differs from the other podcast we studied, as it resembles more of a news podcast than a purely entertaining programme. This podcast is more informative and educational and its aim is to give new information and advice about the topic; money and investments. We were interested to see whether the genre or the target audience of the podcast has an impact on the use of English in interaction. For this study, we listened to a total of ten episodes of “Mimmit sijoittaa” and made notes and observations while listening to the podcast about the use of English in the hosts’ interaction. As in this podcast the main language used was Finnish, we ended up listening to a larger number of episodes in order to get a more general impressions of how English is used in interaction in this context.
Analysis of Mimmit sijoittaa
To begin with some general observations, in the Mimmit sijoittaa podcast English is used in a translanguaging manner, rather than by code-switching. Many of the English language expressions are embedded in the hosts’ dialogue as greetings (“Hello!”, “Bye!”), short phrases (“Joten be nice, olkaa ystävällisii!”, “Eiku that’s the juice, kerro vaan koko stoori”) or quotations from popular culture (for example, quoting a dialogue from the movie Wolf of Wall Street, singing a short extract from the pop song “Independent women” by Destiny’s Child). However, as some English phrases and words have a clear function in the interaction (greetings, for example), they could be analysed as code-switching actions.
In this podcast, the hosts often use loan words from English or modify English words and phrases to match the Finnish language morphology or grammar. Often this happens with verbs (e.g. “tiisata” > to tease, to give a hint on a future topic; “chillata” > to chill, to relax) or nouns (e.g. “stoori” > a story). These linguistic modifications imply that the strategy in this podcast is rather using translanguaging than code-switching. In this podcast the hosts also use a lot of English tag phrases or short phrases typical for speech interaction (e.g. ”tää oli joskus back in the days”, ”tai whatever” ). These phrases occur at the start and at the end of a speech turn or a sentence (e.g. “mä en ymmärrä niist vyöhykkeist mitään by the way”, “oh my God mä en usko et mun tilillä riittää katetta…”). Some tags also occur as independent speech turns (e.g. ”allrighty”, “okei, I get it”, ”okei, damn”).
There are though some examples of code-switching in this podcast. The code-switching occurs often in the discourse as marking the moment as transition or as doing marked actions. When the code switching occurs as marking the moment as transition, it is often in the end of a speaking turn to point out the discussed topic is over and the discussion moves to another topic (e.g. ”tai jos sulla on joku sellanen frendi ni why not”, ”sitten number two:”). In the podcast there occurs also inter sentential code-switching to point out doing marked actions. In one episode the other host is buying stock during the podcast and she uses inter sentential code-switching to mark the action (”let’s do it now!”) to which the other host replies in the same manner to display affiliation to the action (”do it for the podcast!”).
One curious strategy that the hosts use in their speech in Finnish is the so-called “sä-passiivi” (generic you), a grammatical structure adopted to the Finnish language from English. For example, in one episode one of the hosts says (in Finnish) “sä voit käytännössä vaan chillaa ja olla tekemättä mitään”, using a generic “you” structure in Finnish. However, it is not always clear whether the generic “you” is used in a passive meaning or whether the host is addressing her co-host or the listeners of the podcast, and therefore the use of “sä-passiivi” can be both influenced by the English language structure or merely a form of address. In many cases, the context of the interaction defines whether “sä” is a passive or a form of address.
In summary, in the podcast “Mimmin sijoittaa”, there occurs both translanguaging and code-switching. The English language appears as greetings, tags and short phrases embedded in the dialogue. The most prominent examples of English and translanguaging in the podcast is the use of loan words, often verbs, from English that have been modified to match Finnish grammar and morphology. Code-switching is also used to mark actions, show affiliation to that action and for moving from one topic to another in the conversation often as independent speech turns or in the end of a sentence or a speech turn. The hosts also use the “generic you” (or “sä-passiivi”), that has been adapted from English to Finnish.
Tuplakääk podcast
The second podcast that we have analysed is an entertaining podcast called Tuplakääk. It is hosted by two bloggers, Enni Koistinen and Kirsikka Simberg who aired the first episode in January 2017. In their podcast the hosts discuss different American celebrity gossips in 20-50 minutes long episodes each week. The hosts highlight that they aim to entertain their listeners by providing a form of escapism to them.
We have gathered different expressions where the hosts use English and analysed whether these examples can be seen as translanguaging or code-switching. In our analysis we have observed the contexts where the expressions occurred and used them to motivate the choice of each English expression. In the podcast Tuplakääk both ways of using English are highly presented.
Analysis of Tuplakääk
When it comes to code-switching, we noticed that a common reason behind its use in Tuplakääk is quoting a English speaking person’s speech. A reason for that might be that the podcast episodes focus on Hollywood celebrities, and therefore, it is reasonable to quote them in the podcast as well. The main language in the podcast is Finnish but when the hosts are referring to an English speaking person’s actual or imaginary speech they switch to English. A couple of examples on this phenomenon are “ja sit Kim on sillee no she loves the Kardashian lifestyle but she doesn’t wanna work for it”, “Sit Kanye oli ollut et nythän tää on vielä upeempi tää pöytä. This is art! Sit Kim on silleen okay, okay, you’re right, it’s a stuff, it’s a stuff”. The previous examples are quotations from TV-shows. Other quotations that the hosts are voicing in English are taken from Instagram, as for example “Khloé postas sellasen instagram-kuvan missä se oli Dreamin kanssa ja caption oli että I just want you to know that mommy and daddy love you so much” or songs, as for example “No sit myöhemmin ku mä tajusin et I gotta fight for my right!” We consider that reasons behind using English in the quotations can be that by using the original English quotation the hosts make it sound more authentic. Also, if they translated the quotation into Finnish, the meaning might unintentionally change more or less or include some errors. Because the main idea of the podcast is to discuss American celebrities, the audience is supposedly capable of understanding English as well. By using the English quotations the hosts use examples that are known by greater amount of people.
Another common reason for using code-switching in Tuplakääk is to present a common English expression among the speech that would not work that well if they were translated to Finnish, as for example, ”Ehkä se vitsailee mut se on kind of a bitch”, ”Et tuli ihan sillee life goals, mäki haluun tollasen taidekeräilijän talon” and “Olemme palanneet käsienpesureissulta. You had one job!” We consider that one reason for using a considerable number of English expressions among the hosts’s dialogue can be that they are identifying with the English speaking world when they are discussing the American celebrities. The purpose of the code switching may be using humor or showing that the hosts are updated when it comes to the modern language and phrases. The topic about American celebrities might include a lot of language that includes different commonly used phrases, and therefore it can be easily adhered to people who are following these programmes and following the celebrities’ social media. Our opinion is that, because this kind of English language is more and more seen and heard in Finland these days, it has become more common to use it by wider group of people too.
Tuplakääk includes a lot of translanguaging as well. The translanguaging expressions that the hosts use are English expressions among Finnish that could be replaced by the Finnish expressions. The expressions differ from the code-switching expressions in a way that they are not so commonly known English expressions that the meaning would sound odd if they were translated to Finnish. Examples on translanguaging expressions in the podcast are “Jos mä oisin eronnu mun miehestä mut me oltais yhessä jossain synttäreillä ja kuvattas tällänen family-potretti…”, “Mutta, koska elämään.. Kardashianeiden seuraamiseen kuuluu ups and downs, välillä saa niistä tarpeekseen ja välillä janoaa lisää” and ”Sit sulla on erikseen sellanen snack kitchen, missä on snackeja ja jääkaapit täynnä kaikennäkösii juomii mistä sä tykkäät”. We consider that the reason for using the translanguaging in these occasions can be the wish to use a particular style of talk. Based on the podcast’s topic, it is a natural choice to use translanguaging instead of using only Finnish. The audience is likely to understand the expressions. One reason beside the podcast’s topic can also be the hosts’ own style of speech. Their region and dialect can affect the way they speak, and it naturally reflects to the podcast.
Additionally, Tuplakääk includes several expressions that derive from English and then adapted into Finnish. Similarly to Leppänen et al. findings (2009: 1099), these expressions in Tuplakääk are expressed according to their phonological English spellings but using the Finnish morphological and ortographical rules. Some examples of these expressions are “sen sijaan et se sheimais sen toisen…” (’would shame’), “mun mielestä Kimkin on joskus käyny laikkaamas” (’has liked’), “Khloé ownas sen hyvin” (’owned’). Some expressions found in the podcast have already become popular in Finnish colloquial language, such as “Kanye joka suunnittelee ne lookit” (‘looks’), “jossaa tyylii talkshowssa kysyny” (‘at a talkshow’), “uus semmone hiusstaili ja vähä ehkä vaatestailiki” (‘hairstyle/clothing style’). We consider that the hosts’ use of these expressions that include English adaptions to Finnish are partly a result from the topic being American celebrities, and partly from the fact that these expressions belong to the jargon which the hosts have acquired as a part of their linguistic repertoire. The hosts do not necessarily choose to use these specific forms instead of Finnish equivalents, whereas they might be more aware of their use of translanguaging and code-switching expressions that are fully in English.
To recap, there occurs both code-switching and translanguaging in Tuplakääk. Code-switching is used when the hosts are quoting English speaking persons or when they use expressions that do not have a valid Finnish equivalent, meaning that the point of the expressions does not come across as well in Finnish as in English. Expressions that include translanguaging occur in several occasions where a valid Finnish equivalent could be used. We consider the reasons for using translanguaging expressions to be stylistic choices of the hosts and the topic being American celebrities. There occurs more translanguaging in the podcast than code-switching, but code-switching expressions tend to be longer sentences whereas translanguaging expressions consist mostly of one or two words. Another interesting phenomenon in the language use between hosts is the representation of expressions that have derived from English and then adapted to Finnish. We consider the use of these expressions to be more subconscious than with code-switching and translanguaging.
Summary
The comparison between our analysis of Mimmit sijoittaa and Tuplakääk shows that there are some similarities and differences between the use of English in the interactional settings of these two podcasts. In Mimmit sijoittaa English is being used more in a translanguaging matter and the hosts use several loan words and expressions which have derived from English and that have been integrated in Finnish: the same phenomenon occurs also in Tuplakääk. However, in Tuplakääk there are more code-switching expressions used than in Mimmit sijoittaa, and they are often used in order to quote an English speaking person. Mimmit sijoittaa includes code-switching expressions which indicate transition or doing marked actions. The most remarkable difference between the two podcasts is amount of English expressions: in our analysis there were examples of several episodes of Mimmit sijoittaa, but only one episode of Tuplakääk. The higher number of English expressions in Tuplakääk can be explained with the topic and the assumed audience. The listeners of Tuplakääk are assumed to be interested in American celebrity gossips and therefore the assumption is that they understand English expressions. Mimmit sijoittaa focuses on topics that concern financial issues and economy, and a lot of the concepts concerning these themes have Finnish equivalents which explains the lower amount of English expressions in the podcast. Our conclusion is that entertaining podcast Tuplakääk uses significantly more English in their interactional setting than the informative podcast Mimmit sijoittaa.
Sources
Auer, P. 1998. “Code-switching in conversation: language, interaction and identity”. Routledge, London/New York.
García, O. and Wei, L. 2014 Translanguaging: Language, Bilingualism and Education, Palgrave Macmillan
Leppänen, S., Pitkänen‐Huhta, A., Piirainen‐Marsh, A., Nikula, T. and Peuronen, S. (2009), Young People’s Translocal New Media Uses: A Multiperspective Analysis Of Language Choice And Heteroglossia. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 14: 1080-1107
Räisänen, T. (2018). Translingual Practices in Global Business : A Longitudinal Study of a Professional Communicative Repertoire. In G. Mazzaferro (Ed.), Translanguaging as Everyday Practice (pp. 149-174). Multilingual Education, 28. Cham: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-94851-5_9
English in Finland 