This paper presents the results from two studies on anaphoric reference to quantifying expressions (QEs) in Swedish, contributing to the current cross-linguistic discussion on this issue. For English it has been shown that the polarity of the QE (positive vs negative) determines the anaphoric set reference (to the referens set, REFSET, or to the…

This paper discusses symbolic violence in sociolinguistic research on multilingualism. It revisits an archived recording of a group discussion between four boys about their chances of having sex with a female researcher. The data is rife with symbolic violence. Most obviously, the conversation enacted a heterosexist form of symbolic violence. This…

This study investigates lexical transfer in four German learners' oral production of L3 Swedish. They have already learned English as an L2. The point of departure is Williams and Hammarberg's [1998. Language switches in L3 production: implications for a polyglot speaking model. "Applied Linguistics," 19, 295-333] case study in which…

The aim of this article is to describe young children's beliefs about language and bilingualism as they are expressed in verbal utterances. The data is from Swedish-medium preschool units in three different sites in Finland. It was generated through ethnographic observations and recordings of the author's interactions with the children. The…

To account for the full range of language use in contemporary multilingual urban contexts, the notion of target language (TL) needs to be reconsidered. In studies of second language acquisition and language variation, taking TL for granted implies that people agree on what constitutes "good" language, or the standard norm. The TL of…

This study investigated the influence of frequency effects on the processing of congruent (i.e., having an equivalent first language [L1] construction) collocations and incongruent (i.e., not having an equivalent L1 construction) collocations in a second language (L2). An acceptability judgment task was administered to native and advanced…

This article addresses the relationships between media, media use and language retention. In pursuing this aim, we explore the utility of ethnolinguistic vitality (EV) as a fruitful conceptual tool. The extant research on the relationship between the media and language retention and development provides an encouragement to pursue in more detail…

While language aptitude has been investigated actively within second language research, there is a current dearth of research on the effects of aptitude in cases of attrition. The aim of the present investigation was to explore the role of language aptitude for L1 proficiency in speakers who experienced a break with their L1 setting prior to…

Describes the linguistic backgrounds of Sweden and Finland and presents a few examples of recent sociolinguistic research in these countries. (CFM)

Summarizes contact-linguistic research on the Samis and Finns, the northernmost minorities in Scandinavia. The monolingual view of northern Scandinavian languages in the past is complemented with a multilingual perspective of the interaction between minority and larger languages. Among contact patterns discussed are North Germanic-Sami,…

A study explored the functionalist-constructivist approach to acquisition of grammar where word classes emerge as a result of distributional differences related to function. Focus is on acquisition of two Swedish forms, "i" and "pa," which can belong to the categories of either particles or prepositions, in two Swedish…

In this study, the author seeks to demonstrate that Swedish is unique in its avoidance of the pronouns of address, extreme in its use of impersonal questions and circumscriptions, and that such language usage is directly related to the perceived relationship of social status, as explicitly and implicitly expressed by informants. The author also…

Language use among linguistic minorities of the Northern Calotte (areas of Norway, Sweden, and Finland that lie above the Arctic Circle) is reviewed from the perspective of history and ecology of language. Two case studies examining language shift in these areas, where Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, and Sami are spoken, are also considered.…

A study investigated certain mechanisms underlying the acquisition of phrasal verbs in English as a Second Language. Subjects were native Finnish- and Swedish-speaking students in Finland, most aged 16-25 years. The subjects were administered a multiple-choice test with each item containing two correct alternatives, a phrasal verb (preferred by…

The compositions or essay tests of second language learners are difficult to mark and evaluate. It has been suggested that the only way to achieve objectivity is to abolish all criteria except formal correctness, as it is the only one that can be measured and statistically evaluated. Attempts have been made to establish other criteria. A varied…