Sari Pietikäinen | University of Jyväskylä (original) (raw)

Papers by Sari Pietikäinen

Anthropology of Work Review

Building on Deleuze and Guattari’s assemblage theories, this paper offers an ethnography of work ... more Building on Deleuze and Guattari’s assemblage theories, this paper offers an ethnography of work focused on a professional ice hockey team in Finland, where hockey is the leading sport in terms of popularity and economic investment. It is an analysis of the everyday investments in developing individual players’ skills and in building teams capable of high levels of cooperation under conditions of unpredictability. By looking at team formation as an emergent set of practices, materialities, discourses, and affects, we are better able to account for how corporations of this kind mitigate the deterritorializing effects of player mobility through processes of reterritorialization. As such, the analysis offers insights into modalities of value creation in a corporate model that relies not only on the constant improvement of worker performance in ways that can be easily measured but also on intangible facets of worker collaboration that manifest as collective desire.

Multilingualism, Discourse, and Ethnography, 2012

Pragmatics. Quarterly Publication of the International Pragmatics Association (IPrA), 2017

Phonetic resources, like dialects and accents, are used in ethnic humour to build up a recognisab... more Phonetic resources, like dialects and accents, are used in ethnic humour to build up a recognisable character that pokes fun at the stereotypes associated with a particular identity, sometimes with critical and political undertones. In this article, we examine the manipulation of one such resource, aspiration, used in performing and mocking one such clichéd character, called thefake Sámi.This character has a contested history in Finnish tourism and marketing practices, and is embedded in a long-standing debate about who can use emblems of Sámi identity for economic purposes. Adopting a sociophonetic language regard and folk linguistics approaches (Preston 2010;Niedzielski & Preston 2003) we explore how “fakeness” is constructed phonetically by the actors performing “Fake Sámi” in an indigenous Sámi television comedy show during a period of intense political debate in Finland over the legal definition of the category of indigenous Sámi. By analysing the use of hyperbolic aspiration o...

Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 2015

Abstract Choices made around using language in museums can either reinforce or challenge existing... more Abstract Choices made around using language in museums can either reinforce or challenge existing common sense language regimes and cultural hegemonies. The issues around linguistic choices are particularly pronounced for a museum of indigenous culture in a multilingual minority language community. Using the case of the Siida, the National Museum of the Finnish Sámi, located in Inari, in Finnish Sámiland, we explore some of the issues involved in using language in the museum. Based on a linguistic landscape analysis, we identify three main functions of language in the museum: managing and controlling visitors; narrating and explaining content and being displayed as content/exhibit. We discuss these functions in the context of the Siida Museum and also explore the associated challenges and opportunities. Our analysis shows how the language choices made by museums in relation to all three functions can present an opportunity to challenge existing language hegemonies and inequalities.

Educational Linguistics, 2013

Starting from the premise that dynamic language practices are an emerging property of interaction... more Starting from the premise that dynamic language practices are an emerging property of interaction, and that languages are learnt by participating in language practices, we focus in this chapter on the tensions and creativity that arise from complex, changing, and interconnected multilingual discourses, practices, and experiences in indigenous Sami classrooms. Drawing on longitudinal ethnographic and discourse-analytic research on a multilingual indigenous Sami community in Finland, we will examine the strategies and practices that a group of Sami children develop, use, and modify while navigating this complex terrain. We illustrate the various ways in which the children adopt and play with the emergent norms and use their linguistic and cultural resources to navigate in a multilingual educational context. The aim of this study was to highlight the multilingual repertoires of these children, validate their literacy practices, and evaluate the presence of multilingualism and Sami languages in the classroom.

Journal of Sociolinguistics, 2014

ABSTRACT Cultural tourism has become an alternative economic activity in many indigenous sites, a... more ABSTRACT Cultural tourism has become an alternative economic activity in many indigenous sites, and local tourist providers compete globally by commodifying their culture in an efficient, attractive manner. This process is not however a straightforward one, because of the need to manage both the multilingual context and the interaction between host and tourists, and this can lead to tensions for all parties. We examine a Reindeer Farm in the indigenous language space of Sámiland. Based on a long-term ethnography, we identify different scripts which are used within the tourist encounter to pre-empt and manage tensions around the legitimacy of the host, the collusion and cooperation between host and tourists, and the differing linguistic resources of tourists and host – in terms of the interplay between English as a tourist lingua franca, Finnish as national language, and to a limited extent the local Inari Sámi and Northern Sámi languages. We argue that the stakes involved in producing cultural tourism are potentially higher in indigenous, minority language sites.Kulttuuriturismista on tullut yksi elinkeinon vaihtoehto monilla syrjäseuduilla. Paikalliset turismiyrittäjät pystyvät kilpailemaan globaaleilla markkinoilla tuotteistamalla paikallista kulttuuria huokuttelevalla ja tehokkaalla tavalla. Tämä prosessi ei ole kuitenkaan yksioikoinen ja usein siihen liittyykin erilaisia autentisuuteen, monikielisyyteen ja vuorovaikutuksen hallintaan liittyviä jännitteitä osapuolten välillä. Tarkastelemme tässä artikkelissa yhtä esimerkkiä paikallisen kulttuurin tuotteistamisesta, vierailua porotilalle Saamenmaassa, Euroopan pohjoisimmassa periferiassa. Soveltaen diskurssintutkimusta ja etnografiaa, tarkastelemme miten ja millaisia skriptejä vierailun hallinnassa ja mahdollisten jännitteiden ratkaisemisessa hyödynnetään. Tässä kontekstissa jännitteet liittyvät sellaisiin vuorovaikutuksen hetkiin, jolloin isännän legitiimiys kyseenalaistetaan tai yhteistyö isännän ja vieraan välillä vaarantuu tai isännän ja vieraiden erilaiset kielliset resurssit kaipaavat kontrollointia. Näitä resursseja ovat englanti kansainvälisen turismin kielenä, suomi kanallisena kielenä sekä rajoitetussa määrin paikalliset alkupersäiskielet inarin- ja pohjoissaame. Esimerkkitapauksen avulla esitämme, että alkuperäiskulttuuriin ja vähemmistökieliin liittyvässä turismissa panokset tuotteistamisessa ovat erityisen korkeat. [Finnish]

[ Research paper thumbnail of Kieli-ideologioiden teoriaa ja käytäntöä [Theory and practice](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/113217452/thumbnails/1.jpg)

Kieli on inhimillisen toiminnan ydintä: se on ajattelun ja ihmisten välisen vuorovaikutuksen kesk... more Kieli on inhimillisen toiminnan ydintä: se on ajattelun ja ihmisten välisen vuorovaikutuksen keskeinen väline. Se on myös erottamaton osa kulttuuria, yhteiskuntaa ja yhteisöä. Kielen moninaisten tehtävien vuoksi kielellistä toimintaa on tarkasteltu, jäsennetty ja nimetty useista näkökulmista monin tavoin eri aikoina. Koska kieli on kielenkäyttäjien ja yhteisöjen yhteistä omaisuutta, siitä myös kiistellään ja se herättää voimakkaitakin tunteita: voidaan puhua kielikiistasta, kielitaistelusta tai kielisodasta, kunnes saavutetaan kielirauha tai kielisovinto. Tässä artikkelissa esittelemme yhtä tapaa tarkastella kieltä ja sitä koskevia käsityksiä sekä niiden muuttumista, ristiriitaisuutta ja vaikutuksia, nimittäin kieli-ideologioiden tutkimusta. Kieli-ideologioiden tutkimusta on tehty erityisesti lingvistisen antropologian, sosiolingvistiikan ja diskurssintutkimuksen aloilla (ks. esim. Schieffelin,

Media, Culture & Society, 2003

Both individual and collective formulations of who 'we' are and where 'we' belong are powerful. T... more Both individual and collective formulations of who 'we' are and where 'we' belong are powerful. They have a powerful effect on our sense of being part of a community and the uniqueness of a group. However, as Weeks (1994: 12) points out, the diverse articulations of identities involve political values and can be used to validate both diversity and solidarity as well as involvement and exclusion. Therefore, the construction of identity necessarily entails negotiation-struggle even-for its very articulation. This, in turn, points towards the importance of representation of different embedded identities-ethnic, regional and cultural-and is what we are interested in. We will focus here on the intertwined relations between identity, ethnicity and place. We are particularly interested in northern identities, because the Finnish North can be seen as a crossroads where two central elements of identity meet: ethnicity and place. From an ethnic point of view, northern identities have their historical and political dimensions. Two ethnic groups-the Sami and the Finns-have lived in the North for centuries. The familiar story of mixed marriages, the gradual disappearance of the minority culture and the oppression of the minority, resulting in, for example, their language shift, describes the relationship between these groups. Currently, an increase in the claims and political activity of the Sami has resulted in a change, albeit slow, in their social, political and legal position. The news representations of northern identities are part of these changes and the struggle for Sami identity.

Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 2013

This article explores multimodal literacy practices in a transforming multilingual context of an ... more This article explores multimodal literacy practices in a transforming multilingual context of an indigenous and endangered Sámi language classroom. Looking at literacy practices as embedded in a complex and shifting terrain of language ideologies, language norms, and individual experiences and attitudes, we examined how multilingual Sámi children navigate and appropriate meaning-making resources available for them while designing their own picture books. We adopted a discourse ethnographic approach to analyse these multimodal picture books and found three different but interrelated orientations to the making of the books, each organising and valuing multimodal resources in his or her own way. We conclude with a discussion of the value of repetition and creativity in multimodal literacy practices in a changing multilingual minority language context.

Journal of Language and Politics, 2014

The ideological (re)construction of the position of Swedish in Finland is examined as it took sha... more The ideological (re)construction of the position of Swedish in Finland is examined as it took shape during a major year-long debate about the role of Swedish in Finnish education. Data were collected through archival research of the leading national newspapers in the two official languages of Finland:Helsingin Sanomat(Finnish) andHufvudstadsbladet(Swedish). Circulating and intersecting discourses in newspaper texts are traced in order to examine how these discourses facilitate the negotiation of tensions about the status of Swedish in Finland. Analysis demonstrates how ideological space was opened for destabilizing dominant perspectives about the relative value of languages in Finland. Moreover, it is shown that (re)interpretations of the discourse of ‘Swedish as mandatory’ in education became a fulcrum for leveraging a wider debate about the ‘Finland as bilingual nation’ discourse, which has long been part of the national consciousness.

International Journal of Bilingualism, 2013

Using the example of the linguistic landscape of an indigenous Sámi village in northern Scandinav... more Using the example of the linguistic landscape of an indigenous Sámi village in northern Scandinavia, this article explores multilingualism in public signs located in public spaces of the village. Based on long-standing ethnographic and discourse analytical research on multilingualism in the spaces and practices in the peripheral locality of Sámiland, I will focus on the temporal and spatial dimensions of the signs. In this, Bakhtin’s concept of the chronotope is applied. Two chronotopes are identified and examined with regard to language change, mobility and multilingualism in public spaces. It is argued that linguistic landscapes often highlight spatial normativity and creativity, as well as local semiotic interventions, all embedded in historical, political and economic conditions.

International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2011

Adapting Tom Ricento's (2006) three‐era framework in language policy to the case of the Sámi ... more Adapting Tom Ricento's (2006) three‐era framework in language policy to the case of the Sámi in Finland and Irish in the Republic of Ireland, we identify three key eras in the development of minority‐language media: the gifting era, the service era, and the performance era. Each era has its own particular logic and normativities in relation to the value and functions allocated to minority‐language media, the key actors involved in these media, and concepts of languages and speakers. Although we observe a chronology in the evolution of these eras, previous eras do not simply disappear with this evolution. We argue instead that they are embedded in any single moment of media engagement in relation to minority languages and with implications for speakers.Soveltaen Tom Ricenton (2006) kolmen aikakauden viitekehystä, tarkastelemme tässä artikkelissa vähemmistökielisen median kehittymisen kolmea keskeistä aikakautta: lahjan aikakautta, palvelun aikakautta ja performanssin aikakautta. ...

Yhteiskuntapolitiikka, 2001

Uutisten seuraamisen ajatellaan olevan kunnon kansalaisen perushyveitä. Uutisia seuraamalla kan... more Uutisten seuraamisen ajatellaan olevan kunnon kansalaisen perushyveitä. Uutisia seuraamalla kansalainen saa tietoa päivänkohtaisista ilmiöistä ja ihmisistä ja on mukana yleisessä keskustelussa. Uutiset ovat ikään kuin kansakunnan näyttämö, jolle marssitetaan ...

Sport, Migration, and Gender in the Neoliberal Age, 2020

Sport in Society, 2018

The commercial internationalization of professional ice hockey is shaped by tensions of (re)routi... more The commercial internationalization of professional ice hockey is shaped by tensions of (re)routing and (up)rooting since it involves (i) crossing geographic, ethnic, and linguistic boundaries to capitalize on foreign talent, while (ii) maintaining place-based logics to foster allegiance from local fans and develop local talent, and (iii) confronting the universalizing and often non-commercial ideals of sport. By examining media data in Finland and Canada, this article explores how three key moments of routing and rooting in the careers of two foreign-born athletes generate different discourses of professionalization that work to mitigate potential tensions. Finland's Saku Koivu, with the Montréal Canadiens, and Québec's Éric Perrin, with JYP Jyväskylä, both captained teams in globalizing hockey markets. Despite different scales and resources, both markets appear to operate under similar mediatized discourses of professionalization, valuing the metaphors of neoliberal rationalities about will (individual autonomy and desire), skill (performance and competition), and profit (entrepreneurialism).

Mediatization and Sociolinguistic Change

Recent demand within the academy for language research that bridges different stakeholders render... more Recent demand within the academy for language research that bridges different stakeholders renders the social relevance of research a factor in the academic competition for research funds [Curry, M. J., & Lillis, T. (2013). Introduction to the thematic issue: Participating in academic publishing – consequences of linguistic policies and practices. Language Policy, 12, 209–213]. This calls for new means and innovations for designing and carrying out knowledge mobilisation activities, with consequences concerning where, how and with whom this type of undertaking can or should be done. In this paper we, a team of (multilingual) researchers working within the fields of multilingualism, minority language studies and discourse studies, critically reflect on how we engage in knowledge mobilisation through the conceptualisation, development and management of the Jyväskylä Discourse Hub research initiative and its website (www.discoursehub.fi). Drawing on nexus analysis [Scollon, R., & Scollon, S. (2004). Nexus analysis: Discourse and the emerging internet. London: Routledge], a transdisciplinary discourse-ethnographic framework, we employ the three cycles of this nexus analytical framework (engaging, navigating and changing a nexus of practice) to explore the conditions and consequences of collaborative knowledge mobilisation, especially in terms of creating dialogue among different actors and as a way of enhancing social relevance of language research. We conclude by discussing the implications of this kind of partnership for language policy and planning activities in this era of new types of shifts, demands and openings.

Social Identities, 2001

... On the Fringe: News Representations of the Sami SARI PIETIKA¨ INEN University of Jyväskylä Th... more ... On the Fringe: News Representations of the Sami SARI PIETIKA¨ INEN University of Jyväskylä The Sami, a Nation between Borders, Identity in Transition ... Page 2. 638 Sari Pietikäinen state started to control the public land outside the homesteads. ...