In today's multilingual healthcare workplaces, employees and patients from diverse linguistic backgrounds must be able to communicate effectively with Finnish as the shared language, even when it is not the strongest language for all parties involved. The shared language, Finnish, is used in many ways: the professional language of doctors differs from that of patients, which in turn varies greatly by region and social group. Furthermore, the language of non-native speakers at different proficiency levels may differ from that of native Finnish speakers.
The research group studies the use of Finnish as a lingua franca in healthcare work communities. Specific areas of interest include speech comprehension and comprehensibility among different language users. The findings of the study will be used in the training of doctors who speak Finnish as a second language and in the development of language practices in healthcare.
Photo: Jonne Renvall / Tampere university