Study title

Upper Secondary Students' Societal Awareness of Linguistic Variation 2023-2024

Dataset ID Number

FSD4000

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD4000
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd4000

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Societal awareness of linguistic variation and change (LANGAWARE) -research group (Tampere University)

Abstract

The data focuses on Finnish upper secondary school students' perceptions and attitudes towards the use of Finnish language and linguistic variation in everyday contexts. The data was collected as part of the research project Societal awareness of linguistic variation and change (LANGAWARE).

First, statements were presented relating to language use. The statements concerned, among other things, mixing languages, ways of communicating, following grammar rules, and personal linguistic skills. After this, the respondents were asked to describe their thoughts on colloquial language, the English language use in Finnish, and language change. They were also asked to list linguistic expressions that they use in writing but not in speech.

Next, various example words were presented, and respondents were asked to assess the extent to which they use these linguistic expressions in their own speech and communication. After this, dialectal expressions were presented, and respondents were asked to use different pairs of adjectives to assess what kind of image they had of these expressions. Finally, open-ended questions were used to ask respondents for their thoughts on language use and linguistic research.

Background variables include year of birth, gender, native language, and municipality of upper secondary school.

Keywords

adolescents; colloquial language; dialects; knowledge (awareness); language; language variations; languages; languages and linguistics education; schoolchildren; upper secondary education

Topic Classification

• Humanities (Fields of Science Classification)
• Language and linguistics (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Youth (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• Societal awareness of linguistic variation and change (LANGAWARE) -research group (Tampere University)

Funders

• Kone Foundation (202204205)

Time Period Covered

2023 – 2024

Collection Dates

2023-12-01 – 2024-02-29

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Finnish upper secondary school students

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Purposive

The target municipalities were selected based on previous linguistic studies. The target municipalities were the largest cities and regional urban centers, as well as rural areas that had already been studied by the Institute for the Languages of Finland. Responses were requested from only one upper secondary school in each target municipality.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Data Version

1.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

For identification reasons, researchers have removed the variable describing the respondent's municipality of residence.

The response options 'other” and 'I do not want to answer” for the gender variable have been combined at FSD for identification reasons. In addition, identifying information relating to the respondent's or their family's housing history has been removed from the open-ended responses at FSD. Entries made by FSD are marked with [square brackets].

Weighting

There are no weight variables in the data.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Societal awareness of linguistic variation and change (LANGAWARE) -research group (Tampere University): Upper Secondary Students' Societal Awareness of Linguistic Variation 2023-2024 [dataset]. Data version 1.0 (2025-11-05). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd4000; URN: https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD4000

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Publications

Kuparinen, Olli & Vaattovaara, Johanna. (2025). Murteesta ja identiteetistä 2020-luvulla: Piirrelähtöiseen itseraportointimenetelmään perustuva kyselytutkimuksen analyysi. Virittäjä 129 (1):63-90. https://doi.org/10.23982/vir.148345.