Yliopistollisen viittomakielialan kehkeytyminen ja identiteetin etsintä Suomessa
The development of sign language research at university level and its identity formation in Finland
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30660/afinla.160608Avainsanat:
viittomakieli, tieteenalat, tutkimusalatAbstrakti
The field of academic research and teaching of sign languages in Finland had its beginnings in general linguistics in Helsinki in the early 1980s and was established in the context of applied linguistics in Jyväskylä by 2010. While the field of academic research and teaching of sign languages has been balancing itself between basic and applied language research, its character has also been shaped by its relationship with advocacy, which has, among other things, emphasised the immediate use of research results and also sought to set research agendas. This article highlights the key milestones in the development of the field of academic research and teaching of sign languages in Finland in the 1980s, 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century. In addition to these milestones, the article reflects on the identity of the field, especially from the perspective of how the field has (not) managed to balance basic and applied language research and how it continues to create and navigate in waters traditionally dominated by advocacy.
