Research Unit for the Study of Variation, Contacts and Change in English (VARIENG)

PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:
VARIENG is a National Centre of Excellence for the Study of Variation, Contacts and Change in English. It has 45 members from the University of Helsinki and 15 from the University of Jyväskylä, and is funded by these two universities and the Academy of Finland for the period 2006-2011.

VARIENG members study the English language in its social, regional and discourse contexts. In Helsinki, special attention is given to the development of English from its earliest stages up to its present-day varieties. One focus of VARIENG research is language use in contact situations, including those between English and the national languages of Finland.

VARIENG members carry out empirical research. They compile and utilize electronic corpora of English, and develop tools and methods for corpus-based studies. These resources make up an essential part of the VARIENG infrastructure, and are created to benefit the research community at large.

The versatility of the research unit and its connections both nationally and internationally greatly benefit VARIENG doctoral students.

VARIENG also has an important role in the Langnet national graduate school. One of its programmes (Variation, Contacts and Change) derives from it, and Irma Taavitsainen was the co-leader of the programme during the whole period under assessment, conducting national seminars in international environments, in Athens, Estonia and St Petersburg, with several VARIENG students as participants.

Responsible person: Terttu Nevalainen, Helsinki University, Department of Modern Languages

Participation category: 1