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Areas of expertise
Biography
Since 2011, I have worked as Senior Lecturer of Finnish language in the School of Languages and Translation Studies. In 2008 - 2011 I was a lecturer of Finnish and business communications in the Turku School of Economics, and before that one year in the Helsinki School of Economics. I got my doctoral degree in the University of Turku in 2006. The subject of my dissertation thesis is Finnish company names. In my thesis, I applied theoretical viewpoints from cognitive linguistics and systemic-functional linguistics to onomastics. Simultaneously with my postgraduate studies in 1998 - 2006, I worked in the university as a vice lecturer of Finnish language as well as a vice lecturer of Finnish language and culture for foreigners.
During 2019-2023, I acted as a Senior researcher in the joint multidisciplinary project of Finnish universities, Circular Economy Catalysts (CICAT2025), which was funded by the Strategic research council of the Finnish Academy of Sciences. In 2008-2016 I was a part-time regional officer in the Finnish Cultural Foundation, and in 2016-2020 the editor-in-chief of the scientific yearbook Sananjalka. I served as the President of the International Council of Onomastic Sciences (ICOS) in 2017-2021 and as a Board member in 2014-2017. I have been a member of the Norna council of Nordic onomasticians, as well.
Before my academic career I worked as a PR officer in the MS Society of Finland and as a journalist in the regional office of the Finnish News Agency STT. I graduated from the University of Turku in 1988 with combination of Finnish, finno-ugric languages and general linguistics.
Research
I have been working as Senior Researcher in a joint project of Finnish Universities, Circular Economy Catalysts: From Innovation to Business Ecosystems (CICAT2025), which is funded in 2019-2023 by the Strategic Research Council of the Academy of Finland. The project aims to facilitate the transition from linear to circular economy, and it explores multidisciplinary a wide range of circular economy catalysts that have the potential to accelerate the adoption of circular economy principles in society and markets. My scope of research is to study the language and discourses of circular economy e.g. from the viewpoint of words and names. (See https://cicat2025.turkuamk.fi/en/what-is-cicat2025/)
I belonged to a multidisciplinary group of scholars from the Universities of Turku and Helsinki, the project of which was to study the linguistic and rhetoric choises in the slogans of Finnish municipalities. The project started in 2020 and was funded by The Foundation for Municipal Development. We cooperated also with the Association of Finnish municipalities. (Project website in Finnish and Swedish, see https://sites.utu.fi/kuntasloganit/fi/)
One interst of mine is the language and language changes in the advertisments of Finnish magazines. In addition, I have studied the marketing texts in the web sites of Finnish textile industry in relation to responsibility rhetoric.