Study: English overused while Finnish scarce in Tallinn
Tallinn's urban landscape is filled with English-language signs, but spoken English is rarely heard. In contrast, Russian – and to some extent Finnish – are frequently heard, though seldom seen on signage, according to a study by researchers from Tallinn University. Rather than creating a strictly monolingual environment, the authors recommend embracing multilingualism as a developmental asset in its own right.
"Following the latest census, we know that 243 languages are spoken as native languages in Estonia. Yet, we don't typically see or hear all of them," says Natalia Tšuikina, associate professor of Russian at Tallinn University. She emphasizes the importance of raising awareness about Estonia's – and particularly Tallinn's – true diversity.
Professor of Russian studies Kapitolina Fedorova is conducting research on Tallinn's multilingualism alongside Tšuikina. As part of the study, the authors asked their students to map the languages visible on signs and to note the audible language landscape in specific areas of the capital. "We observed that English is overrepresented on signage. We don't hear as much English as we see," Fedorova points out.
Waning German and scarce Finnish
To document signage and other visible language materials, students used the LinguaSnapp app, uploading photos of signs from various locations in Tallinn onto a city map, where instructors then reviewed the submissions. To capture the auditory language landscape, the research team created a separate Google questionnaire, where students could quickly check off the languages they heard in the same locations.
Fedorova noted that all students were surprised by just how many different languages are actually present in Tallinn. "If you're not focusing on it, you don't notice it. But once you start observing multilingualism, you can't unsee it. This app not only supports multilingualism but also shifts people's monolingual worldview," she explains.
Predictably, Estonian, Russian and English were the most commonly seen and heard languages in Tallinn. While Estonian signs were ubiquitous, English-language signage was also prevalent. "In reality, there are relatively few native English speakers in Estonia. However, when you walk around the city, English appears everywhere," Professor Fedorova notes. The situation with Russian was the opposite: Russian was frequently heard in conversations but rarely seen on signs. "A Russian or English sign never stands alone. There's always Estonian text alongside it, in line with language regulations," Tšuikina points out.
Other languages were encountered by students more sporadically. "These languages mostly appeared in the Old Town. Outside of the Old Town, they were found only at embassies, cultural centers and a few historical monuments," Fedorova lists. For instance, languages historically dominant in Tallinn, like (Low) German and Latin, were now visible only as inscriptions on Old Town buildings and old monuments.
Finnish, however, may be visually underrepresented, according to Fedorova. "We hear quite a bit of Finnish in the auditory landscape, but only around the harbor area and the Old Town." While English is used in the urban environment as a lingua franca for various purposes, Finnish-language signs were exclusively posted by businesses specifically targeting Finnish clientele.
The researchers did not map all of Tallinn but instead selected specific environments: urban nature areas, the Central Market (Keskturg), Balti Jaam Market, several central theaters, Tallinn University buildings and three shopping centers. "We specifically chose Järve Center, Lasnamäe Centrum and Nautica, as they were likely to be primarily Estonian-, Russian- or multilingual, respectively," Tšuikina explains.
This hypothesis was confirmed: Järve Center was predominantly Estonian-speaking and Lasnamäe Centrum mostly Russian-speaking. "Nautica Center featured various languages: Finnish, Estonian, English and even some Polish," the associate professor lists. Surprisingly, students did not detect any Ukrainian in their auditory observations, despite the study being conducted in 2022 and 2023, when many war refugees were living aboard a ship near Nautica. "We assume that most refugees came from Eastern Ukraine, where Russian is often the native language," Tšuikina notes.
Diversity as a resource
According to Kapitolina Fedorova, it is essential to gather sufficient data when conducting studies like this. To achieve this, students had to repeatedly visit the same locations and stay for extended periods. "Typically, they spent 30 minutes at each site per visit. Staying longer becomes too exhausting, as they had to note down everything they heard indiscriminately," the professor recalls. No individuals were recorded or filmed for the study – students simply made quick notes in their logs based on what they heard.
The map reflecting the visible linguistic landscape remains publicly available on the LinguaSnapp website, according to the researchers. "This is not solely for researchers; anyone can download the app to their phone, walk around the city, take pictures and submit them. The researchers moderate submissions and add them to the map," Fedorova points out.
Tallinn University researchers, in collaboration with LinguaSnapp's developers from the University of Manchester, aim to further develop the app to capture the city's digital linguistic landscape. "In today's world, we use our smartphones constantly – for instance, scanning QR codes to read restaurant menus, often available in multiple languages," Fedorova explains of their future plans.
The societal impact of the study, she says, lies in raising awareness of multilingualism. "It helps people better understand how languages function, how many different languages surround us and perhaps even see the world from others' perspectives," she notes. For instance, a native Estonian speaker in Tallinn might not perceive the cityscape the same way as someone from Turkey or Japan. Fedorova adds that appreciating multilingualism might also improve communication between Estonian and Russian-speakers in Tallinn.
"Monolingualism leads to the belief that languages are in competition – a zero-sum game where one language's gain is another's loss," she continues. By contrast, in a multilingual context, everyone benefits, as languages can mutually enrich one another. Fedorova also points to neuroscience research showing that learning and using multiple languages keeps the brain in good shape, helping prevent dementia and Alzheimer's. "With our study, we want to convey that multilingualism is the norm and that languages should be viewed as resources, not threats," Tšuikina adds.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski