Kone Foundation Language Program 2012–2016

Documentation of small Finno-Ugrian languages, the Finnish language, and minority languages in Finland

The main objective of the Kone Foundation’s language program is to advance the documentation of small Finno-Ugrian languages, the Finnish language, and minority languages in Finland.

Written and spoken material is a vital part of documenting languages and so the language program pays particular attention to collecting, mapping and maintaining linguistic corpora. A prerequisite for profiting from the material is its refinement and the improvement of its availability and usability.

Consequently, it is important to assure that both old and new corpora are made available for the open and interactive use of not only the academic community but society as a whole. The language program also encourages open interaction between language users and researchers during the various stages of the documentation process by, for example, applying the methodology of citizen science.

For some time now, the Kone Foundation has been dedicated to advancing interdisciplinarity; recently, there has also been talk of combining the perspectives of science and art. It follows that projects supported by the language program are also encouraged toward multidisciplinarity by making use of different corpora, for example. Interaction between art and science is also being advanced.

In order to achieve these objectives, the Foundation will be involved, to varying degree, in the realization of directed searches and new projects. In addition, the language program will be supported by existing grant applications as the selection process will focus specifically on projects that fulfill the objectives of the program

Furthermore, the language program will make use of existing networks, advance networking in various ways and encourage cooperation between people working within the same field in order to achieve its goals.

Language is not only an important tool for conceptualizing the world around us but it is also an essential part, and reinforcer, of one’s identity. From the point-of-view of the Kone Foundation, languages and the linguistic diversity of the world hold intrinsic value that should be guarded and supported. The research, documentation and support of languages helps to understand society, culture and the world, which, in turn, is information that can be profited from in many different ways.  

Learn more about the language program in Finnish>>

The language program will be translated into English and possibly also Russian during 2012.