The Institute for the Languages of Finland (Kotimaisten kielten keskus or Kotus) is a national expert institute specialised in languages. Our tasks include the planning of Finnish and Swedish and the coordination of the work of the Saami, Romani, and Sign Language Boards.
The Institute for the Languages of Finland carries out language and name planning, compiles dictionaries, and conducts different research projects supporting these operations. We also maintain various linguistic corpora and archives.
Contact information
Institute for the Languages of Finland
Hakaniemenranta 6
FI-00530 Helsinki
FINLAND
Tel +358 295 333 200
Director
Leena Nissilä, leena.nissila@kotus.fi
Communication
viestinta-lista@kotus.fi
The email addresses of personnel are formed as follows: firstname.surname[at]kotus.fi. The Scandinavian letters (å, ä, ö) are replaced with standard letters (a, a, o).
Who are we?
The Institute for the Languages of Finland (Kotus) is devoted to the study and language planning of Finnish and Swedish. We also coordinate the activities of the Saami, Romani, and Sign Language Boards.
Most of our research is published as dictionaries, research papers, and monographs. The language planning and name planning functions provide a variety of services to those interested, and the Language Office offers telephone counselling and organizes courses. The general public can also access our extensive linguistic archives.
The Institute for the Languages of Finland
- Is the leading language planning authority, steering and developing the Finnish and Finland Swedish standard languages.
- Coordinates the activities of the Saami, Romani, and the Finnish Sign Language Boards.
- Compiles mono- and multilingual dictionaries of the languages that belong to its sphere of activities.
- Supports language planning and dictionary compilation by studying Finnish and Swedish from many perspectives: vocabulary, language use in different situations, different texts, the past and present of the languages, their variation and established qualities.
- Provides linguistic guidance and counselling services.
- Offers researchers access to its archives, corpora and extensive library resources.
The Institute for the Languages of Finland is an institute of expertise under the auspices of the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. Its activities are laid down by the Act on the Institute for the Languages of Finland 1403/2011, which has replaced the Act on the Research Institute for the Languages of Finland of 1976 (48/1976, 591/1996) (www.finlex.fi). The Institute’s activities are supported by the Council of the Institute for the Languages of Finland.
Kotus on the web
The Institute for the Language of Finland (Kotus) provides a range of online services, mostly available in Finnish and Swedish. Our website (www.kotus.fi) contains a variety of language information, guides to language use, and language-related news and discussions. We also have an online databank of guidelines (Kielitoimiston ohjepankki) and Kielitoimiston sanakirja (the New Dictionary of Modern Finnish), other dictionaries and publications, and various linguistic corpora.
Kotus has several accounts on social media.
Services
Kotus has a broad range of services, mostly available in Finnish and Swedish. Most of the services are free of charge.
We give the general public access to linguistic expertise and up-to-date guidance on language and name use. In addition to telephone counselling on language and name use, the Institute provides services for text reviews, training, library and archival resources, and also issues statements.
Library
Kotus’s library also includes the library collections of the Finnish National Board of Education and the Academy of Finland. The library’s main function is to provide services for the Institute’s own projects and staff, and for the staff of the FNBE and AoF. Other customers can access the publications in the reading rooms during opening hours.
In 2015, Kotus’s collection comprised approximately 1,000 linear metres of publications (51,240 volumes). FNBE’s and AoF’s collections totalled approximately 89 linear metres.
Archives
The Institute has comprehensive collections compiled over more than 100 years. In addition to printed matter, the collections contain audio material and an increasing amount of electronic corpora. Kotus has extensive collections of:
- names (Names Archive)
- dialects (Word Archive of Finnish Dialects)
- spoken language (Tape Archive of the Finnish Language)
- written language (e.g. the Corpus of Old Literary Finnish).