Official Language Policy as a Factor in Using Receptive Multilingualism Among Members of an Estonian and a Finnish Student Organization

Abstract

This study analyzes the language policy of an Estonian student organization and its Finnish friendship organization, and the use of different languages in inter-organizational interaction. The organizations have an official language policy for the use of receptive multilingualism in written communication, originating from their agreement of friendship (est. 1933). Receptive multilingualism refers to interaction in which participants employ a language different from their interlocutors’. By combining survey and interactional data, this study investigates how this official policy, which grew out of the national romantic ideology that emphasized the linguistic and cultural similarity of Estonians and Finns, is interpreted today. It further investigates the present-day language practices among the members of the studied organizations. An analysis of different types of data revealed competing ideologies of the “ideal” and the “practical.” Despite the respondents’ stated preference for using Finnish and Estonian, to ensure mutual understanding they often considered the most effective choice to be English as a lingua franca. Even so, English was not the dominant language choice in the interactional data, and receptive multilingualism was used particularly in multiparty interaction when at least some of the participants had an active command of both languages.