Youth in Varissuo neighborhood of Turku embrace evolving slang amid linguistic diversity

In Finland, traditional dialects are evolving as even residents of the same neighborhood develop unique ways of speaking. Particularly among youth, language usage is shaped more by interests, social backgrounds, peer groups, and online networks than by geographical location. In Varissuo, a neighborhood in Turku, young people communicate in a distinctly localized manner that isn’t categorized as a traditional dialect.

Sixteen-year-old Akam Eliassi, who has lived in Varissuo his entire life and is of Kurdish descent but born in Turku, describes the local speech as slang, mentioning borrowed words like “haye,” meaning “okay.” Varissuo is home to over 9,000 residents who speak more than 60 languages, with many using a mother tongue other than Finnish.

Seventeen-year-old Tessa Salminen, a recent arrival to Varissuo, notes that her younger brother’s speech has changed since moving to the neighborhood, as he adopts different expressions at school, such as “wallahi, I’m swearing,” which she needed clarification on. Similarly, her peer Reetta Lautjärvi highlights that all her friends speak languages other than Finnish and often incorporate foreign phrases into their speech.

Despite the rich linguistic diversity, there has been a lack of research on the spoken dialects in Turku, according to Tommi Kurki, a docent at the University of Turku. He advocates for modern approaches in studying the blending of identities and languages as youth culture continues to evolve, reflecting the complexity of their social interactions.