The Department of Scandinavian Languages
Scandinavian Languages as a subject belongs to the field of linguistics. The teaching and research at the Department are done in Swedish and concern primarily the Swedish language. Graduates of the Department often go on to work as Swedish language teachers, translators or in other positions where expertise in Scandinavian languages and culture is required. In addition to Swedish, also Norwegian and Danish are taught at the Department. Students have the possibility to study the language and culture of other Scandinavian countries by attending summer courses organised by several Nordic universities or by enrolling on a longer exchange programme.
The aim of the Department is to train experts in Scandinavian Languages who have an excellent command of both spoken and written Swedish. The emphasis is on learning Swedish, but the student also acquires a good understanding of spoken and written Norwegian and Danish. The student concentrates on learning the structure of contemporary Swedish, the regional and social variation of the Scandinavian languages as well as their historical development. Moreover, the student acquires a wide knowledge of Scandinavian literature, culture and society.
A large part of the students of the Department become language teachers. The knowledge and skills needed in language teaching are among the focuses of the studies. The Department does not have a special teacher training track, but the student can choose to study optional teaching-related modules. Many graduates also become translators, which is why the studies now include modules that prepare the student for translating tasks.
The University of Turku’s Department of Scandinavian Languages cooperates with the Department of Swedish at the Åbo Akademi, the Swedish-speaking university in Turku.
The teaching at the Department is in Swedish.