Suomen kielen, suomalais-ugrilaisten ja pohjoismaisten kielten ja kirjallisuuksien laitos

Linguistic map of prehistoric North Europe: Complex Finno-Ugric networks 2000 BC – 1300 AD

Key words: linguistics, onomastics, historical linguistics, language contacts, Iron Age, Early Metal Age

The project focuses on an intensive dialogue between archaeology and linguistics that are the most important fields in the research of the prehistoric development in Northern Europe. The more detailed questions will deal with the ethnic development in the Early Metal Age and Iron Age (2000 B.C.—1300 A.D.). The evidence of early Indo-European loan words in Finno-Ugric extends the scope to the late neolithic age. The research group consists of post graduate students, post doctorate as well as a network of senior scholars with a high-level scholarly command of the fields and methods involved. Currently, four members are actively working in the project that are MA Ante Aikio ( University of Oulu), MA Santeri Junttila ( University of Helsinki), PhD Petri Kallio ( University of Helsinki) and PhD Janne Saarikivi ( University of Helsinki). The leader of the project is professor Riho Grünthal (Department of Finno-Ugrian Studies, University of Helsinki).

Geographically, the project covers a large area that extends from Finland to North-West and Central Russia. The main hypotheses are based on linguistic data, such as place names and vocabulary that will be projected against archaeological conclusions. Special emphasis will be paid on the mutual relationship of the Finnic languages, more remote Finno-Ugric languages, and the Indo-European influence on them. The key questions include the relationship between various types of language change, the dating of place names, the origin of unknown place names, an assumption on a Paleo-European substratum, cultural and linguistic networks between the Finnic-speaking territory and the Central and North Russian Finno-Ugric-speaking areas. The contacts between the Finno-Ugric and Indo-European languages have special importance for the chronology of ethnolinguistic processes.

In February 2007 a seminar discussing some of the key issues and futher plans of the project was organised in Tvärminne (see program). This was followed by an international symposium Linguistic Map of Prehistoric North Europe in the autumn 2008 organised in Rakvere, Estonia (see program).

Some publications