Data release: Digitized Dialect Atlas of Finnish by Lauri Kettunen
: Santaharju, Jenni; Syrjänen, Kaj; Honkola, Terhi; Seppä, Perttu; Vesakoski, Outi; Leino, Unni
: Holownia, Olga; Smári Sigurðarson, Eiríkur
: Digital Humanities in Nordic and Baltic Countries
Publisher: University of Oslo Library
: 2025
Digital Humanities in the Nordic and Baltic Countries Publications
: DHNB2024 Conference Proceedings Volume 2
: 7
: 3
: 2704-1441
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5617/dhnbpub.12270
: https://doi.org/10.5617/dhnbpub.12270
: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/508655264
In this paper, we present a new digitized version of the Dialect Atlas of Finnish and offer the data as open access. The Atlas was compiled in the early 1920s and 1930s to document the variation of Finnish language. It provides the only description of Finland’s historical linguistic landscape before urbanization and media began to homogenize the dialectal differences. The Atlas was digitized at the turn of the millennium, and a corrected version by us was published online by the Institute of Finnish Languages ten years ago. Here we provide an improved version of the Atlas in a more user-friendly format, along with description of the linguistic traits. Additionally, we supplement the Atlas with polygons indicating the border of historical municipalities (study points), enabling spatial analyses and visualization. The selected data formats are the same used recently in dialectometric studies, which we briefly describe. This data release will improve accessibility and reusability of the Atlas.
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The work was funded by the Kone Foundation (“BEDLAN”, “SumuraSyyni”, “AikaSyyni”, “Kippo”), the Research Council of Finland (grant nr. 352727), the Otto A. Malm foundation and the Ella and Georg Ehrnrooth Foundation.