Miten normeista puhutaan - Näkökulma ja normien rajat

How are norms talked about - the point-of-view and norm boundaries (englanti)4/1996 (100)Anne Mntynen (University of Helsinki; fi)HOW ARE NORMS TALKED ABOUT - THE POINT-OF-VIEW AND NORM BOUNDARIES The article analyses popular texts on norms by experts of Finnish. The approach is one of discourse analysis, and the object of analysis is a body of texts that have appeared in newspapers and on the radio. In particular, the focus is on what is said about spoken language and how different norms are talked about. In addition to prescriptive norms, it is customary in linguistics to talk about natural norms, which pertain chiefly to so-called everyday speech. In addition, there are social norms, with close connections to social values. The article discusses the domains of the different norms: what is and what is not the domain of prescriptive norms in the texts studied.The first part of the article discusses naming and metaphor, which indicate the point-of-view of the texts. Furthermore, the concept of appropriateness is introduced in connection with social norms and values. Finally, there is a brief discussion on affectiveness in texts by experts and the significance of this when talking about norms.The article demonstrates that the boundaries between different norms are not clear-cut. Moreover, standard written language appears as the primary form of language and an ideal against which all other language forms are measured. Connected to language standardisation norms is the value system of the Finnish culture - standard written language assumes the highest position in the value hierarchy, like all that is good in our culture