ABOUT
I am an American / Finnish / European academic, writer and language researcher/activist. My main area of teaching and research is linguistics, especially language variation and language attitudes.
My current academic post is at the University of Jyväskylä, where I started the position of Associate Professor of English (tenure track) in January 2025. Prior to that, I was a University Lecturer in the Department of Languages at the University of Helsinki for 17 years. In May 2019 I was awarded the Title of Docent.
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I am involved in various research networks, including serving as the supervisor of the Language Awareness and Ideologies in Finland (LAIF) project. You can see more about my research here and more about the LAIF project here.
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If you are interesting in knowing more about my research, if you have questions about language attitudes, variation, or the LAIF project, please contact me at elizabeth.peterson(AT)helsinki.fi.
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At this time I am not able to take any further PhD students, although I can help direct your inquiries to someone else.
LANGUAGES
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US Standardized English (native)
Finnish (good enough to become a citizen)
Swedish (good enough to read and participate in everyday conversations)
French (reading is fine, production is much more complicated)