Stina Ericsson, professor of the Swedish language.
Photo: Jessica Oscarsson
The Institute for Language and Folklore (Isof) and the Language Council subsection organize the Language Council Day annually. One feature there is the awarding of prizes, including Erik Wellander’s prize for outstanding research in the field of language care. This year it is awarded to Stina Ericsson, professor of the Swedish language at the Department of Swedish, Multilingualism and Language Technology.
– It feels very nice to receive Erik Wellander’s prize! The interest in changes in contemporary language is something we share, she says.
Research with a focus on norms, power and equality
Stina Ericsson’s research is about language, norms, power and equality. It is about categorization in different ways, how society and language are connected, and how we humans interact with each other and our surroundings. It was precisely the social benefit of her research that was emphasized in the jury’s justification. One example is the interdisciplinary research project “The Syntax of Equality” where several researchers in collaboration with three Swedish municipalities focus on how inclusion and exclusion are seen in society. It consists of three parts: equality in signage in public spaces, in the architecture of buildings and in texts in e.g. the municipalities’ governing document.
– Norms and the expressions we use when we label different groups in society can in turn affect people and the physical environment around us, how the public is designed and how we interact with it, says Stina Ericsson.
In the project, she analyzes the municipalities’ documents relating to social sustainability, equality plans and the like. Stina Ericsson examines how municipalities write about people, which groups are singled out and which remain anonymous.
– The text is important, it affects the response. The project assumes that how we express ourselves with language affects how we think. If we can influence thoughts, we can, by extension, also influence how society is built. Thinking people variation and diversity so we will also build our societies and design them according to that, says Stina Ericsson.
A typical example from the governing documents is wording such as “persons with disabilities must have the same conditions to do something as others”. Then two groups of people are singled out very differently. People with disabilities are seen as a group and named based on physical ability, and the other group becomes an anonymous and vague “everyone else”.
– There will be an unfortunate division of people where “everyone else” is set as the norm for the other group. Instead, the wording could be, for example, “our municipality shall make it possible for all people to…”. In this way, people do not need to be categorized, says Stina Ericsson.
Non-inclusion instead of inclusion
The word inclusion is often highlighted as something positive, but Stina Ericsson and the other researchers in “The Syntax of Equality” believe that this is not necessarily the case.
– With inclusion there is a power perspective – it is someone who includes someone else. There is a division that we in the project do not think is desirable, and instead we want to launch the concept non-inclusion. This means that people are not categorized into groups, but that the focus is instead on what is significant in that particular situation or function, she says.
A concrete example is toilet signs that are often on the outside of the door. The classic signs have gendered symbols, a man and a woman, and the wheelchair symbol. The symbols categorize people and convey what kind of people are expected to enter there. There are also inclusive signs with a hen symbol.
– Such signs always have a perspective of power. Someone decides what there are for groups of people, how they should be named and represented, says Stina Ericsson.
When the Faculty of Humanities’ building was renovated, she was asked to give feedback to the group that prepared the signage in the premises.
– Our new signage here at Humanisten instead shows the function: a toilet seat or a toilet seat with fold-down armrests. The sign does not categorize people and does not say anything about who you are, but instead shows what is inside and you choose the space yourself as needed. It is a non-inclusive sign, explains Stina Ericsson.
The pursuit of equality
In recent decades, there has been increased diversity in society and a greater variety, while there are also darker forces that categorize and mark that which deviates. That Stina Ericsson and her research are praised for their social relevance therefore means a lot to her.
– It takes time to influence social development, of course, as well as to change our own and other people’s way of thinking. There are constant challenges, also in the project and the research group. I hope to be able to contribute to greater equality with my work, says Stina Ericsson.
Text: Karin Wenzelberg
