Official Finnish

‘Official Finnish’ is the language variant used by authorities in drafting administrative texts such as legislation, policies and governmental decisions. The role of the Institute for the Languages of Finland is to ensure that the language used by authorities is readily intelligible and stylistically appropriate.

The Institute issues instructions and recommendations for the use of Finnish authorities. We also organise special writing workshops and provide support in drafting various types of text, e.g. effective public announcements and easily intelligible text templates.

One of our resident experts specialises in regulating the usage of administrative Finnish. Our work in this field chiefly consists of lectures, information dissemination and counselling services. Every second month we publish a special column exploring aspects of administrative language (Hyvää virkakieltä) in our language-planning periodical Kielikello.

On request, our resident expert issues official statements on the correct interpretation of administrative documents. Our expert also analyses specific texts to evaluate their clarity and comprehensibility, and provides terminological support in various fields of administration.

Bureaucratic language is the topic of numerous research projects currently under way at the Research Institute.