Minna Palander-Collin
Humanist of the day

Minna Palander-Collin

Professor Minna Palander-Collin researches the history of English, language change and contact, and language as a tool for building identity. She is Professor of English philology and the Deputy Head of the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Helsinki.

Minna Palander-Collin

Minna Johanna Palander-Collin
Born August 31, 1967, Helsinki

PhD 1999, BA 1991 in English Philology with a minor in Romance Philology, University of Helsinki
Subject teacher qualifications and adult education studies 1998, University of Helsinki

2009– Professor of English philology, University of Helsinki
2011–2015 Head of Unit for English philology
2014– Deputy Head of the Department of Modern Languages
2007–2009 Research fellow at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies
2006–2007 University lecturer at the English Department
2002–2006 Doctoral assistant at the English Department
1989–2001 Various research assistant and teaching positions at the University of Helsinki; English teacher at the Adult Education Centre; postgraduate studies at Oxford University under a grant from the Osk. Huttunen Foundation

Research interests
History of English, historical sociolinguistics, historical pragmatics, language and identity, language change and contact

Publications, research projects and other scientific activities at TUHAT

Photo: Linda Tammisto
Written by Minna Palander-Collin, Kaija Hartikainen (ed.)
Translated by Joseph McVeigh

Over 1,000 years of variation in English

English is the perfect research subject for linguists because it has remained unique for a long time. The progression of language variation and change can be researched from the Anglo-Saxon period of 1,000 years ago up to the modern day.

In my research I have studied the process of change…

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Making things happen together

I have been the head of the English philology unit since 2011 and the Deputy Head of the Department of Modern Languages since 2014. I have also worked in many other positions of trust and expertise, such as the Communications Officer and a board member of the Helsinki University Researchers…

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