My work requires me to jump from one group of experts to another, and the majority of my collaborators are from fields outside linguistics. That is why it is important to not only put the results of research to concrete use but also to make one’s own field comprehensible to others.

Research findings can seldom be directly applied to real-life situations, because those who apply them have to take, say, pedagogical factors into consideration: the results can be so nuanced that they cannot be used to make recommendations when it comes to language use. The technology used to produce texts, for instance the information system, can in turn prevent the application of unmodified new ideas.

Application often goes hand in hand with popularisation. One of the ways I have worked towards this end has been by writing over 200 articles, mainly columns and causeries, for popular publications. I have also written regular causeries for the radio, for instance as part of a series called “language minute.” When you have only one minute, you learn to be concise!

I have had to put some thought into application and popularisation as part of my work as an instructor. I created a modified version of my Master’s thesis for proofreading, which is still occasionally used in language revision, copy editing and planning. I Recently examined a language clause in administrative law in the light of theories on the versatility of language. I have also used the multipurpose nature of language and assumptions on the relationship between language and context as the basis for forensic linguistic analysis. The possibility of combining theory with empiricism in a wide variety of ways must be one the best aspects of my work.

• Ulla Tiililä’s works can be found on a list of publications on the website for the Institute for the Languages of Finland: Printed publications and online publications.