Languaging Crises
languaging-crises.bsky.social
Languaging Crises
@languaging-crises.bsky.social
Research project focusing on diachronic perspectives on public communication during three pandemics.

Funded by Research Council of Finland.

Sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, corpus linguistics
Experts are corrupt idiots, and I know better.

Part 2 of our short video series has been published!
Experts Are Corrupt Idiots, And I Know Better. – Languaging Crises
blogs.helsinki.fi
December 1, 2025 at 6:32 AM
Our short from video series begins!

The first iteration is about our data: what data can be used to compare three vastly different time periods?

See our blog or follow us on Instagram: (@languaging_crises)
Data Collection in The Languaging Crises Project – Languaging Crises
blogs.helsinki.fi
November 6, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Reposted by Languaging Crises
I'm so excited about this conference! 🤩 We've already received many many interesting abstracts, examining language in various types of crises.

If you are interested in participating, you still have two days to submit your abstract!
You still have about two weeks to submit your abstract to our upcoming conference in Helsinki in March, 2026.

Deadline for abstract submission: 31st October, 2025.

A warm welcome to discuss crises and language with us!
October 29, 2025 at 8:12 AM
You still have about two weeks to submit your abstract to our upcoming conference in Helsinki in March, 2026.

Deadline for abstract submission: 31st October, 2025.

A warm welcome to discuss crises and language with us!
October 15, 2025 at 7:12 AM
Reposted by Languaging Crises
So, a right-wing Finnish thinktank just published a populist pamphlet that criticises the funding choices of the Research Council of Finland when they concern humanities and social sciences research, and calls for "useful" research only to be published and for us to 'thin the herd' ourselves 🧵
October 1, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Reposted by Languaging Crises
Call for Papers: Languaging Crises conference in Helsinki in March 2026!

Organized by @languaging-crises.bsky.social

@minneva.bsky.social , @hannalimatius.bsky.social, @jenniraikkonen.fi
Call for Contributions. Conference: Languaging Crises Conference (LanCris). Location and dates: University of Helsinki, Finland. 4–5 March 2026. #essecfp.
👉 essenglish.org/cfp-conferen...
September 9, 2025 at 5:12 AM
Call for Papers for the Languaging Crises conference (4–5 March, 2026) is published!

We warmly welcome you to Helsinki!

Proposal submission deadline: 31 October, 2026

blogs.helsinki.fi/languaging-c...
September 4, 2025 at 6:02 AM
A lecture by our collaborator Merja Koskela, a professor of Communication Studies at @univaasa.bsky.social, introduces some of the basics of crisis communication. What is a crisis? What is crisis communication? What academic approaches exist for studying crisis communication?
Introducing Merja Koskela and Rhetorical Crisis Communication – Languaging Crises
blogs.helsinki.fi
August 26, 2025 at 10:07 AM
We are planning a conference on crisis communication to be held at the University of Helsinki in March 2026.

Stay tuned if you are interested in attending!
@helsinki.fi #crisiscommunication

blogs.helsinki.fi/languaging-c...
August 13, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Check out the poster that we presented at #CL2025 !

The poster introduces our two ongoing case studies, one focusing on constructions of ingroups and outgroups in comments posted on the CDC’s Instagram posts, the other on epistemicity in Boris Johnson and Donald Trump’s speeches on COVID-19.
Poster: Corpus-assisted approach to public crisis discourse during COVID-19 (CL2025) – Languaging Crises
blogs.helsinki.fi
August 13, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Reposted by Languaging Crises
Check it out - the corpus MOOC is back (15th September) on a new platform (edX) exploring new topics, including AI. One thing has not changed - it is still free to access 😁 Find out more here: www.edx.org/learn/social...
lancasteruniversity: Corpus linguistics and new technologies: data, language and society | edX
In an era of AI and big data, understanding language through data is essential. This hands-on course from Lancaster University—a global leader in corpus linguistics—teaches you to build, query, and an...
www.edx.org
August 11, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Reposted by Languaging Crises
My latest article has been published in Discourse & Society! The paper explores how marginalised groups are referenced and included in COVID-19 statements published on official government websites in the UK and the US. @languaging-crises.bsky.social
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
“The impacts are not evenly distributed”: Representation and inclusion of marginalized groups in authorities’ COVID-19 communication - Hanna Limatius, 2025
This article investigates the representation and inclusion of marginalized groups in authorities’ crisis communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking a Cr...
journals.sagepub.com
July 19, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Reposted by Languaging Crises
The word is out! Next IPrA is in our (Finnish) neck of the woods, in Helsinki 🇫🇮 Pragmaticians, converge!
IPrA in 2027 - Helsinki
June 25, 2025 at 4:23 AM
Reposted by Languaging Crises
New paper out in the International Journal of Business Communication on corporate wrongdoing -- specifically how Boeing navigated the 737 Max crisis a few years ago. Check it out open access here: doi.org/10.1177/2329...
May 27, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Reposted by Languaging Crises
2/2 responsibility is potentially doing more harm than good…
#ADDA25 Very interesting work by @languaging-crises.bsky.social!
May 22, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Reposted by Languaging Crises
We're already on talk #3 in the "Influencer Discourse" panel at #ADDA5! Hanna Limatius (from the @languaging-crises.bsky.social project) is showing us how beauty influencers and authorities collaborated during the Covid-19 pandemic and how this was received by their audiences.
May 22, 2025 at 9:51 AM
#ADDA25 : @hannalimatius.bsky.social presented her analysis of comments posted on YouTube videos of two beauty influencers who collaborated with president Joe Biden to discuss COVID-19 vaccines. The goal of the videos was to reach an audience that does not necessarily follow the official channels.
#ADDA25 Public response to beauty influencers’ “collabs” with the White House to spread COVID-related messaging l, by Hanna Limatius @languaging-crises.bsky.social: Joe Biden interviewed on vlogs.
I cannot help but wonder if this kind of endorsement of a public messenger without any fiduciary 1/2
May 23, 2025 at 5:13 AM
In addition, @jenniraikkonen.fi will present her CADS study on the use of expert statements in American newspaper articles on the COVID-19 and 1918 influenza pandemics. What types of differences are there between a liberal broadsheet and a conservative tabloid? See you there!
#CL2025
See you at #CL2025 in Birmingham! Our poster presentation introduces our two ongoing studies on COVID-19 communication: 1) citizens’ responses to authorities’ social media communication during COVID-19; and 2) expressions of epistemicity by Donald Trump and Boris Johnson.
April 17, 2025 at 5:25 AM
See you at #CL2025 in Birmingham! Our poster presentation introduces our two ongoing studies on COVID-19 communication: 1) citizens’ responses to authorities’ social media communication during COVID-19; and 2) expressions of epistemicity by Donald Trump and Boris Johnson.
April 17, 2025 at 5:21 AM
Reposted by Languaging Crises
During past months, I have been analyzing expert statements in newspaper articles about COVID-19 and the 1918 influenza. The process has been messy, as I have tried different methods of analysis. The following process has been quite fruitful, while quite messy. #CADS
March 27, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Päättävässä asemassa olevat ovat avainroolissa yhteiskunnallisten kriisien keskellä. Heidän viestinsä vaikuttavat merkittävästi mielikuviimme tilanteesta.

Miten kriisistä tulisi viestiä, jotta luottamus päättäjiin säilyy ja heidän koetaan olevan tilanteen tasalla? #kriisiviestintä
Kriisiviestinnän periaatteita päättävässä asemassa olevalle – Languaging Crises
blogs.helsinki.fi
March 13, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Insights from VAKKI symposium 2025:

As previous and on-going crises have demonstrated, third sector and volunteers can have crucial roles in crisis management practices. But the ways and channels of collaboration need to be planned beforehand, as the crisis situation can be chaotic.
Crisis Communication Workshop at the VAKKI Symposium (Vaasa, Finland, February 13th-14th) – Languaging Crises
blogs.helsinki.fi
March 3, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Whose voices were present in the crisis communication in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Paper by @hannalimatius.bsky.social and Merja Koskela has been published open access in the VAKKI publication series:
Voices in government crisis communication in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic: A rhetorical arena perspective
The aim of this article is to explore the discursive and communicative choices made in the United States’ government crisis communication during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2023). The article investig...
journal.fi
December 17, 2024 at 7:40 AM
Today, a guest lecture by Prof Merja Koskela: "Rhetorics of crisis communication: From organizational to societal perspectives" at the Uni of Helsinki. Topics include the role of digital communication in crisis management and the power dynamics embedded within these communicative practices.
Events – Languaging Crises
blogs.helsinki.fi
November 21, 2024 at 8:36 AM
We will organize a workshop at the VAKKI symposium in Vaasa on February 13–14, 2025! We hope to get presenters from different fields interested in crisis communication. The description of the workshop is only in Finnish, but presentations in English are also welcome!
sites.uwasa.fi/vakki/sympos...
Vuorovaikutussuhteet ja yhteistoiminta kriisiviestinnässä – VAKKI
sites.uwasa.fi
November 13, 2024 at 6:57 AM