WHO IS FINNISH?

In Who is Finnish is a performance lecture in which Kristina Junttila explores what it means to be multilingual. What happens when language both supports, confuses and makes visible that one does not belong 100% to any place?

Part 1 is based on interviews with Kven and Finnish immigrants in Northern Norway, and shows the cultural codes found in pauses, glances and nods.
Part 2 gives the audience professional insight from a linguist: How does multilingualism work? How do pace, pauses and rhythm determine how we understand each other?
Part 3 is Kristina's own story about being between languages ​​– about pride, shame, and the feeling that neither language is quite right.

Kristina has always heard that multilingualism is only positive, - that for example, you get a better memory and are less susceptible to brain diseases - claims that both lift and weigh you down, and that make it extra painful when language is not enough.

The performance ends with a language test where Kristina stands in a tub of ice water and speaks in both Finnish and Norwegian, followed by a vote where the audience decides whether Kristina is Norwegian or Finnish.