Introduction
Bilingualism and mutual encounters of languages or language contacts are common in the globalized world, but the intensity varies. The density of exposure between two or more languages depends on the number of language speakers, the frequency of the use of languages and their status, distribution, prestige, and political, economic and many more factors. Languages change through language contact: there is no single language that has never been in contact with some other language. Even considering what seems to be the stand-alone language of Basque, which is spoken mainly in the Spanish autonomous Basque region, and for which there is no genetically-related language in the world, this language has always been in contact with the Spanish language. This illustrates very well the basic nature of language contact: if speakers of two languages live side by side in an area, they interact with each other and both languages are changed. Language contact is not bad: it is inevitable that language structures change and that vocabulary increases. Language change (also as a contact-induced result) is natural and inevitable. If the surrounding world changes, then vocabulary has to change in order to describe the changed surrounding environment. One of the main roles of language is, after all, the exchange of information. Therefore, it is not possible to exchange new information without language change.
The article describes modern Estonian language contacts. The focus is mainly on three languages, i.e. the relations between Estonian and Russian and Estonian and English are reviewed. Three research questions are set: 1) how is it possible to describe the Estonian-Russian language contact? 2) what is the nature of the Estonian-English language contact? and 3) what languages are used in the Estonian public space?
It is important to emphasize that the article is sociolinguistic in nature and maps language contacts occurring in social situations, i.e. the authors aim to describe what relations exist between Estonian, English and Russian in the current Estonian society, not provide estimates or indicate what forms are right and wrong, or whether in oral and/or written multilingual communication there is compliance with existing spelling norms and/or style rules. The sociolinguist does not use the adjectives “right” and “wrong” to describe collected lingual materials. Sociolinguistics, as one of the most intriguing research areas in linguistics, provides sufficient material for reflection and issues for inquiry because it helps to explain how a certain language pattern actually works in a spontaneous environment, not between the covers of prescriptive grammar textbooks. To illustrate this approach, the authors rely on the well-known linguist Ralph Fasold, who in his book The Sociolinguistics of Language (1990) provides the following example of the task of the sociolinguist in bringing the objects of study in linguistics and sociolinguistics into alignment: let us imagine that language phrases are tools in a mechanic’s toolbox. The mechanic can use all of the tools in his box but he cannot use the tools that are not available. The research object of the sociolinguist is the question what kind of tool does a mechanic choose and why? In this case, the sociolinguist is an “ethnographer of practical mechanics”. The linguist is interested in what tools are available and what form these tools are in. The linguist is a “theorist of instruments”. Thus, as sociolinguists, the authors of this article are interested in contact-induced multilingual data per se.
Official and unofficial bilingualism
For language contacts to occur between people, it is necessary that these people be bilingual to some extent. All changes start with the individual and, therefore, it is bilinguals who initiate language change. Before starting to speak about the contacts of Estonian with other languages on the Estonian territory, it should be made clear that there is official and unofficial bilingualism (or multilingualism).
Officially speaking, our neighbouring country Finland is a bilingual country, with two official national languages: Finnish and Swedish, both having the same status. Switzerland is officially multilingual, and it has a territorial multilingualism policy, i.e. the status of each language varies across regions, with a total of four official languages: when buying a train ticket at the train station in Zurich, you are first addressed in the local German language dialect; after a two-hour trip in the direction of Geneva you hear the French language first; going towards Lugano the Italian language is spoken first; and in the east of Switzerland the Romansh language, which is hardly used elsewhere in Switzerland (this is illustrated in Figure 4.2.1), is spoken first. Long ago in Switzerland territorial multilingualism became a common phenomenon and the Swiss have accepted it now. It is important, of course, that national communication be smooth, no matter how many languages the local residents use. Officially multilingual countries are often very open to the use of English as a language of international communication because it is not a threat to the status of national languages: for example, the English language may even be placed in the first row on a sign. Figure 4.2.1 shows a sign from a train in Switzerland where the word window is written in Italian, German, French and English. The information about which seats are currently vacant is given in English and French in one column and German and Italian in the second column. It should be added that this train left Zürich and proceeded to its final stop in Milan, Italy.
Figure 4.2.1. Written multilingualism on a Swiss train
Source : author’s photo
Estonia is unofficially bilingual (Estonian-Russian) and becoming more and more unofficially trilingual (Estonian-Russian-English). It is possible to divide Estonian-Russian bilingualism into societal and individual levels. On the societal level, the status and prestige of the Estonian and Russian languages differ, which is logical because Estonian is the official language of the Estonian Republic. Individual bilingualism, i.e. the knowledge of two languages, has become a norm rather than an exception in re-independent Estonia: Russian-speakers who have learned the Estonian language use two languages spontaneously and naturally in everyday life, switching freely from one language to the other according to their needs, the interlocutor and the situation. Often, and often even unconsciously, Estonian words and phrases are used in Russian speech. Through such actions language contacts grow, innovations enter speech, and both Estonian and Russian change. In the Soviet period, it was Estonian native speakers who could be considered bilingual, having acquired the language of inter-ethnic communication in a big country: Russian. Thus, while during the Soviet times there was contact in the direction Russian → Estonian, now language contact occurs mainly in the direction Estonian → Russian (of course more intensively in Estonian-speaking regions than, for example, in the Russian-majority Ida-Virumaa). In general, Estonian-Russian language contact can be considered bidirectional. The alternating use of Estonian and Russian is addressed in the second part of the article.
During the last decade language contacts between Estonian and English have intensified and Estonia is becoming more and more an Estonian-Russian-English trilingual country. The English language is used widely in information technology in Estonia; it is the most popular first foreign language in schools with instruction in Estonian and Russian. It is quite common that Estonian and Russian native speakers communicate with each other in English because it is the common language which is best understood. The use of English is also connected with modernity and globalisation, and because of this it has become normal to borrow words, for example in advertisement texts. This is discussed in the article as well.
One more place where Estonian and Russian constantly meet is the linguistic landscape: in traffic signs, ads, street advertisements, place name signs, large/small posters and other signs located in public space. A sign can be defined as any publicly-displayed piece of written text within a spatially-definable frame. Something can be considered a sign no matter how the text is displayed, for example, it could be a yellow label, on which tulen 5 minuti pärast / буду через 5 минут / will be back in 5 minutes is written in felt-tip marker, or it could be a several-metres-wide street advertisement, promising good jobs with high salaries in Estonian and “serious money” in Russian (Figure 4.2.2).
Figure 4.2.2. Street advertisement in Kohtla-Järve
Source: Linguistic Landscape corpus
The usage of languages on signs has a very important visual impact: the literal shape of the language, the combination of the various alphabets, the phonological shapes and the forms of the words catch the reader’s eye. The transmission of information on signs always has two roles: evident or informative, and symbolic or hidden. The latter is often associated with identity expression. Choices of languages on signs are usually connected with language skills among a certain region’s residents, but not always. The language use on signs is described in the fourth part of the article.
Estonian-Russian language contacts
The last population census in Estonia shows that Estonian language knowledge among Russian-speakers is the reverse of Russian language skills among Estonians (Figure 4.2.3). This can be particularly vividly seen between the two age groups ‘15–29’ and ‘50–64’. In other words, the older generation of Estonians are as likely to be able to speak the Russian language as the younger Russian-speaking generation is to speak the Estonian language.
Figure 4.2.3. The proficiency in Russian among Estonians and the proficiency in Estonian among the Russian-speaking population across generations
Source: 2011 Population and Housing Census.
Estonia is characterized by a territorial bilingualism. Estonia’s largest Russian-speaking population regions are the Ida-Virumaa cities (in north-eastern Estonia) and Harjumaa, Tallinn in particular. As long ago as 1981 a polyglot and one of the most well-known Estonian linguists, the academician Paul Ariste, wrote in his book Language contacts. Estonian language contacts with other languages that a bilingual person switches from one language to the other depending on the situation. The more languages are in contact, the more switching of words in bilingual speech occurs, which in turn makes language contacts denser and facilitates language change. As currently in Estonia there is close communication between Estonian- and Russian-speakers, a lot of switching of words occurs. In particular, Russian-speakers often use Estonian words that they are familiar with in oral and written speech if the Estonian is shorter or the Russian equivalents do not come immediately to mind: so, people go to the kaubamaja “department store” (not торговый центр “department store”), discuss the sale of a flat with a maakler “estate agent” (not риэлтор “estate agent”), etc. It should be noted that new borrowings from the English language enter the Russian language often via the Estonian language. This is particularly noticeable in the pronunciation of words: for example, Wi-Fi is pronounced in Russian as [wifi], not [vaifai] as in Russia, and ID-card sounds like [idekaart], not [aidika:t]. Unlike in Estonia, the English language affects the Russian language in Russia directly and, therefore, borrowings maintain English language pronunciation.
Language is a communication tool. A bilingual speaker both unconsciously and consciously uses words both in Estonian and Russian, especially in situations where all interlocutors can understand both languages: купила munadы “ostsin mune” “I bought eggs” (to the plural form -d of the Estonian noun muna “egg” the Russian plural ending -ы is also added), and много lilledов “palju lilli” “a lot of flowers” (to the plural form -d of the Estonian noun lill the Russian plural genitive declensional ending -ов is added). The Estonian-Russian exchange of words, in the switch from one language to the other, can also express irony or humour, show the linguistic creativity of the interlocutor, etc.
Modern Estonian-Russian language contact has been most comprehensively studied by Anna Verschik, who is the author of an English language monograph that summarised a multi-year study of Estonian and Russian language alternation in different situations (see Verschik 2008). Copying presupposes that from one language (in this case Estonian) something is copied to another language (in this case Russian), but there are no losses or replacements in the language. For example, семинар будет проходить в Narva** noortekeskuses “Seminar toimub Narva Noortekeskuses” “A seminar will take place in the Narva Youth Centre”. In this sentence, the name “Narva Youth Centre” was copied in the inessive case: keskuses (cf. with the Estonian nominative keskus). In this case, the same feature is expressed twice with the help of both participating languages. The Estonian inessive case (-s) was added to the Russian preposition в. It is important to remember that Russian prepositions, as well as Estonian local cases, express spatial relations in different ways but their semantics are the same.
A lot of Estonian-Russian alternation takes place in schools and in the media. In a Russian-medium school, switching can start during the Estonian language lesson and then spread in school through internal and external communication, even in such Russian-speaking regions as Tallinn and Ida-Virumaa (see Zabrodskaja 2005). The same thing has been noted in universities, where the Russian language changes under the influence of Estonian mostly among those students who use Russian and Estonian alternately in their daily activities (Zabrodskaja 2009). In this connection, it is interesting to note that the exchange and copying of words, i.e. the usage of two languages side by side makes Russian and Estonian become more similar through unidirectional Estonian → Russian convergence. In the weekly Russian-language newspaper Панорама “Panorama”, published in Kohtla-Järve, the following advertisement appeared (see Figure 4.2.4):
Figure 4.2.4. Copying of the Estonian compound noun vanametall “scrap metal” in the Russian language
Source: Linguistic Landscape corpus
Here we are interested in the use of the expression старый металл “vanametall” (literally “old metal”) in Russian, with the meaning металлолом “scrap metal”. Despite the fact that there is a perfectly serviceable equivalent in the Russian language, the construction adjective + noun has been introduced, clearly under the influence of the Estonian language, where vanametall “scrap metal” is a compound noun formed from an adjective and a simple noun. The advertisement text here, В Kuusakoski получишь очень хорошую цену на старый металл “Kuusakoskis saad müüa vanametalli väga hea hinnaga” “In Kuusakoski you receive a very good price for scrap metal”, illustrates that among Russian-speakers linguistic intuition has also changed. It can be assumed that the advertisement was prepared by bilingual people who constantly use both Estonian and Russian. This, in turn, shows the intensification of the Estonian-Russian language contact. It is important to note that Панорама Panorama appears only in the Russian language, unlike the Estonian-Russian bilingual newspaper Põhjarannik / Северное Побережье “The North Shore”.
The growth in proficiency of English and its impact on Estonian
After Estonian and Russian, English is the most-used language in Estonia, and it has a high status. In a report by the Ministry of Education and Research (Kirtsi et al. 2011: 28), English is not viewed as a foreign language, but as a main competence that every student has a right to develop, and society expects schools to offer this opportunity. According to Eurostat, in 2014 almost 97% of Estonian students studied English as a foreign language in school, and 84% of 15–24 year olds claimed they were proficient in English (Kruusvall 2015: 78). Usually, in Estonia English is studied as the first foreign language and the lessons start in the third grade. At the same time, overall only 38% of Estonians and 17% of other nationalities living in Estonia claim an ability to speak English (Kruusvall 2015: 77).
Comparing proficiency among Estonians and Russians, differences between generations appear: the younger generation is more proficient in English than the older generation. As a result, the younger generation has a broader world-view and they cope with globalization more successfully. Estonians are more proficient than Russians in English in all age groups (Figure 4.2.5).
Figure 4.2.5. The proficiency in English among Estonians and Russians by age groups
Source: 2011 Population and Housing Census.
The rise of English in the Estonian linguistic landscape is also reflected in Estonian schools. Currently, education totally in English is offered at the International School of Estonia and the Tallinn European School, from nursery to secondary school in both. In some schools there are classes that are based on IB programmes. It is also possible to learn English as a speciality at the University of Tartu and Tallinn University. At the University of Tartu, there is a bachelor’s programme in English Language and Literature and a master’s programme in European Languages and Cultures, with an opportunity to specialise in English. It is also possible to earn a master’s degree in Translation Studies. In doctoral studies, there is a programme called Germanic-Romance Philology, in which there is also an opportunity to specialise in English Language and Literature.
At Tallinn University there is a bachelor’s programme in European Modern Languages and Cultures, offering a chance to specialise in English. There are also master’s programmes in Conference Interpreting and Translation. It is possible to continue in doctoral studies in linguistics. According to the website studyinestonia.ee, in 2016/2017 there were admissions to different specialities in English in most of Estonia’s universities; there were 23 bachelor’s programmes, 55 master’s programmes and 70 doctoral programmes. In doctoral studies, using English is common, as most dissertations are written in English (except in the humanities).
The impact of English is mostly seen in vocabulary: as many phenomena and concepts are first described in English, these words and expressions are copied into Estonian, often using English orthography. According to Tiina Leemets (2004: 57), who has studied English loans in Estonian, new concepts are first expressed in English. This affects the new vocabulary in Estonian. Thus, in new fields English words and expressions are often used. For example, in the area of technology, development is so rapid that often a phenomenon is outdated by the time an Estonian equivalent is created. While a few years ago DVDs and LCDs were used every day, now films are recorded on memory sticks and LCD screens have been replaced by more energy-efficient LED screens.
In other fields, English is also used more frequently. It is often said that English terminology is international and univocal, while Estonian terms may not be as specific. For example, the English term SWOT-analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) is used rather than its Estonian equivalent, TNVO-analysis (tugevused, nõrkused, võimalused, ohud, respectively). In sports, English terms are preferred, for example play-off and time-out.
The advantages of English words and expressions are their shortness, novelty and emotionality; they are also used as euphemisms (Leemets 2004: 57). Sometimes English is used even when there is an equivalent in Estonian. For example, often the English adjectives cool and fun are used (especially among the younger generation), although in Estonian the words lahe and lõbus carry the same meanings. In emotional phrases, the word God is used frequently. Due to the social network, such Facebook words as like and share and their ironic equivalents laikima and sheerima (written according to Estonian orthography) are used in colloquial language. In commercials the word šoppama (to shop) is often used, rather than the Estonian equivalents poodlema and ostlema, as the English loans are thought to be more appealing to and common among the audience (Kahu 2011, see also Figure 4.2.6).
Figure 4.2.6. Examples of using the word šopping/shopping
Source: Linguistic Landscape corpus
The investigation of English-Estonian language contacts shows that often English words are used if there is no equivalent in Estonian, for example outfit and look (Roosileht 2013), team leader and (software) release (Vaba 2010). English words are also preferred when the described item or phenomenon is not common in Estonia, for example exit (turn-off from the highway) and walled garden (Roosileht 2013). Expressions and words from English are often used among the younger generation, for example by the way, obviously, what and sorry/sorri (Igav 2013). A large number of Estonian students use English on an everyday basis and they see themselves as future bilinguals, using English and Estonian equally (Ehala and Niglas 2004). However, they consider Estonian an important family language. English has not greatly influenced the combining of language units, for example in word order and government, nor the meaning of words.
In consequence, contacts with English are both intensive and extensive: English appears more and more in the Estonian linguistic landscape and in different types of texts. In oral communication, many are proficient, especially the younger generation. English is used in popular culture, in entertainment, in social networks, in science and in higher education. Over the years the necessity of using English at work has increased: in 2010 about 26% of Estonians and 14% of Russians had to use English at work, but by the year 2015 those numbers were 34% and 25%, respectively (Kruusvall 2015: 78–80). Thus, the importance of English and its impact on Estonian is increasing. However, it is important that Estonian be transmitted to the next generation because even the major impact of English will not lead to the death of Estonian. In higher education, a balance should also be maintained: English helps to spread research by Estonian scientists around the world, but from the point of view of the sustainability of Estonian it is necessary to develop Estonian terminology in science and other areas.
Estonian language contacts in public space
Public and commercial signs reflect the language use of a region. The signs may help detect what language is used mostly in the region, what the national language is and what languages are used by minorities. Signs play a symbolic role in a society as the languages used on them show which languages have high prestige and special value in the linguistic landscape of a given territory. In the course of time, cities have been places where people communicate and therefore language contacts take place there. Signs in public places illustrate this clearly; they let us know what languages and alphabets are used and how they are mixed. Signs are in the languages that the people in the region know or prefer and they use the alphabet that the audience can read. Often the language of the region and ones with high prestige are used on public signs.
In Estonia, the main language used on signs is Estonian, but in the regions where most of the residents speak Russian as their first language, Russian is more prominent on signs (Figure 4.2.7). In those regions, the linguistic landscape shows that the Russian community has maintained a strong and vital culture (see Landry and Bourhis 1997). This is supported by the fact that in Ida-Virumaa street and place-name signs that are common to Russian culture are used. On the other hand, in Tallinn mostly the names of historical persons are used (Jegorov 2011).
Figure 4.2.7. An example of a bilingual doughnut ad in Narva
Source: Linguistic Landscape corpus
In addition, the linguistic landscape expresses the vitality of the language and culture in the region; it also shows the proficiency of the inhabitants in different languages (Jegorov 2011). Multilingual signs that do not convey word-for-word translations and are composed using elements from different languages show whether people are proficient in the national language or accidentally use it at a lower level. The target group for this kind of sign is bilingual people who can form an integral whole using single elements and understand the meaning (see Figure 4.2.8).
Figure 4.2.8. The sign at the Baby Centre Чеburashka in Narva; the first syllable is in Cyrillic and the rest is in the Latin alphabet (cf. Russian Чебурашка, Estonian Potsataja; the transcription in Estonian should be Tšeburaška)
Source: Linguistic Landscape corpus
It is important to point out that the Estonian linguistic landscape reflects the multilingualism in the society, the preferences of consumers and the prestige of languages on a de facto, not de jure basis. Most public signs are in the official language – Estonian – but the more Russian-speaking the region, the more Russian is used in public communication and the more examples that contradict official orthography norms can be found in public space (Figure 4.2.9).
Figure 4.2.9. A sign in Narva’s market: tomaat pro tomat “tomato” and lemon pro sidrun “lemon”
Source: Linguistic Landscape corpus
In addition to Estonian and Russian, in some regions, especially in the capital Tallinn, often English and Finnish are added on signs, with mainly Finnish tourists in mind. There are also signs where both Estonian and Finnish are used with the pragmatic aim of catching the attention of Finnish tourists (Figure 4.2.10).
Figure 4.2.10. The sign on a beauty parlour in Estonian and in Finnish. The woman’s name used is ambivalent: it could be either an Estonian or a Finnish woman’s first name.
Source: Linguistic Landscape corpus
Estonian language contacts with other languages are closely related to the formation of language attitudes. For example, students whose first language is Russian but who study in Tallinn are in favour of using both Estonian and English on signs, as this appeals to tourists (Kübard 2011). In Tallinn it is common that three languages are used on signs (see Figure 4.2.11) where, in addition to the Russian language translation, the English translation is also used.
Figure 4.2.11. An ad for a laundry business in three languages: Estonian, Russian and English
Source: Linguistic Landscape corpus
The aim of the Development Strategy of the Estonian Language is to maintain the high status of Estonian and its function as the main language of communication. The Estonian linguistic landscape shows, however, the actual status of Estonian, Russian, English and, here and there, Finnish, and how those languages are used in different regions and activities. If we look at the change in the number of tourists in the last decade (see Figure 4.2.12), the question arises: why do only these four languages compete in the Estonian linguistic landscape? German is used very little on signs in Tallinn, considering the large number of German tourists. For historical reasons, closer contact would be expected between Estonian and German. This brings to mind once again P. Ariste’s book Language contacts. Estonian language contacts with other languages, where the linguist mentions “three local languages of Estonia” in the first decades of the 20th century: Estonian, German and Russian. These languages were then in constant contact, although not all of the inhabitants of Estonia were trilingual. However, those languages were used quite widely in everyday communication in different domains. By 2016, in Estonia the three local languages were Estonian, Russian and English.
Figure 4.2.12. The change in the number of tourists in Tallinn in 2006–2015.
Source: Statistics Estonia.
Conclusion
It is fairly safe to say that monolingual language communities and countries are very rare. This article has taken a look at modern Estonian language contacts on the territory of Estonia. Although the main goal was to examine relations between Estonian, Russian and English, the Finnish language was also briefly mentioned in the article, because of its use in public signs due to the large number of Finnish tourists.
The Estonian language is in constant contact primarily with the Russian language, which is used as a native language by about 31% of Estonia’s population. The mixed use of the Russian and Estonian languages has long been a common phenomenon of natural interaction. Estonian words are often heard in monolingual Russian language speech.
Among Estonians, the Russian language is most spoken by the age group 50–64 and least spoken by those younger than 14 years old, and among the Russian-speaking population knowledge of the Estonian language is the highest in the age group 15–29 and lowest among those 65 years and older. Thus, the older generation of Estonians are able to speak Russian at the same rate, and as well, as the younger generation of Russian-speakers speaks the Estonian language.
As the Estonian language must respond to changes in the world, and the changes are predominantly related to globalization, there is close contact with English. It is noteworthy that while for Russian-speakers some Estonian words seem to be more acceptable than their equivalents in Russian, Estonians show great willingness to take English expressions into their speech. English words are preferred, for example, because of their shortness, novelty and emotionality. Specific terms are borrowed along with concepts. It is clear that originally this occurred accidentally, i.e. it was just a matter of the switching of one word. Exactly the same explanation is given by Russian native speakers as a reason for using Estonian words in their Russian speech.
The importance of the English language has increased both at school and at work: 97% of schoolchildren study English, and at work English is used by 34% of Estonians and 25% of other ethnic groups. Active knowledge of English is the highest among those 15–24 years old. Overall, there is active English language knowledge among 38% of Estonians and 17% of Estonian residents of other ethnicities; Estonians’ English language skills are highest in every age group.
Signs and other advertising texts both force and facilitate mutual contacts between languages, where different combinations of Estonian, Russian, English and Finnish are used in parallel.
It is clear that in officially monolingual Estonia, informal functional multilingualism has developed, i.e. according to need, the required language or language combination is incorporated into oral speech, in written communication and on signs.
Language contact functions in particular on the individual level: in the speech of bilingual (or multilingual) people language structure and vocabulary merge. It should be kept in mind that these are different language speakers in contact, not languages, because all of the changes occur initially in the speech of bilingual (or multilingual) individuals. Consequently, language contacts can be seen as falling into a certain hierarchy, in which moving from one level to another is a time-consuming process. Figure 4.2.13 shows the links between three levels: if there is only single language contact extensive changes in a language cannot take place. It is important to make clear that the examples of multilingual conversations or signs provided in the article show no threat to the future of the Estonian (standard) language.
Figure 4.2.13. Hierarchy of language contacts
Source: author’s figure
Finally, although the examples given in the article are somewhat arbitrary, they make it possible to identify and analyse language and social interactions. At the same time, the future nature of Estonian-Russian-English language contacts is difficult to predict in the long term. Political, economic and cultural motives will continue to accelerate and facilitate encounters between these three languages in particular, as well as with Finnish.
Acknowledgements
The illustrations in the article originate from the Estonian Linguistic Landscape corpus, the collection of which was begun in the framework of the project EKKM09-85 “Russian-Estonian and English-Estonian code-switching and code-copying corpora creation and management” (2009–2013), and which has been developed since 2014 in the framework of the project IUT20-3 “Sustainability of Estonian in the Era of Globalisation (SEEG)” (2014–2019). We are very grateful to the students of Tallinn University and Narva College of the University of Tartu for their help in data collection.
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Vaba, Marja 2010. Inglise-eesti koodikopeerimisest Tallinna Skype’i kontori kahe vestlusgrupi näitel [English-Estonian code-copying: two group conversations in Skype Tallinn Office]. Magistritöö [Master’s thesis]. Tallinna Ülikool [Tallinn University].
Verschik, Anna 2008. Emerging Bilingual Speech. From Monolingualism to Code-Copying. London: Continuum.