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Susanna Karlsson

Head of Department

Department of Swedish, multilingualism, language technology
Telephone
+46 31-786 30 51
+46 766-18 30 51
Mail
susanna.karlsson@svenska.gu.se
Visiting address
Renströmsgatan 6
41255 Göteborg
Postal address
Box 200
40530 Göteborg

Senior Lecturer

Department of Swedish, multilingualism, language technology
Telephone
+46 31-786 30 51
+46 766-18 30 51
Mail
susanna.karlsson@svenska.gu.se
Visiting address
Renströmsgatan 6
41255 Göteborg
Room number
F344
Postal address
Box 200
40530 Göteborg

About Susanna Karlsson

About Me

I am a Senior Lecturer in Swedish and Associate Professor (Docent) in Nordic Languages at the Department of Swedish, Multilingualism, and Language Technology. Since 2024, I have served as Head of Department.

I earned my PhD in 2006 with a dissertation exploring how expressions such as jag tycker (“I think”), jag tror (“I believe”), and jag menar (“I mean”) function as positioning and commenting devices in conversation. The study lies within the field of interactional linguistics and combines syntactic and prosodic analysis with conversation-analytic methods.

Since completing my PhD, I have held positions as Senior Lecturer in Swedish at Lund University, Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Potsdam in Germany, and Language Consultant at the Swedish Language Council (Språkrådet).

My research interests include conversation analysis, the grammar of spoken interaction, pragmatic borrowing, attitudes toward language planning, language policy, and the governance and evaluation of higher education. I am primarily active within the research profile Text and Interaction.

I am also passionate about communicating linguistic research to a broader audience. I regularly contribute to the radio programme Språket i P1 and to Språktidningen.

ORCID: 0000-0003-1201-1199

Current Research Projects

  • Attitudes toward Language Planning and Variation 2A continuation of an earlier project on Swedish teachers’ attitudes to language norms. We examine how these attitudes have evolved over a ten-year period. Conducted in collaboration with Lena Lind Palicki (The Swedish Academy).
  • The New “Nu”-ingFunded by The Swedish Academy: The Fund for Research in Modern Swedish and for Swedish Language Planning, this project is carried out together with Catrin Norrby.
  • Pragmatic Borrowing in the Nordic Languages and FinnishFunded by NOS-HS (Joint Committee for Nordic Research Councils in the Humanities and Social Sciences).

Completed Research Projects

  • Attitudes toward Language Planning and Variation (2016)Investigated Swedish teachers’ views on issues of linguistic correctness. By replicating a 1976 study by Catharina Grünbaum, we were able to trace changes and continuities in language attitudes across four decades. Some issues—such as de/dem (“they/them”) usage—had shifted significantly, while others remained remarkably stable. Conducted in collaboration with Lena Lind Palicki.
  • Writing Gap or Expectation Gap? (2023, Erik Wellander’s Fund)
  • Phonetic Design of Turn-Endings and Turn-Openings in Swedish Conversation (2007–2009, The Swedish Research Council)
  • The Grammar of Spoken Interaction (2000–2005, The Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation)

Teaching and Supervision

My teaching focuses on language in use, particularly sociolinguistics and interactional analysis. Together with Stina Ericsson and Inga-Lill Grahn, I co-edited the textbook Att analysera interaktion (“Analyzing Interaction”), published by Studentlitteratur in 2023. I also enjoy teaching about language planning, linguistic correctness, and language policy.

I currently co-supervise Viktoria Strandberg (University of Gothenburg), whose dissertation examines free initial annexes from a conversation-grammatical perspective, and Jessica Holmlund, who investigates what historical sources can reveal about spoken language.

I previously co-supervised Maria Johansson (Uppsala University), who defended her dissertation in 2024 on telephone calls to the Swedish Enforcement Authority (Kronofogdemyndigheten), and was principal supervisor for Greta Horn (University of Gothenburg), who completed her PhD in 2025 on contemporary dialects in northwestern Skåne.

Other Academic Service

Since 2023, I have been a member of the editorial board of the linguistic journal Språk och stil (“Language and Style”).