Puheen tutkimuksen uusia suuntia - Aineistona vapaasti tuotettu puhe

Freely produced speech is a common source of data for speech research. This article is an
introduction to this thematic volume and discusses freely produced speech from different
perspectives. Freely produced speech is often seen as the opposite of controlled, often phonetic
experiments in laboratory conditions. However, it is very difficult to determine which data
collection methods are sufficient for freely produced speech to be considered authentic and
natural. The topics of the articles included vary from dialectological research in Finland and the
phonetic features of Namibian English to second language fluency studies as well as proficiency
or speaker assessments in a second language. As this thematic issue will show, it is essential to
conduct research on freely produced speech in a comprehensive way, as well as to understand
the importance of the results obtained. The way freely produced speech is assessed can have
a significant impact on an individual’s life, for example, in gatekeeper evaluations.