Sanoin saavutettu revival: 1990s language portal returns in 2026

Sanoin saavutettu will be relaunched in 2026 with an expanded site revisiting 1990s words, expressions and cultural references. The relaunch is part of the Year of Domestic Languages and the institute’s 50th-anniversary programme, and the site collects language shaped by the decade’s recession, international crises, the rise of Nokia and millennium celebrations.

The 1990s produced rich new vocabularies. A 1997 Finnish-language dictionary recorded dozens of new words built with the prefixes environmental (for example environmental activist, environmental refugee, environmental crime) and information (for example information retrieval, information system, computer virus, information work, data leak, information society). Some coinages have stuck: mobile phone, firewall and email remain in everyday use.

The portal also highlights terms noted by linguist Jussi Kallio, such as integration and integration process, alongside trend labels like karpaasi (a slang label), kettutyttö (literally "fox girl") and V-style. Entries are paired with cultural snapshots from the era, from television hits and sports catchphrases to national headlines, ranging from Kummeli sketches and Teletubbies to catchphrases such as "Se on siinä!" ("That's it!") and "Hanaa!" ("Hooray!"), as well as the tragedies surrounding Diana and the Estonia ferry.

Sanoin saavutettu first appeared in 2017 as part of the Suomi 100 programme; the expanded edition will be released across 2026. Vesa Heikkinen is named as the site’s editor. The portal will complement several 1990s-themed exhibitions and events in Tampere this year, including Mobilia’s Ysärijysäri show and Vapriikki’s Postia ja bittejä exhibition, which both revisit the decade’s culture and communications history. Mobilia’s Ysärijysäri exhibition, Vapriikki's Postia ja bittejä exhibition