Leelo Keevallik

Leelo Keevallik is a Professor and Deputy Head of Department at the Department of Culture and Society (IKOS) at Linköping University, Sweden. She holds dual appointments within the Division of Language, Culture and Interaction (SKI) and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FILFAK). Her research focuses on interactional linguistics, embodiment, and multimodal interaction analysis, particularly examining how grammar and communication emerge through bodily and vocal coordination in settings like dance classes, manual labor, and human-robot interaction. She investigates non-lexical vocalizations—such as grunts, cries, and mms—as tools for real-time coordination and meaning-making.

Keevallik’s work spans theoretical contributions (e.g., reinterpreting grammar as emergent in embodied interaction) and applied research, including studies of workplace communication, migrant language brokering, and robot-human interaction. Her methodologies emphasize video-based interaction analysis and cross-linguistic comparisons, leveraging data from Estonian, Swedish, and other languages. She advises three PhD students and has published extensively on topics like strain grunts in social action, vocalizations in dance instruction, and the temporal organization of interaction.

Key themes in her research include the interplay between grammar and the body, multisensorial communication (e.g., touch and sound), and the role of non-lexical sounds in achieving social coherence. Her book Non-lexical Vocalizations: An Introduction explores these themes, while collaborative projects with robotics researchers examine how vocal patterns can inform artificial intelligence designs.

Her work is disseminated through journals like Research on Language and Social Interaction and Discourse Studies, with recent focus on embodied syntax, workplace aesthetics, and the interactional achievement of agency in technology. Keevallik’s interdisciplinary approach bridges linguistics, sociology, and design, contributing to both academic discourse and practical applications in education and technology.