Tunnetuste

Tunnetuste is a term occasionally used in ethnographic and sociolinguistic discussions to describe the body of knowledge, beliefs, and perceptions that a community regards as widely known or self-evident. It is not a standard entry in major lexicons and is typically treated as a neologism or a placeholder name for what people in a group feel they collectively know.

Definition and scope: Tunnetuste encompasses practical know-how, local history, cultural norms, weather signs, and folklore that circulate through everyday conversations, family networks, and local media, rather than through formal education or official archives. It is distinct from expert knowledge or codified facts and tends to be tacit, evolving with social context. The boundaries of tunnetuste are porous; new items can become part of it, while established beliefs can be challenged.

Functions: The concept helps coordinate behavior and reinforce social cohesion, while also shaping who is seen as an authority. It can be a field of contest when subgroups claim different tunnetuste about the same domain, reflecting power dynamics and processes of legitimation.

Examples: A rural community’s weather lore, a neighborhood’s legends about local history or safety, and repeatedly shared explanations on social media about current events can all function as tunnetuste within their respective contexts.

Relation to other concepts: Tunnetuste overlaps with traditional knowledge, folk wisdom, common knowledge, and tacit knowledge, but foregrounds collective endorsement and culturally specific understandings rather than formal validity.

See also: traditional knowledge, common knowledge, folklore, tacit knowledge, social memory.