Keskustelijan

Keskustelijan is the genitive singular form of the Finnish noun keskustelija, meaning a person who participates in a discussion or debate, i.e., a debater or discussion participant. The term is used in neutral language to refer to someone involved in a discussion, without implying a particular argumentative stance.

Etymology and formation: Keskustelija is built from keskustelu, meaning discussion, with the agentive suffix -ija, which creates a noun for a person who performs the action. The genitive singular suffix -n marks possession or association, yielding keskustelijan for “the debater’s” or “of the debater.”

Grammatical use: The genitive form keskustelijan is used to indicate ownership, attribution, or affiliation in phrases such as keskustelijan mielipide (the debater’s opinion) or keskustelijan kanta (the debater’s stance). It appears in contexts ranging from journalism and academic writing to everyday speech about online forums, public debates, or classroom discussions. The term is neutral and does not specify the level of rhetoric or formality of the discussion.

Related forms: The base word declines like a typical Finnish noun. Other relevant forms include nominative keskustelija (the debater), partitive keskustelijaa, and plural forms such as keskustelijat (debaters) and genitive plural keskustelijoiden (of the debaters).

See also: keskustelija, keskustelu, osanottaja, debate-related terminology in Finnish.