Kirjaliselt

Kirjaliselt is an Estonian adverb meaning in written form or orthographically. It denotes that something is presented or considered in its written representation, as opposed to its pronunciation or conceptual form. The term encompasses aspects of spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and diacritic marks that constitute the orthographic form of a word or expression.

In linguistic, editorial, and scholarly contexts, kirjaliselt is used to specify that a form should be taken from its written rendering. For example, a dictionary entry might indicate that a name should be cited kirjaliselt, with the exact letters and diacritics used in the standard orthography. In editing or publishing instructions, phrases such as kirjalselt õigesti or kirjaliselt ei tohi midagi muuta may appear to emphasize adherence to the standard spelling. The term also appears in discussions of transliteration and loanword integration, where the written form is standardized according to Estonian orthography.

Kirjaliselt is helpful for distinguishing between how something is written and how it is spoken or otherwise represented. It is closely tied to the rules of Estonian orthography, including capitalization, hyphenation, punctuation, and diacritic usage. While it concerns the written form, it does not address meaning or pronunciation directly; those aspects fall to phonology or semantics.

The word is formed from kirja, meaning writing, and the adverbial suffix -aliselt, a common construction in Estonian for indicating manner. It is mainly used by speakers familiar with linguistic or editorial terminology; in everyday language, people may simply refer to the spelling or the written form of a term.