Lausekohtaiset

Lausekohtaiset is a Finnish linguistic term used to describe phenomena and features that pertain to clauses within sentences rather than to individual words or phrases. The concept helps linguists distinguish structures and relations that operate at the level of clause syntax from word-level or phrase-level phenomena. In Finnish grammar, a sentence may consist of one or more clauses, which can be connected in various ways to form complex structures. Lausekohtaiset phenomena cover how clauses are linked, how subordinate or dependent clauses relate to main clauses, and how punctuation and intonation signal clause boundaries.

The scope of lausekohtaiset analyses includes main clauses and subordinate clauses, as well as clause-to-clause relations such as coordination with conjunctions (for example ja, sekä) and subordination through subordinating conjunctions (for example että, kun, jos, koska). Relational and functional aspects—such as clause order, topicalization at the clause level, and the role of punctuation in marking clause boundaries—are also part of the field. Additionally, prosodic patterns that indicate where one clause ends and another begins can be considered lausekohtaiset, especially in spoken Finnish.

Terminology and usage can vary between grammars, and some authors may describe similar ideas using different labels. In comparative syntax, the notion of clause-level phenomena is often contrasted with sanakohtaiset (word-level) phenomena. Overall, lausekohtaiset provides a framework for analyzing how sentences are organized around their constituent clauses.