Nimeämisenä

Nimeämisenä is a Finnish linguistic term referring to the translative form of the noun nimeäminen, meaning naming. The form nimeämisenä expresses “as the naming” or “in the capacity of naming” and is used to indicate the role, identity, or function of a referent within a clause. In Finnish grammar the translative case, marked by the suffix -na/-nä, denotes a shift into a new state or role, and nimeämisenä is one instance of this pattern applied to a deverbal noun.

Usage and interpretation: The construction is chiefly of interest to linguists and is not common in everyday speech. It appears in descriptive or theoretical discussions of how Finnish encodes designation and role in predicative phrases, and it may be cited in analyses of nominalization and semantic roles. In translating or interpreting such phrases, nimeämisenä is typically rendered as “as naming” or “in the capacity of naming” depending on context.

Form and related terms: The base is nimeäminen (naming). Related terms include nimitys (designation, appointment) and nimittäminen (naming or appointing). The translative suffix -na/-nä is the mechanism that marks the role or state in this construction.

See also: Finnish grammar; translative case; nominalization; nimeäminen; nimitys; nimittäminen.