Perussanangasta

Perussanangasta is a term used in Finnish linguistics to refer to the base word form from which inflected forms are derived. The word is a compound of perus (basic) and sana (word), with the genitive suffix -sta indicating “from,” signaling its function as the form from which other forms stem. In practice, perussanangasta is closely related to the concept of a lemma, but it is used more specifically in descriptions of Finnish morphology where the base form serves as the anchor for inflection and derivation.

In analysis and teaching, perussanangasta is used to group together all inflected and derived forms under a single base form. For nouns, the perussanangasta is typically the nominative singular form; for verbs, the infinitive often serves as the perussanangasta. Examples: for the noun kissa (cat), kissa is the perussanangasta; its inflected forms include kissan (genitive), kissoja (partitive plural), and others. For the verb syödä (to eat), the perussanangasta is syödä, with forms such as syön, syöt, syö, syömme, syöttek, and syövät, depending on person and number.

Differences from perusmuoto: while perusmuoto is a broader term for a base form used in analysis, perussanangasta emphasizes a unit tied to derivation and dictionary organization. The concept supports computational morphological processing, language teaching, and corpus annotation.

See also: lemma, inflection, Finnish morphology, morphosyntax.