Poissulkevaan

Poissulkevaan is a Finnish linguistic term formed from the verb poissulkea, meaning to exclude or rule out, and the adjective poissulkeva meaning excluding. The form poissulkevaan is the illative singular of the adjective, used to denote “into an exclusionary” or “to an exclusion” in phrases that describe practices, criteria, or arguments that exclude alternatives. The term is primarily found in academic Finnish, especially in linguistics, political science, and philosophy, where analysts discuss exclusionary reasoning or procedures.

Etymology: poissulkea + -va (present participle) yields poissulkeva, and the illative suffix -an attaches to form poissulkevaan, used when indicating movement toward or reference to an exclusionary object or concept. The construction reflects a common Finnish pattern for forming adjectives that describe relationships to a noun in the illative case.

Usage: In scholarly prose, poissulkevaan describes approaches, rules, or arguments that systematically rule out other options. It is often found in combinations such as poissulkevaan käytäntöön (“to an exclusionary practice”) or poissulkevaan argumenttiin (“to an exclusionary argument”). The term is not common in everyday language and may be unfamiliar outside specialized contexts.

Examples:

- Tutkimus kritisoi poissulkevaan käytäntöön nojaavaa valintaprosessia. Translation: The study criticizes the selection process that relies on an exclusionary practice.

- Kirjoittaja arvelee poissulkevaan argumenttiin vedoten, että vaihtoehtoja ei tulisi kuulla. Translation: The author argues, citing an exclusionary argument, that alternatives should not be heard.

See also: exclusion, poissulkeva (exclusionary).