Sanallisia

Sanallisia is a Finnish term used in linguistics and communication studies to refer to content that is expressed in words. It describes data, expressions, or phenomena that are word-based, as opposed to nonverbal modalities such as imagery, sound, or gesture. The term is commonly used in discussions of data classification, discourse analysis, and textual research within Finnish-language scholarship.

Origin and form: The word originates from sana, meaning “word,” with the suffix -llinen indicating “having the quality of,” and the plural-partitive ending -sia, yielding sanallisia. Grammatically, sanallinen is the adjective; sanallisia is its plural partitive form, used to modify nouns in plural. Common collocations include sanallisia aineistoja (verbal data/materials) and sanallisia ilmaisuja (verbal expressions).

Usage and scope: In research, sanallisia aineistoja are sources that primarily consist of language data, such as transcripts of interviews, literature, speeches, or other text-based materials. Analyses focusing on semantics, pragmatics, discourse structure, or sentiment typically rely on sanallisia data, often in combination with nonverbal data. The term is chiefly found in Finnish-language literature, with English equivalents such as verbal data or textual data.

Relation to other concepts: Sanallisia is often contrasted with visuaalisia aineistoja (visual materials) or other nonverbal data types in mixed-methods studies. It serves as a practical label for organizing data by modality when describing methodological approaches in linguistics and communication research.

See also: linguistics, corpus linguistics, discourse analysis, textual data.