Sekundääristä

Sekundääristä is a Finnish term used to describe things that pertain to or originate from the secondary level, category, or sources. In practice the form is most often encountered in phrases referring to secondary sources, data, or education, and it functions as an adjective in the elative or related cases depending on the noun it modifies. For example, one might speak of sekundaärisiä lähteitä (secondary sources) or sekundaärisestä lähteestä (from a secondary source).

In academic writing, the distinction between primary and secondary materials is common. Sekundäärisiä lähteitä and sekundaärista koulutusta reflect the same idea as “secondary” in English, but many Finnish writers prefer the more established term toissijaiset lähteet (secondary sources) or toissijainen koulutus. Sekundääristä is therefore largely used in contexts where the author aims to emphasize the secondary status or origin of information, data, or education within a disciplinary framework.

Etymology and usage notes: sekundäärinen is a loanword-like construction in Finnish, derived from the English secondary with Finnic inflection. Because "sekundäärinen" is less common than the traditional term "toissijainen," Fach- and library-science or historical texts may alternate between these synonyms. In everyday Finnish, you are more likely to encounter "toissijainen" or phrases built around "lähteet" rather than a fixed, standalone noun form of "sekundääristä."

See also: primary sources, secondary sources, toissijaiset lähteet, lähdeanalyysi.