Suhtaudutaan

Suhtaudutaan is a Finnish verb form that denotes how something is viewed, regarded, or approached by people in general. It is the passive present form of the verb suhtautua, meaning to relate to or to have an attitude toward something. In usage, suhtaudutaan is often employed to express a collective or impersonal stance, where the agent performing the action is not specified.

Grammatical notes and usage: suhtaudutaan is third-person plural in the present tense and functions as a passive construction. It is commonly followed by a target in the illative or inessive case, such as questions, policies, or phenomena. Examples include phrases like "kysymykseen suhtaudutaan kriittisesti" (the question is viewed critically) or "lainsäädäntöön suhtaudutaan myönteisesti" (the legislation is viewed positively). The statement can be strengthened with adverbs indicating the attitude, e.g., myönteisesti, kriittisesti, varauksella, varovaisesti. Because the agent is not stated, the construction often conveys a general public, a community, or an organization’s stance rather than a single person.

Context and nuance: suhtaudutaan is widely used in media, academic writing, and public discourse to report attitudes toward policies, events, or concepts. It enables neutral, generic reporting of opinions or evaluations without naming who holds them. While similar in meaning to active forms like suhtaudumme or suhtaudutaan + agent, the passive impersonal form emphasizes the existence of a stance rather than its source.

Etymology: the form derives from the verb suhtautua, which means to relate to or to have an attitude toward something; suhtaudutaan is its passive present construction. See also suhtautua.