Tavutusohjeet

Tavutusohjeet, or hyphenation guidelines, are conventions used to divide Finnish words at line breaks. They specify where a word may be split when a line ends, with the aim of improving readability, aiding text justification, and supporting accessibility in both printed and digital media.

These guidelines are applied by publishers, editors, educators, and software that formats text. They address general Finnish word formation, including the treatment of compounds, affixes, loanwords, and proper nouns. Because Finnish is agglutinative and feature-rich in vowel–consonant patterns, recommended break points typically follow syllable boundaries and aim to avoid awkward fragments or starting a line with difficult consonant clusters.

Tavutusohjeet are not universal; different style guides or publishers may have slight variations. Official references and dictionaries often provide hyphenation patterns or rules to guide acceptable breaks. Some guidelines specify that a hyphen may be inserted only at approved points and that certain fragments—such as remnants of too-short forms or problematic initial clusters—should be avoided. In practice, authors and editors may also apply context-specific considerations, like typography, readability, and audience expectations.

In technology, tavutusohjeet are implemented through hyphenation dictionaries and algorithms in word processors and typesetting systems. Finnish hyphenation patterns are used by TeX/LaTeX, LibreOffice, and various web technologies, with options to enable, disable, or tailor automatic hyphenation and to create exceptions for particular words.

Overall, tavutusohjeet support clear, consistent line breaks and contribute to professional, legible Finnish typography across media.