Translatives

Translatives, or the translative case, is a grammatical category used to express a change of state or a transformation into something else. It is most prominently described in Finnish and other Finnic languages, where the translative marks the resulting state or endpoint of a change. It is often contrasted with the essive, which marks a temporary or ongoing state, and with illative and allative, which relate to movement toward a location rather than a change of state.

In Finnish, the translative is typically formed with the suffix -ksi, which attaches to the stem of the noun or adjective. For example, vesi muuttui jääksi means “water turned into ice,” with jääksi signaling the new state. Another common example is Hänestä tuli opettajaksi, meaning “He became a teacher,” where opettajaksi marks the role he assumed after the change. The translative is used with verbs of change, such as muuttua (to change) and tulla (to become), and with other predicates that express a transformation into a new state or role.

Cross-linguistically, translatives appear in various Finnic languages and related language families, though endings and exact usage differ by language. In linguistic typology, translatives are discussed alongside other non-local cases to describe how languages encode the results of transformations. Overall, the translative serves to signal that something has moved into a new condition, state, or designation, rather than merely locating or describing it.