Tulkittavina

Tulkittavina is a Finnish linguistic term used to describe items, statements, or data that are to be interpreted. It is formed from the verb tulkita "to interpret" and a participial suffix, and it functions as an adjective phrase in Finnish that marks interpretive status rather than direct factual content. In analytic writing, tulkittavina helps signal that the meaning depends on interpretation.

Usage is common in phrases such as tulkittavina olevat lähteet ("sources that are to be interpreted") or tulkittavina pidettävät kysymykset ("questions to be considered/ interpreted"). It can modify plural nouns and appears in both noun phrases and predicative positions with plural subjects.

Contextually, the term is primarily found in Finnish-language academic prose—linguistics, hermeneutics, literary theory—where researchers discuss texts or data that require interpretation. It is less common in everyday speech and outside formal discourse.

Notes on interpretation and translation: etymologically, tulkittavina reflects Finnish morphology by combining a root verb with participial endings to create an interpretive modifier. In translation or cross-linguistic work, tulkittavina may be rendered as "to be interpreted" or as an interpretive category referring to items that require interpretation. The term thus functions as a specialized descriptor within analytic or critical writing rather than as a general-purpose everyday word.