Tunnustuksina

Tunnustuksina is the plural essive form of the Finnish noun tunnustus, meaning confessions or acknowledgments. The essive case expresses a temporary state or role, roughly translating to “as …” in English. Therefore tunnustuksina means “as confessions” or “in the form of confessions,” and is used when describing multiple statements or acts that are presented or understood as confessions.

The term is primarily encountered in literary, journalistic, or analytical contexts rather than everyday speech. It can appear when a collection of statements is interpreted as admissions, or when a narrative presents several separate parts as acts of confession by different speakers or sources. Because it designates a specific rhetorical or classificatory sense, its use tends to be careful and contextual.

Examples

- Kertomukset esitettiin tunnustuksina, joissa haastatellut myönsivät tehneensä virheitä. (The accounts were presented as confessions in which the interviewees admitted making mistakes.)

- Tutkimuslistaus koostui tunnustuksina pidetyistä lausunnoista, joilla pyrittiin selittämään tapahtumien kulku. (The study list consisted of statements regarded as confessions intended to explain the course of events.)

Etymology and morphology

Tunnustuksina is formed from tunnustus (confession, acknowledgment) with the essive suffix -na/-nä in plural form, yielding the meaning “as confessions.” It is contrasted with the singular tunnustuksena (as a confession) and other case forms such as tunnustukset (confessions, plural nominative).

See also

- tunnustus

- tunnustaa

- essive case

- Finnish grammar notes on case forms