Valittavavalittavia

Valittavavalittavia is a Finnish compound word that is sometimes cited in discussions of Finnish morphology as an example of extreme word formation. It is not a standard part of everyday vocabulary, but rather a linguistic curiosity used to illustrate how Finnish can stack affixes and participles to create long nominal forms. The word can be read as meaning roughly “things that can be appealed” or “appealable things.”

Etymology and formation: The term is built from valittava, a participle meaning “that can be appealed” or “appealable,” combined with valittavia, the corresponding inflected plural form. By joining these morphemes, Finnish can form a single noun-like unit that conveys a plural object of potential appeal. The construction demonstrates Finnish’s productive capacity for compounding and inflection, where modifiers can be layered to produce a highly specific, albeit unusual, expression.

Usage and reception: Valittavavalittavia is primarily encountered in linguistic texts, grammar discussions, or word-formation demonstrations rather than in everyday speech. It is used to discuss the boundaries and possibilities of Finnish compounding, as well as how inflected forms from the same lemma can be fused into a longer form. When used, it typically denotes items that are subject to appeal and may appear in the plural partitive form as valittavavalittavia asioita.

See also: Finnish morphology, compound words, long Finnish compounds.