attribuutiivisena

Attribuutiivisena is a Finnish grammatical term describing the use of a noun phrase in an attributive function, i.e., to express the role, property, or function of something within a larger noun phrase or situation. The form is often realized with the translative case suffix -na/-nä, which in Finnish marks “as” or “in the capacity of.” Through this mechanism, a head noun can be linked to a modifying noun or phrase to indicate how the referent is positioned or functioning.

In practice, attributive role-marking appears in phrases such as hallituksen jäsenenä (as a member of the board) or asiantuntijana (as an expert). In these examples, the head noun expresses the role, while a dependent noun or context (for example in hallituksen jäsenenä, where hallitus is in genitive) specifies the domain or relation. The translative form thus communicates a state or function relative to a larger situation, rather than a simple descriptor preceding a noun.

The term is mainly used in Finnish language studies and descriptive grammar to describe how such constructions function within noun phrases. It is related to, but distinct from, standard attributive adjectives or predicative constructions, and its exact interpretation can vary with register and syntactic context. In everyday speech, speakers may employ simpler predicative expressions or adjectives, while attribuutiivisena constructions are more common in formal, academic, or legal language where roles and capacities are explicitly stated.

See also: translative case, attributive usage, Finnish grammar, noun phrases.