emäsana

Emäsana is a term used in Finnish linguistics to refer to a base word or root word. It is the core lexical unit from which other words can be formed through inflection or derivation. For example, in the word "talossani" (in my house), "talo" is the emäsana. Understanding emäsana is crucial for analyzing Finnish grammar and word formation. Finnish is an agglutinative language, meaning that grammatical functions and meanings are often expressed by adding suffixes to a base word. The emäsana remains relatively constant, while various suffixes are attached to it to indicate case, number, possession, and other grammatical features. Identifying the emäsana helps in understanding the fundamental meaning of a word and how it relates to other words in the same lexical family. This concept is fundamental to learning Finnish vocabulary and grammar.