keelealuse

Keelealuse is a term that appears in discussions of Estonian linguistics and language pedagogy. The phrase combines keele, the genitive form of keel meaning language, with aluse, meaning base or foundation, and is sometimes used to refer to an underlying base form of a word in morphological analysis. In this sense, keelealuse is described as the form from which inflected or derived variants are built, similar to how stems function in many languages.

In usage, keelealuse is often contrasted with inflected endings or with the full surface form to illustrate how words are constructed from a central base through processes such as affixation and vowel alternation that are characteristic of Estonian morphology. The specific interpretation of keelealuse can vary among authors, and it is not consistently standardized in formal grammar descriptions.

Origins and terminology notes indicate that keelealuse is a descriptive lead-in to discussions of word formation rather than a fixed technical term in all linguistic references. In formal Estonian grammar, more common terms for analogous concepts include juur (root) and stem, though keelealuse may be encountered in educational materials or texts aiming to connect linguistic theory with language teaching.

See also: Estonian language, Estonian morphology, linguistic terminology, word formation.

References to keelealuse as an established, widely used term are limited, and readers may encounter it mainly in pedagogical or informal discussions rather than in canonical grammar references.