kielestä

Kielestä is the elative singular form of the Finnish noun kieli, meaning language or tongue. In Finnish grammar, the elative case commonly marks origin or source, as in “from the language,” and it can also indicate the topic or focus of discussion when paired with certain verbs.

Usage and meaning

- Origin or source: in statements about origin or provenance, kielestä expresses “from the language.” For example, phrases discussing features that come from a particular language can use this form.

- Topic or focus: with verbs such as puhua (to talk) or keskustella (to discuss), kielestä can mark the subject of discussion, as in “puhuimme kielestä,” meaning “we talked about the language.”

- Idiomatic expressions: a common collocation is kielestä riippuen, meaning “depending on the language.” This usage is frequent in multilingual or translation contexts.

Morphology

- Kielestä is the elatiivi (elative) singular of kieli. Related forms include kielen (genitive), kieltä (partitive), and kielessä (inessive), among others. The elative form is one of several ways Finnish marks relation to language in a sentence, beyond simple possession or subject.

Notes

- Kielestä is not a standalone concept but a grammatical form derived from kieli. Its meaning shifts with context, especially when used in phrases that express origin, topic, or conditional variation by language.

- In technical or linguistic writing, kielestä is often seen in discussions about language-specific features, policy, or translation considerations.

See also: kieli, kielioppi, elatiivi, kielestä riippuen.