kosketuksemiseltaan

Kosketuksemiseltaan is a Finnish neologism used in linguistic and sensory studies to denote describing or perceiving something primarily through tactile properties. The term is formed from kosketus (touch) with the nominalizing suffix -misen and the adverbial suffix -eltaan, yielding a sense of “in a tactile manner” or “by touch.” It is not part of standard Finnish vocabulary and is mainly found in scholarly or experimental discussions of sensory language or cognition.

In usage, kosketuksemiseltaan indicates that a description foregrounds tactile aspects such as texture, temperature, weight, and materiality rather than visual features. It can accompany analyses of narrative description, phenomenology, or design discourse to signal the modality of experience invoked. Example (illustrative): “Kuvaukset ovat kosketuksemiseltaan erilaisia kuin visuaaliset kuvaukset.” This is illustrative; the term is not widely used in everyday Finnish.

Because the term is a neologism with limited attestation, it is typically introduced with quotation marks or defined within scholarly text. It has been compared in some discussions to English “tactilely” or to Finnish expressions such as kosketuksellisesti in indicating tactile modality, though usage varies.

See also: sensory language, tactile perception, phenomenology, Finnish linguistics.

Notes: This article treats kosketuksemiseltaan as a proposed term rather than an established lexical item.