lausuttavan

Lausuttavan is the genitive singular form of the Finnish present passive participle lausuttava, which comes from the verb lausua meaning to pronounce or utter. In linguistic and grammatical contexts it denotes something that is to be pronounced or uttered, roughly akin to “pronounceable” or “that which is to be pronounced.” The form is primarily used in written, technical descriptions rather than everyday speech.

As a participial adjective, lausuttava behaves like other -va/-vä forms in Finnish: it modifies a noun and agrees in gender-neutral number and case. In the genitive it appears as lausuttavan, for example in lausuttavan sanan, meaning “the word to be pronounced.” The construction is common in discussions of pronunciation, phonology, and language pedagogy, where terms and phrases are analyzed for how they should be spoken.

Usage examples include phrases such as lausuttavan sanan ääntäminen (the articulation or pronunciation of the word to be pronounced) and lausuttavan sanan oikeinkirjoitusopastus (guidance on the spelling of the word to be pronounced). In practice, lausuttava and its inflected forms help distinguish commentary about pronunciation from statements about already spoken forms.

See also: Finnish grammar, participles, Finnish phonology, pronunciation.