puhujan

Puhujan is a Finnish noun form meaning “the speaker’s” or “of the speaker.” It is the genitive singular form of the noun puhuja, which designates a person who speaks, gives a talk, or acts as a speaker. In usage, puhujan indicates possession or association with the speaker, and it appears in phrases such as puhujan puhe (the speaker’s speech) or puhujan rooli (the speaker’s role).

As a genitive singular, puhujan is used to attribute something to the speaker or to describe characteristics belonging to the speaker. It is common in formal writing, event programs, transcripts, and analyses of talks or presentations. The word functions as a grammatical form rather than as an independent lexical item with a separate meaning beyond ownership or association.

Morphology and related forms: puhujan is formed from the base puhuja (speaker) with the agent noun suffix -ja, plus the genitive singular ending -n. The nominative plural of puhuja is puhujat, while the genitive plural is puhujien. Being a case form, puhujan cannot replace puhuja in the base sense of “speaker” in nominative position.

Etymology: puhujan derives from the verb puhua (to speak) with the agent suffix -ja, then inflected for genitive singular. This pattern is typical for Finnish agent nouns and their possessive forms.

See also: puhuja (the speaker), puhe (speech), puhua (to speak), puhujat (speakers, nominative plural), puhujien (speakers’, genitive plural).