tarkoittamisen

Tarkoittamisen is a Finnish noun that denotes the act or process of conveying or deriving meaning in communication. It is formed from the verb tarkoittaa, meaning to mean or to intend, with the nominalising suffix -minen. The term can refer to the intended sense behind a statement, sign, or symbol, as well as to the interpretive activity by which a listener or reader derives meaning from a message.

In linguistic and communication studies, tarkoitettuna meaning is distinguished from related concepts such as merkitys (significance or sense), tulkinta (interpretation), and tarkoitus (intention or purpose). Tarkoittamisen emphasizes what the sender aims to express, whereas tulkinta emphasizes how the receiver understands or interprets the message. The distinction is often discussed in pragmatics and hermeneutics, where the focus is on the relationship between utterance, speaker intention, and audience interpretation.

Usage and examples in Finnish texts show tarkoitettamisen nuanced role in analysis of meaning. It appears frequently in academic prose dealing with semantics, translation, and cross-cultural communication, where translators and analysts strive to capture the intended meaning rather than merely conveying the surface wording. In everyday language, speakers may use more common terms such as tarkoitus or merkitys, but tarkoitettamisen remains a useful technical term in more formal or theoretical discussions.

See also: tulkinta, tarkoitus, merkitys, semantiikka, pragmatiikka.