vastaavuus

Vastaavuus is a Finnish noun that denotes the degree to which two entities correspond, match, or are appropriate to one another. It describes how closely a representation reflects its referent, how well a description fits a situation, or how suitable a model is for its intended purpose. The concept is used across fields to express notions of equivalence, conformity, or applicability, and it can be discussed qualitatively or quantitatively.

In linguistics and translation studies vastaavuus refers to translation equivalence: how well a target text conveys the meaning, tone, and function of the source text. Researchers distinguish formal (word-for-word) vastaavuus from dynamic (sense-for-sense) vastaavuus and assess fidelity, readability, and naturalness of the translation.

In science, engineering and information technology vastaavuus concerns the correspondence between representations, models, or data and their real-world referents. For example, in data mapping a high vastaavuus indicates that a dataset aligns well with a target schema; in measurement science vastaavuus relates to accuracy and validity relative to a standard or true value.

Measuring vastaavuus can be qualitative, by comparing features and purposes, or quantitative, using metrics that express similarity, error, or fit. The notion is context-dependent: what counts as a sufficient level of vastaavuus in one domain may differ in another. Understanding vastaavuus helps assess whether a model, translation, or specification adequately serves its intended function.