vuorosanien

Vuorosanat (genitive vuorosanien) are lines of dialogue spoken by characters in scripted works. They appear in theatre, film and television scripts, radio plays, and comics, and are distinct from narratorial text and stage directions, which describe actions or context rather than spoken content.

In Finnish script conventions, vuorosanat are usually shown with the speaker’s name followed by a colon, either on the same line as the spoken text or on a new line. For example:

Rauli: Tämä on esimerkki vuorosanasta.

Sanna: Entä tämä?

Stage directions may accompany lines to indicate setting or mood, and mood or delivery can also be suggested with brief notes (for example, [hiljaa], [ärsyyntynyt]), though contemporary practice often favors clear dialogue with minimal parentheticals.

Function and purpose: Vuorosanat convey what characters say, reveal personality and relations, advance the plot, and shape the work’s rhythm and tone. The choice of words, sentence structure, and punctuation helps communicate voice, intention, irony, doubt, or emotion, contributing to subtext and dramatic tension.

Medium-specific aspects: In theatre, vuorosanat are central to performance and are arranged for live delivery. In screenplays, they appear as dialogue blocks tied to character cues and may include brief parentheticals to guide tone. In comics, vuorosanat appear inside speech balloons. In radio or audio drama, delivery and intonation are essential, and some cues may be included alongside lines.

See also: Dialogue, Script formatting, Stage directions.