yksikköpronomini

Yksikköpronomini, meaning "unit pronoun" in Finnish, refers to a specific grammatical construction used for emphasis or to distinguish a singular subject from others. It is not a separate pronoun class but rather a way of using existing pronouns. The most common way to form a yksikköpronomini is by attaching the suffix -kin to a personal pronoun. For example, minä-kin (I too/also) or sinä-kin (you too/also).

This construction serves to highlight a particular individual or entity within a group or context. For instance, if someone asks who ate the last cookie, replying "Minä-kin" implies that the speaker is also one of the people who ate it, perhaps in contrast to someone else who didn't. It can also be used to indicate a singular instance of something, even if the noun it refers to might otherwise be plural.

The use of yksikköpronomini is primarily a feature of spoken Finnish and informal writing. In more formal contexts, alternative phrasing might be preferred. The exact nuance of meaning can depend heavily on intonation and the surrounding sentence structure. It's a subtle but important aspect of expressing specific meanings in Finnish.