# Nomina agentis, ENG -er



## ThomasK

I don't know Finnish really, but I liked the word _ajaja_, just because of the sound. Now I thought the -_ja _would be a suffix referring to the nomen agentis, the -er in English, but funnily enough, at least from my point of view, I find there are _kuljettaja_, but also  _asiakas _and  _kansalainen, _which refer to persons but of course citizens and clients are not acting out citizen-ing or client-ing. Maybe that is the explanation.  (BTW: don't _kuljettaja _and _ajaja _refer to the same 'role', something like 'driver'?)


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## DrWatson

I think _-ja/-jä_ corresponds rather well to the English -_er_: it can be regularly formed from any verb and the meaning is regularly deducible from the stem verb's meaning:
_ajaa_ 'drive' → _aja-ja_ 'driver'
_puhua _'speak → _puhu-ja_ 'speaker'
_lyödä _'hit' → _lyö-jä_ 'hitter'

There's also another similar suffix _-(u)ri_, which is a loan from Germanic languages:
_parta _'beard' → _part-uri_ 'barber'
_ladata _'load, charge' → _lat-uri_ '(battery) charger'

The derivational suffixes _-kas_, _-lainen_ are usually denominal, whereas -_ja _is always deverbal; _-(u)ri_ can be both:

(_tulla _'come' →) _tulo _'coming; income' → _tulo-kas_ 'newcomer'
_raha _'money' → _raha-kas_ 'moneyed, rich'
_Saksa _'Germany' → _saksa-lainen_ 'German (person)'
_aika_ 'time' → _aika-lainen_ 'contemporary (person)'


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## ThomasK

Excellent information, thanks. Just wondering about the question I put between brackets:  what is the difference between a _kuljettaja _and an _ajaja_?


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## DrWatson

_Kuljettaja _and _ajaja _are synonymous in many instances. There are contextual differences, however:
_linja-autonkuljettaja _'bus driver'
_taksinkuljettaja_ 'taxi driver'
_kilpa-ajaja_ 'racing driver'
_koeajaja_ 'test driver'

_Kuljettaja _can also mean a chauffeur, but _ajaja _can't. _Kuljettaja _can often be replaced with _kuski _in informal language. So _taksinkuljettaja _= _taksikuski_, _linja-autonkuljettaja_ = _bussikuski_...

Also note: _asian*ajaja* _'lawyer', _sala*kuljettaja* _'smuggler'


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## ThomasK

Thanks for this information, quite interesting. I had been thinking had to do with transport vs. 'propelling', but then an _ajaja _would have been a chauffeur, I suppose. My hypothesis was wrong, I guess.

I do suppose that the last words you mention show that the real meaning of both words has worn off...


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