keyword: 'esittää'

For me the Finnish word ’esittää’ is problematic because of the multiple shades this verb has. These different meanings and contexts of the word are interesting to examine for example in terms of the functions, purposes and what emerges when this word is used. Moreover, how to translate esittää to English? For performance scholars esittää often has the connotation ‘to perform, to act, to present’ whereas these are only one of the many meanings of the word.

The WSOY Finnish-English Dictionary defines ‘esittää’ as following:

1. (näyttää ) show, produce

2. (ilmaista) express

3. (mainita) give, state

4. (virallisesti) put forward, propose (formally)

5. (teatteri, museot- theatre, museums) present, (näytellä) perform, play

6. (kuvata) show, portray

7. (olla olevinaan) pose as, show off

The stem of the word is ‘esi’, it entails the meaning of ‘pre-‘and ‘fore-‘; something that is before or infront of one but also something that is anterior, earlier than something. It is a word that refers to an active process of production. In a theatre-performance context ‘esittää’ is playing, presenting and performing. However, it does not mean acting (‘näytellä’), in the sense of representing a character. Yet it does mean pretending and showing, as does the word ‘näytellä’. In everyday life one might say ‘sinä esität’ which has the connotation of ‘you are pretending’ (more often than not understood in a negative light) or as showing off, instead of performing in an arts context. Interesting case is also to think of the word in a formal legal context. If in English one says that the judge pronounces someone guilty or unguilty, in Finnish ‘esittää joku vangittavaksi’ is used to formally propose someone as guilty. The word ‘pronouncing’ has of course a performative function, as J.L.Austin’s examples articulate. What happens then when in this context ‘esittää’ is used? The word that affiliates itself with showing, proposing, suggesting, presenting and performing might sound less powerful than pronouncing, declaring someone convicted. This example shows how performance related words and actions exist in formal occasions of, for example, larger institutions and state. In this context the word also expresses a particular authority.

'Esittää' - the judge pronounce someone as guilty.

'Esittää' - a group of artists presenting their piece.