English Style Guide

A handbook for translators, revisers and

authors of government texts
Prime Minister’s Office, Finland
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Contents

Quick reference guide ........................................................................................ 4

Foreword ............................................................................................................. 9

1 Punctuation .............................................................................................. 10

2 Spelling .................................................................................................... 19

3 Capitalisation ........................................................................................... 21

4 Names and titles ...................................................................................... 25

5 Numbers ................................................................................................... 39

6 Currencies, units and symbols .............................................................. 44

7 Abbreviations .......................................................................................... 48

8 Foreign words and names ...................................................................... 53

9 Parts of speech ........................................................................................ 55

10 Lists .......................................................................................................... 57

11 Legal language ........................................................................................ 59

12 Correspondence ...................................................................................... 62

13 Citations and references ......................................................................... 63

14 Inclusive language .................................................................................. 65

15 Text cohesion and clarity ....................................................................... 68

16 Speeches.................................................................................................. 74

2
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

17 Press releases and news items .............................................................. 76

18 Social media and video content ............................................................. 84

19 Government and administration ............................................................ 86

20 Frequently misused or mistranslated .................................................. 101

Appendix 1 Changes to the English Style Guide ......................................... 112

Appendix 2 Examples of gender-neutral language ...................................... 121

Appendix 3 Useful links ................................................................................. 123

3
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Quick reference guide

Unless otherwise indicated, use the recommendations of the European
Commission’s English Style Guide.

This quick reference guide provides an easily accessible summary of common

style issues. It is not intended to be definitive or exhaustive. Consult the full
English Style Guide for further information and for anything not covered in this
summary.

Language variant and spelling

The default is British English.

Unless otherwise noted in this style guide, use the first spelling found in
Oxford dictionaries.

Always use the ‘s’ spelling in words such as ‘organise’ (NOT organize), except
where an organisation itself uses the ‘z’ form.

Formatting

When translating, follow the formatting of the original whenever possible,

unless there is good reason to do otherwise.

Dates and times

Wednesday 15 June 2018 (NOT June 15, 2018)

Use the 24-hour clock: The meeting starts at 9.15; the dinner is at 18.00.

DO NOT use the Finnish week number system. Write out the dates instead.

1994–1996, 1998–2012, 2020s (NOT 2020’s)

‘2000-luvulla’ can mean the century or the first decade; avoid using ‘2000s’
whenever a more precise expression exists.

4
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Numbers and range

1,000,000

For ranges, use the en dash (–) and close up the numbers: 10–15; 21.56–
21.72.

Currencies

USD 500, EUR 50 million

In tables or other contexts where space is constrained, ‘million’ and ‘billion’

may be abbreviated and currency symbols used: €2.3 mill., $1.5 bn.

DO NOT use ‘MEUR’, ‘mio’, ‘bio’, ‘k’, or similar abbreviations.

Mathematical symbols and units of measurement

Use a nonbreaking space (Ctrl + Shift + Space) between a number and

mathematical symbol or unit of measurement: 500 m; 10 ÷ 2 = 5; 2 x 16 = 32.

Use superscript and subscript where appropriate after first spelling out if
necessary: m3, CO2.

The per cent sign is closed up to the number: 31.5% (NOT 31.5 %).

Capitalisation

Capitalise job titles, department names, etc.: Ministerial Adviser (NOT

Advisor), Economics Department, State of Finland, the Government’s decision
(BUT state funding, government expenditure).

Use the full names of ministries: Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment
(NOT MEAE). Note that the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is also known as the
‘Foreign Ministry’.

5
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

While acronyms and initialisms are generally capitalised (BUT e.g. ‘Ecofin’),
the words are not always capitalised when written out in full: nongovernmental
organisation (NGO); gross domestic product (GDP).

NOTE: ‘UK’, ‘UN’ and ‘US’ are generally written without full stops.

Write ‘internet’ in lower case (NOT Internet).

Titles and honorary titles

As a rule, avoid using ‘Mr’ and ‘Ms’ in most contexts.

If academic titles are not of particular importance, do not include them. When
several titles are given, usually only one title will do, at least in press releases.

DO NOT translate Finnish honorary titles: The Finnish honorary title

‘liikenneneuvos’ was granted to Matti Meikäläinen.

Names of organisations, companies and people

If possible, check the usage on the organisation’s website or in official

documents.

If no English translation exists, it may be appropriate to use a short description

when first introducing the organisation, then use the Finnish name:
FI: Metsähallitus tuottaa luonnonvara-alan palveluja monipuoliselle
asiakaskunnalle.
EN: Metsähallitus, the agency governing the use of state-owned land,
produces environmental services for a diverse customer base.

For registered English names of Finnish companies, consult the YTJ Business
Information System.

Always check the spelling of foreign names. It is easy to make a mistake

because the Finnish genitive, for example, may give the wrong impression:
FI: Ulkoministeri Haavisto tapaa EU:n korkean edustajan Josep Borrellin.
EN: Minister for Foreign Affairs Haavisto will meet with EU High
Representative Josep Borrell. (NOT Borrelli)

6
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Remember that foreign proper names are sometimes spelled differently in

English than in Finnish either for historical reasons or because of differences
in transliteration and transcription systems:
FI: Aleksei Uljukajev
EN: Alexei Ulyukayev

Geographical names

Add ‘Lake’ before the full name of Finnish lakes and do not use a definite
article. With rivers, either add ‘River’ before the full name and use a definite
article, or add ‘river’ after the name (no definite article):
FI: Kuusijärvi
EN: Lake Kuusijärvi
FI: Kemijoki
EN: the River Kemijoki; Kemijoki river

Adjectival forms of compass points are not usually capitalised: eastern

Europe, northern Finland.

Use capitalisation if they form part of a proper name, an administrative or

political unit or a distinct regional entity: East Indies, Eastern Europe, South
Ostrobothnia.

Contact details and other information

Email address formatting: [email protected]

FI: Hallitusneuvos Tiina Turtiainen

EN: Tiina Turtiainen, Senior Ministerial Adviser

Remember to add the country code in phone numbers: +358 50 123 4567.

FI: Postilokero
EN: PO Box (NOT ‘POB’ or ‘P.O. Box’)

FI: Lisätietoja: (when followed by contact information)

EN: Inquiries: (NOT Further information; Additional information)

7
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

BUT
FI: Lisätietoja: (when followed by links to related material; choose the
alternative best suited to the context)
EN: Read more:
EN: More information:
EN: Useful links:

FI: Lisätietoja kokouksesta:

EN: More information about the meeting:

Legislation, names of acts and decrees

The main source for translations of specific pieces of legislation is Finlex. The
main source for EU legislation is EUR-Lex.

FI: pykälä; §
EN: section (NOT §)

Compound words and hyphenation

DO NOT hyphenate the following: cooperation; coordination; database;

daycare; eGovernment; email; healthcare; jobseeker; online; policymaker;
website; wellbeing, worldwide.

BUT decision-maker; e-services; e-insurance; e-invoice

NOTE: sometimes the use of a hyphen can result in a different meaning: re-
sign vs resign; re-cover vs recover.

Quotations

For direct speech, use “double quotes”, otherwise use ‘single quotes’.

8
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Foreword
This English Style Guide sets out recommendations on the use of English in
Finnish government texts. It was compiled to provide guidelines for drafting
documents in English and translating into English, and for ensuring a measure
of consistency among such documents. It introduces, with practical examples,
the main rules and conventions that should be followed when using English in
administrative and other government texts in Finland. The guide is by no
means exhaustive nor can it cover all linguistic or cultural variations that may
apply to particular documents or circumstances.

We recommend the use of plain language when possible. Pay attention to

readability and clarity. In practice this may mean splitting long sentences into
two, using verbs instead of nouns and avoiding jargon words, etc. Remember
that the readership may include people whose mother tongue is not English.

This guide is based on the European Commission’s English Style Guide

published by the Directorate-General for Translation. Rather than replicate
much of its very thorough content and detailed advice, this guide instead
restricts itself to recommendations on areas that we feel are applicable to the
Finnish context and of particular relevance in view of present practice and
past experience. In some cases, these recommendations differ from the
advice in the Commission’s guide. In matters not covered in this guide, you
should refer to the Commission’s guide.

This third edition of the English Style Guide is the first edition to only be
published under Glossaries and guidance on the website of the Prime
Minister’s Office. The previous editions were published in the Publications of
the Prime Minister’s Office series and are still available online in the
Institutional Repository for the Government (Valto).

If you have any questions, please contact the Foreign Languages Unit at the
Prime Minister’s Office by email at englanti.vnk(a)gov.fi. We also welcome any
suggestions for revisions or additions.

English Style Guide team

May 2025

9
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

1 Punctuation
Changes often occur in language over time, and this applies to the use of
punctuation and grammatical rules in English as much as to terms and
phrases. The advice in this guide is considered current and appropriate.

Remember, too, that punctuation rules are not the same in English as in
Finnish. Use discretion in how you apply the rules. The key aim is to ensure
readability for a wide readership, including non-native speakers, and to be
consistent within a document.

Unless otherwise indicated, use the recommendations of the European

Commission’s English Style Guide and use British English.

Full stop

Truncations (where the end of the word is Co.; Art.; Chap.

deleted) are followed by a full stop

Contractions (in which the middle of the word is Dr; Ms; Ltd
removed) are not followed by a full stop.

Colon

Colons should be closed up to the preceding The fire died down as night fell: the townspeople
word, letter or number. breathed a sigh of relief and the firefighters collected
all their gear.
The word following a colon is not capitalised
unless it is a proper noun or in a heading or title Finland: Land of a Thousand Lakes
or introducing a quotation.
He asked: “What should I do?”

10
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Semicolon

A semicolon instead of a comma is used to The rule is recommended; however, it is not

combine two sentences into one when there is no compulsory.
linking conjunction.

Semicolons should be used to separate items in a The meeting was attended by Professor Johnson,
series that are long and complex or that involve University of Bristol, United Kingdom; Dr Mäkinen,
internal punctuation, for the sake of clarity. University of Helsinki, Finland; and Dr Andersson,
Stockholm University, Sweden.

Comma

Comma rules in English are not the same or as Top stories: World leaders at Mandela tribute,
strict as in Finnish. For the sake of clarity and Obama Castro handshake and same-sex marriage
readability, it is sometimes justified to deviate date set
from the rules for comma use.
Top stories: World leaders at Mandela tribute,
Obama Castro handshake, and same-sex marriage
date set

In a series, a comma should only be used before I love my parents, Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty.
the final item if it helps to clarify the sense. Its use
or omission is sometimes critical to the meaning I love my parents, Lady Gaga, and Humpty Dumpty.
of a sentence.

11
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Comma use with ‘for example’ depends on Referring back: Research shows that consumers
whether you are referring back or forward in the have had to reduce their consumption of vegetables,
sentence. for example, due to cost considerations. (Vegetables
are one example of an item whose consumption has
A comma before and after ‘for example’ refers decreased due to the high costs.)
back, whereas a comma only before ‘for example’
refers forward. Referring forward: Research shows that consumers
have had to reduce their consumption of vegetables,
for example due to cost considerations. (High costs
are one of the factors behind the decreased
consumption of vegetables.)

Finnish often uses ‘eli’ to introduce explanatory FI: Suomen talouden tuotanto eli bruttokansantuote
information. In Finnish, the explanatory phrase is on laskenut viimeiset kaksi vuotta.
not set off by commas, but in English it is a EN: Output, that is GDP, has decreased in Finland
parenthetical expression that is set off by for the past two years.
commas.

Non-defining relative clauses provide extra The report, which has been approved, is ready to be
information on what is being talked about. They published. (There is only one report, and it is ready
often begin with ‘which’ or ‘who’ and are set off by to be published.)
commas.

Defining relative clauses provide information The report that has been approved is ready to be
necessary to identify what is being talked about published. (There is more than one report, and only
and are not set off by commas. The relative the report that has been approved is ready to be
pronoun ‘that’ can be used (instead of ‘which’ or published.)
‘who’) in defining relative clauses.

When quoting speech in English, punctuation “I have discussed the matter,” said the Prime
goes before the closing quotation mark. Minister.
NOT “I have discussed the matter”, said the Prime
Minister.

12
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Dashes

Use an en dash (Ctrl + - on the numeric keypad) Monday–Friday

for ranges and to join the names of two or more September–December
places or concepts where both parts are equal in public–private partnership
nature. Kymijoki–Gulf of Finland River Basin District
the Estonia–Russia border
the Science–Policy Platform

Use an en dash, set off by spaces, to emphasise Stefan has one great quality – he speaks German
an interruption or introduce an afterthought or a fluently.
specific explanation. It is less formal than a colon
and gives more attention to what follows. FI: Tarkastaja havaitsi, että kyseinen henkilö eli
vuokralainen oli toiminut kiinteistön omistajan
edustajana.
EN: The inspector noticed that this person – the
tenant – had acted as the representative of the
property owner.

Where Finnish sometimes uses a dash to join two FI: Kustannusten nousu jatkuu – työttömyys laskee
ideas into a single heading, a comma or some EN: Costs continue to rise, unemployment falls
other solution may be more appropriate in
English.

Hyphen

A hyphen is used with various prefixes and ex-husband; non-industrial; president-elect; a shell-
suffixes. like substance; sub-Saharan Africa

Use a hyphen when fractions are adjectival but There was a two-thirds increase in the use of
not when they are nouns. electronic services.

Three quarters of the conference room was empty.

13
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Use a hyphen with compound words and 4-year-old child; 10-member group; cure-all;
compound modifiers where it is important to avoid environment-friendly business; ground-breaking;
ambiguity. has-been; human rights-based approach; ill-advised
action; know-how; lower-middle income country;
Follow these guidelines unless the word is middle-income country; one-in, one-out principle;
spelled differently by an organisation or a source one-stop shop; passer-by; person-year; small and
referred to in the text. medium-sized enterprises; technical education-
based course; well-established rules; Wi-Fi

NOTE: decision-maker; decision-making; e-services;

e-insurance; e-invoice; night-time.

Some words (e.g. cooperation, daycare, cooperation; coordination; cybercrime; cybersecurity;

healthcare) should be written as one word, database; dataset; daycare; daytime; eGovernment;
without a hyphen. email; frontpage; fulltime; healthcare; homepage;
jobseeker; jobseeking; lifecycle; login (BUT to log
in); online; policymaker; policymaking; roundtable;
startup; transatlantic; website; wellbeing; worldwide

NOTE: capacity building; state building; value added

tax.

In a series of compound words with a shared FI: Laina- tai sijoitusmuotoinen joukkorahoitus
element, repeat the shared element. EN: loan-based or investment-based crowdfunding
NOT loan- or investment-based crowdfunding

Compound phrases are hyphenated when used An up-to-date guide is a guide that is up to date.
as adjectives but not when used as nouns.
BUT
This should be taken into account in the decision-
making procedure.
This should be taken into account in the decision-
making.

14
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Hyphens are not used with adverbial elements carefully prepared management plan;
ending in ‘-ly’. environmentally friendly business

NOTE: sometimes the use of a hyphen can result re-count vs recount

in a different meaning. re-cover vs recover
re-sign vs resign

NOTE: in many cases, compound words start out data base > data-base > database
as two separate words but, over time, become
hyphenated and are eventually joined together.

Hyphenation

Do not use automatic hyphenation nor use hyphens to break words at the end
of a line.

Brackets

Use brackets to enclose abbreviations; write out Target 14.7 calls for increasing economic benefits to
the term in full at first. Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

Brackets can be used instead of commas to add Senate Properties (a state-run enterprise) is part of
explanatory information. the Ministry of Finance’s branch of government.

When the information in parentheses ends with a When preparing the plans, the authorities must
closing bracket, remember to include the final consult the people likely to be affected (see part
bracket. 2(b)).

15
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Question mark

A question mark is used after a direct question What will be the effect on trade in the coming year?
but not in indirect speech or after a request or
instruction. This raises the question of how trade will be affected
next year.

Would you please sign the application and submit it

by Thursday.

Exclamation mark

An exclamation mark may sometimes be used for FI: Tervetuloa!

exclamatory words, phrases or sentences in texts EN: See you there!
that directly address the audience, such as EN: Welcome to Finland!
speeches, to signal to the speaker that greater EN: Hello everyone, and welcome!
emphasis is needed.
NOTE: ‘welcome’ alone does not always work.

Sometimes when an exclamation mark is used in FI: Tervetuloa keskustelemaan aiheesta!

Finnish, it is not necessary in English. EN: We are looking forward to further discussing
these points with you.
NOT Welcome to discuss these points!

Quotation marks

For direct speech, use “double quotes”, otherwise The President said: “It is the right time to decide
use ‘single quotes’. To introduce a quote, use a where to go from here.”
colon or a comma.
He was studying the origins of the Finnish word
‘sauna’.

16
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

When quoted speech occurs in a sentence or “The Prime Minister’s response was ‘No comment’.”
phrase that is itself already within double
quotation marks, the quoted speech should be in
single quotation marks.

The Finnish use of a dash to introduce direct FI: — Minulla on unelma, sanoi Martin Luther King.
speech is not used at all in English. Use quotation EN: “I have a dream,” said Martin Luther King.
marks instead.

If quoted speech is longer than one paragraph, Minister Virtanen said: “Today’s meeting went well.
put a quotation mark at the beginning and end of Following the weekend break, the next step will be to
the whole quote. review matters at the start of the week. The
Committee will then announce its conclusions on
Thursday.

On other matters, next Monday we shall reconvene

to discuss the housing shortage and the financial
crisis.”

Titles of publications, periodicals, legal cases and Recently, The Economist discussed the global
so on are written in italics in text. Titles of articles backlash against the UN’s 1951 Refugee
within publications, periodicals and so on are Convention in an article titled ‘Well-founded fears’,
enclosed in single quotes. and described how the world has changed in 70
years.
NOTE: if the title of a government publication has
been translated into English, use the English title.

Forward slash

The forward slash can be ambiguous as it is not This can refer to the clause/sentence.
always clear whether it means ‘and’ or ‘or’. If it is
used, there are no spaces on either side.

17
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

With units of measure, use only one forward 9 kg/ha per year (NOT 9 kg/ha/yr)
slash.

Apostrophe

Do not use an apostrophe in numerical 2020s (NOT 2020’s)

references to decades or centuries.

18
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

2 Spelling
Unless otherwise indicated, use the recommendations of the European
Commission’s English Style Guide and use British English.

Spelling conventions

This guide recommends using British English as cafe (NOT café)

the default spelling. Unless otherwise noted in centre (NOT center)
this style guide, use the first spelling found in behaviour (NOT behavior)
Oxford dictionaries. labour (NOT labor)
litre (NOT liter)
signalling (NOT signaling)
travelled (NOT traveled)

Always use the ‘s’ spelling in words such as analyse; maximise; minimise; recognise
‘organise’ (NOT organize), except where an BUT North Atlantic Treaty Organization;
organisation itself uses the ‘z’ form. Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe

Programme, program

Always use ‘programme’ except when referring to computer programs.

Biannual, biennial

‘Biannual’ means twice a year and ‘biennial’ means every two years, but the
terms are often confused. If the meaning is not clear from the context, use
alternatives such as ‘twice-yearly’ (instead of ‘biannual’) or ‘two-yearly’
(instead of ‘biennial’) or clarify what you mean.

Internet

Write ‘internet’ in lower case (NOT Internet).

19
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Arctic

Capitalise ‘Arctic’ when referring specifically to FI: arktinen alue; arktiset alueet; Arktis
the geographical region known as the Arctic. EN: the Arctic
Otherwise, it is generally written in lower case
when used as an adjective, e.g. ‘arctic clothing’, FI: Ilmastonmuutos vaatii uusia ratkaisuja arktisella
‘arctic temperatures’. alueella.
EN: Climate change calls for new solutions in the
Arctic.

Trickly plurals

When a modifier comes after the noun, pluralise Director General, Directors General
the noun. Head of State or Government, Heads of State or
Government

BUT State Party, States Parties

Latin plurals

A Latin plural is a plural formed according to the appendix, appendices

language rules in Latin. criterion, criteria (NOT ‘criteria is’, but ‘criteria are’)
curriculum, curricula
index, indexes

Note that accepted practice has shifted in certain forum, forums or fora
cases to accept both a Latin plural and an ‘s’ memorandum, memorandums or memoranda
plural. referendum, referendums or referenda

20
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

3 Capitalisation
Unless otherwise indicated, use the recommendations of the European
Commission’s English Style Guide and use British English.

Titles of documents

Use title case for titles, i.e. capitalise the first Action Plan for the Implementation of Tax Reform
letter of the first word, proper nouns and main
words but not prepositions, conjunctions and
articles.

For titles that have a main heading and a Action Plan for Equality and Non-Discrimination in
subheading, capitalise the main heading as Rescue Services: Equal and non-discriminatory
above but only capitalise the first word of the rescue services
subheading.

When using a shortened form to refer back to a The action plan includes a description of the current
capitalised title in the same text, use lower case. state of equality and non-discrimination in rescue
services.

BUT do not capitalise the titles of press releases Action plan for equality and non-discrimination in
or news items. rescue services published

A descriptive translation in English may be FI: Valtioneuvoston ihmisoikeuspoliittinen selonteko

sufficient when referring to, for example, the title EN: Government report on human rights policy
of a report that has not been translated into
English.

21
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

For long titles, do not capitalise where these read FI: Kooste sidosryhmien palautteesta sosiaali- ja
more like a description than a title. terveydenhuollon palveluvalikoiman periaateaihioihin
EN: Summary of feedback from stakeholders on the
proposed principles for service choices in healthcare
and social welfare

Legislation

For translations of Finnish acts and decrees, the FI: Laki ammattipätevyyden tunnustamisesta
English name is capitalised and the Finnish name EN: Act on the Recognition of Professional
is not mentioned. Many of them can be found in Qualifications
Finlex. If not, consult the Foreign Languages Unit
of the Prime Minister’s Office.

However, use the lower case for the names of FI: Hallitus on antanut eduskunnalle 21. toukokuuta
acts and decrees that have not yet been enacted. esityksen laiksi väliaikaisista toimenpiteistä
välineellistetyn maahantulon torjumiseksi.
EN: The Government submitted a proposal to
Parliament for an act on temporary measures to
combat instrumentalised migration on 21 May.

When using the word ‘act’ or ‘decree’ to refer Statutes: Any reference to the old Excise Duty Act in
back to the specific act or decree in the same other acts or provisions issued under them is
text, use upper case in statutes and lower case in considered to mean a reference to the
other types of texts. corresponding provisions of this Act.

Other types of texts: The reform will enshrine

Finland’s target of carbon neutrality by 2035 in the
Climate Change Act and will strengthen the role of
the act as a guiding instrument.

22
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

EU regulations and directives usually have long Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European
titles that are not capitalised (although the word Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the
‘Regulation’ or ‘Directive’ is capitalised). Many EU protection of natural persons with regard to the
legal acts have shorter alternative names that are processing of personal data and on the free
capitalised. movement of such data, and repealing Directive
95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation)

References to numbered articles in EU law are Personal data is processed in accordance with
capitalised with the subdivisions of the article in Article 6(1)(c) of the General Data Protection
brackets closed up to the number of the article. Regulation.

References to numbered articles in treaties are FI: Pariisin sopimuksen artikla 6:sta on neuvoteltu jo
usually capitalised. However, use the formulation yli kymmenen vuotta.
applied in the treaty you are referring to. EN: The negotiations on Article 6 of the Paris
Agreement have continued for more than 10 years.

Jäsenvaltiot

The translation of ‘jäsenvaltiot’ depends on the EU Member States

organisation. Always consult the organisation’s
website. NATO member states; NATO member countries
BUT NATO Allies

UN Member States
UN non-member observer States

The European Economic Area (EEA) consists of EEA countries

the EU Member States plus three EFTA States NOT EEA Member States; EEA member states
(Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). Collectively
they are referred to as the ‘EEA countries’. NOTE:
FI: EU- ja ETA-maat
EN: EU Member States and EEA countries

23
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

The member states of the Arctic Council are Arctic States

referred to as the ‘Arctic States’.

Companies, political parties, proprietary names

For registered English names of Finnish FI: KONE Oyj

companies, consult the YTJ Business Information EN: KONE Corporation
System.

Capitalise the names of political parties, including National Coalition Party

the word ‘party’.

For proprietary names, follow the capitalisation of Excel spreadsheet; iPhone; PowerPoint
the brand or product in question. presentation; Word document; YouTube

Seasons

Do not capitalise the names of seasons. spring; summer; autumn; winter

24
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

4 Names and titles

Unless otherwise indicated, use the recommendations of the European
Commission’s English Style Guide and use British English.

Personal titles

Do not use ‘Mr’ or ‘Ms’/’Mrs’ with titles. As a rule, Mr; Ms; Mrs
avoid using them in most contexts. NOT Mr.; Ms.; Mrs.

However, if gender needs to be indicated in

conjunction with a person’s name, use ‘Mr’ or ‘Ms’
(the use of ‘Mrs’ depends on personal choice).

Government ministers

Consult the list of Finnish ministers and ministries ‘Ministerit ja ministeriöt’

under Glossaries and guidance on the website of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Capitalise the titles of government ministers when In Vienna, Minister of Finance Virtanen will have a
referring to a particular minister, including when meeting with her Austrian counterpart.
referring back to a minister previously mentioned.
The Minister will also meet with representatives of
Finnish companies.

Use lower case for the word ‘minister’ when used In addition, the ministers will discuss the current
in a general sense, e.g. referring to an event situation in the Western Balkans.
where several ministers from different countries
will be meeting.

25
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Job titles

Capitalise job titles, except where the reference is FI: Kesäkuun loppuun saakka vt. kansliapäällikkönä
general. toimii pelastusylijohtaja Pekka Virtanen.
EN: Until the end of June, the Acting Permanent
Secretary is Pekka Virtanen, Director General for
Rescue Services.

The statement was prepared by a working group of

state secretaries and permanent secretaries.

Capitalise titles of public officials, even if the FI: “Näillä toimenpiteillä tuetaan työllisyyttä ja
person’s name does not appear with the title. tuottavuuden kasvua pidemmällä aikavälillä”, totesi
ylijohtaja.
EN: “These measures will support employment and
productivity growth in the longer run,” said the
Director General.

NOTE: write ‘Director-General’ with a hyphen in EU

and UN contexts. Remember the plural forms
‘Directors-General’ and ‘Directorates-General’.

Finnish titles with ‘-neuvos’

There are three types of Finnish titles ending in ‘-neuvos’: honorary titles, job
titles and diplomatic titles.

Do not translate Finnish honorary titles, use the FI: Matti Meikäläiselle myönnettiin
Finnish title instead. liikenneneuvoksen arvonimi.
EN: The Finnish honorary title ‘liikenneneuvos’ was
Consult ‘Arvonimiä ei käännetä’ under Glossaries granted to Matti Meikäläinen.
and guidance on the website of the Prime
Minister’s Office.

26
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Sometimes what looks like an honorary title in FI: Hallitusneuvos

Finnish is in fact a job title with its own EN: Senior Ministerial Adviser
standardised English translation.
FI: Finanssineuvos
The English equivalent of Finnish job titles ending EN: Senior Ministerial Adviser, Financial Affairs
in ‘-neuvos’ is ‘Senior Ministerial Adviser’. If
necessary, the ministry, department, unit or field FI: Lainsäädäntöneuvos
of expertise can be added after the title. EN: Senior Ministerial Adviser, Legislative Affairs

If the holder of a ‘-neuvos’ title serves as head of FI: Opetusneuvos

unit or department, a descriptive title can be used, EN: Senior Ministerial Adviser, Department for
e.g. ‘Head/Director of X Unit’ or ‘Director of Higher Education
Legislative Affairs’.

NOTE: the English term ‘Counsellor’ is reserved

exclusively for diplomatic titles in the Foreign
Service (see below).

Consult ‘Virkanimikkeiden kääntäminen

englanniksi’ under Glossaries and guidance on
the website of the Prime Minister’s Office. If in
doubt, please contact the Foreign Languages Unit
at the Prime Minister’s Office.

Diplomatic titles incorporating ‘-neuvos’ are not FI: lähetystöneuvos

honorary titles and should be translated. EN: Counsellor

The use of diplomatic titles in Finland depends on FI: ulkoasiainneuvos

the person’s position in the Foreign Ministry. For EN: Counsellor for Foreign Affairs
any Foreign Service job titles, it is always
advisable to consult the Foreign Ministry’s FI: kaupallinen neuvos
website or the websites of Finnish missions EN: Commercial Counsellor
abroad.
FI: ministerineuvos
EN: Minister-Counsellor

27
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Lists of titles and degrees

When the Finnish text includes a list of titles and FI: Ylijohtaja, osastopäällikkö Mikko Miettinen on
qualifications, translate only the most relevant mukana tilannekatsauksessa.
one. However, in press releases concerning new EN: Director General Mikko Miettinen will be present
appointments, the person’s academic at the briefing.
qualifications may be given and should normally
be translated. FI: Hankkeessa on mukana neurologian
erikoislääkäri, osastonylilääkäri, LT Jukka Keistinen.
EN: Dr Jukka Keistinen, Head of Neurology, is a
member of the project.

FI: Valtiotieteiden maisteri, varatuomari Tiina

Korhonen on torstaina 24.11. nimitetty
osastojohtajaksi.
EN: On Thursday 24 November, Tiina Korhonen,
M.Soc.Sc., Master of Laws with court training, was
appointed Director General.

Organisations, administrative units

For names of Finnish government agencies and public bodies, consult the
glossary ‘Government Agencies and Public Bodies’ in Valter.

Names of organisations and administrative units FI: Suunnitelmaa esitellään Suomen Akatemian ja
should normally have initial capitals. Business Finlandin sekä sidosryhmien järjestämissä
tilaisuuksissa.
EN: The plan will be presented at events organised
by the Research Council of Finland, Business
Finland and stakeholders.

28
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

As a rule, the names of permanent government FI: digitoimisto

bodies are capitalised, while the names of EN: Coordination Group for Digitalisation
temporary bodies are not.
FI: kestävän hyvinvointiyhteiskunnan
NOTE: the Finnish ‘työryhmä’ should be ministerityöryhmä
translated as ‘working group’ in government texts. EN: ministerial working group on a sustainable
welfare society

Ministries

Consult ‘Ministerit ja ministeriöt’ under Glossaries and guidance on the

website of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Capitalise the names of ministries, departments, FI: Liikenne- ja viestintäministeriö

etc. Do not use acronyms for ministries in EN: Ministry of Transport and Communications
English. NOT MTC

Maintain capitalisation when referring back to the The Ministry of the Interior will publish the report in
names of organisations. October. Before this, the Ministry plans to consult
stakeholders.

International agreements, conventions and conferences

Use initial capitals for international agreements, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
conventions and conferences. Change; United Nations Climate Change
Conference; World Climate Action Summit

Geographical names

The official names of countries frequently change. Make sure to check the
current name from reliable sources. Be mindful of differences between Finnish
and English spellings of country and city names.

29
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

See the Institute for the Languages of Finland (Kotus) for a full list of country
names.

See the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office for a list of

approved British English language names for countries and territories.

FI: Abhasia EN: Abkhazia

FI: Afganistan EN: Afghanistan

FI: Ahvenanmaa; Ahvenanmaan maakunta EN: Åland (administrative area)

FI: Ahvenanmaan itsehallintoalue EN: autonomous region of Åland
NOTE: Åland Islands (geographical designation)

FI: Alankomaat (Hollanti) EN: the Netherlands (in text)

EN: Netherlands (in a list)
NOT The Netherlands
NOTE: the singular verb is used: The Netherlands is
a country that lies below sea-level.

FI: Azerbaidžan EN: Azerbaijan

FI: Balkan EN: the Balkans (region)

FI: Länsi-Balkan (Albania, Bosnia ja Hertsegovina, EN: the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and
Kosovo, Pohjois-Makedonia, Montenegro, Serbia) Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia,
Montenegro, Serbia)

FI: Bosnia ja Hertsegovina (Bosnia-Hertsegovina) EN: Bosnia and Herzegovina

NOT Bosnia-Herzegovina

30
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

FI: Brasilia (country) EN: Brazil

FI: Brasília (capital city) EN: Brasília (capital city)

FI: Bryssel EN: Brussels

FI: Filippiinit EN: the Philippines (in text)

EN: Philippines (in a list)
NOTE: the singular verb is used: The Philippines is
one of the largest archipelago nations.

FI: Firenze EN: Florence

FI: Gambia; Gambian tasavalta EN: The Gambia; the Republic of The Gambia

FI: Geneve EN: Geneva

FI: Genova EN: Genoa

FI: Grönlanti EN: Greenland

FI: Haag EN: The Hague

NOTE: The Finnish Embassy in The Hague
manages the Finnish Government’s relations with
the Netherlands.

FI: Hongkong EN: Hong Kong

FI: Irbil EN: Erbil

31
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

FI: Jordania; Jordanian hašemiittinen EN: Jordan; the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
kuningaskunta

FI: Kap Verde EN: Cabo Verde

NOT Cape Verde

FI: Karjala; Karjalan tasavalta EN: Karelia; the Karelian Republic

FI: Kazakstan EN: Kazakhstan

FI: Kiova EN: Kyiv

(for those who do not speak Ukrainian, it can be
pronounced ‘Keeve’)

NOTE: in English, use Ukrainian transliterations of

place names in Ukraine.

FI: Kirgisia EN: Kyrgyzstan

FI: Kongon demokraattinen tasavalta (Kinshasan EN: the Democratic Republic of the Congo; the
Kongo) DRC

FI: Kongo; Kongon tasavalta (Brazzavillen Kongo) EN: the Congo; the Republic of the Congo

FI: Lissabon EN: Lisbon

FI: Luxemburg (country and capital city) EN: Luxembourg; the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
(country)
EN: Luxembourg (capital city)

32
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

FI: Lähi-itä EN: Middle East

NOT Near East

FI: Länsi-Sahara EN: Western Sahara

FI: Malesia EN: Malaysia

FI: Marokko EN: Morocco

FI: Meksiko (country) EN: Mexico (country)

FI: México (capital city) EN: Mexico City (capital city)

FI: Niger (country) EN: Niger (country)

FI: nigerläinen (citizen) EN: Nigerien (citizen)

FI: Nigeria (country) EN: Nigeria (country)

FI: nigerialainen (citizen) EN: Nigerian (citizen)

FI: Nizza EN: Nice

FI: Palestiinalaisalue EN: the Palestinian territory

NOTE: do not use ‘the Palestinian territories’ in
government texts.

FI: Peking; Beijing EN: Beijing

FI: Persianlahti EN: the Gulf

33
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

FI: Petroskoi EN: Petrozavodsk

FI: Pietari EN: St Petersburg

NOT Saint Petersburg; St. Petersburg

FI: Pohjois-Makedonia EN: North Macedonia

FI: Pohjoismaiden ja Baltian alue EN: the Nordic–Baltic region

FI: Praha EN: Prague

FI: Pyhä istuin EN: the Holy See

FI: Riad EN: Riyadh

FI: Ruanda EN: Rwanda

FI: Sahara EN: the Sahara

FI: Sahel EN: the Sahel

FI: Saudi-Arabia; Saudi-Arabian kuningaskunta EN: Saudi Arabia; the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

FI: Seychellit; Seychellien tasavalta (country) EN: Seychelles; the Republic of Seychelles
FI: seychelliläinen (citizen) (country)
EN: Seychellois (citizen)

34
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

FI: Somalia EN: Somalia

FI: Soul EN: Seoul

FI: Tšekki; Tšekin tasavalta EN: Czechia; the Czech Republic

EN: Czech Republic (in a list)

FI: Tšetšenia EN: Chechnya

FI: Turkki EN: Türkiye

FI: Uumaja EN: Umeå

FI: Valko-Venäjä EN: Belarus

FI: Vatikaanivaltio (country) EN: Vatican City State; Vatican City; the Vatican
FI: Vatikaani (city) (country)
EN: Vatican City (city)
EN: Vatican citizen (citizen of Vatican City State)

FI: Venetsia EN: Venice

FI: Viipuri EN: Vyborg

35
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

FI: Yhdistynyt kuningaskunta; Ison-Britannian ja EN: the United Kingdom; the United Kingdom of
Pohjois-Irlannin yhdistynyt kuningaskunta Great Britain and Northern Ireland; the UK (country)
FI: Iso-Britannia; Britannia (when referring to EN: the British; Brit; Briton (citizen)
‘Yhdistynyt kuningaskunta’)
NOTE: the UK is made up of Great Britain (i.e.
England, Scotland and Wales) and Northern Ireland.

Baltic States

Write ‘Baltic States’ when referring to Estonia, Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania)
Latvia and Lithuania. When referring to countries
in the wider Baltic Sea region, write ‘states’ and otherwise:
‘countries’ in lower case. Baltic Sea states; Baltic states
Baltic Sea countries; Baltic countries

NOT ‘the Baltics’ in government texts

Nordic countries

Write ‘the Nordic countries’ in government texts (NOT the Nordics).

Finnish place names

Add ‘Lake’ before the full name of Finnish lakes FI: Kuusijärvi
and do not use a definite article. With rivers, either EN: Lake Kuusijärvi
add ‘River’ before the full name and use a definite
article or add ‘river’ after the name (no definite FI: Päijänne
article). EN: Lake Päijänne

FI: Kemijoki
EN: the River Kemijoki; Kemijoki river

36
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

For English names of Finnish administrative FI: Lahti

areas, consult the website of the body in question. EN: the City of Lahti
FI: Sipoo
EN: the Municipality of Sipoo

The Swedish name is used when the majority of a FI: Inkoo

municipality’s inhabitants speak Swedish. EN: Ingå
FI: Kemiö
Consult ‘Suomen hallintorakenteeseen liittyviä EN: Kimito
termejä sekä hyvinvointialueiden, maakuntien ja
kuntien nimet’ under Glossaries and guidance on
the website of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Compass points

Compass points and adjectival forms are not eastern Europe; northern Finland; southern Africa;
usually capitalised. northern France; northwest Karelia; north Cyprus

Rain is forecast for London and the southeast.

When used in a political or cultural sense, these East Indies; Eastern Europe; Northern Cyprus
words are frequently capitalised.
The South East is an administrative region of
England.

Use capitalisation if the compass point is part of a South Africa; Northern Ireland; South Ostrobothnia;
proper name, an administrative or political unit or Western Balkans
a distinct regional entity.

Write the quarters of the compass as one word, northeast; northwest; southeast; southwest
unless a region, organisation or administrative unit
spells the term differently.

37
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Compass bearings are abbreviated without full 54° E; NW; SE

stops.

38
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

5 Numbers
Unless otherwise indicated, use the recommendations of the European
Commission’s English Style Guide and use British English.

General rules for numbers

As a rule, write out low numbers (one to nine) in After the meeting, 16 delegations held a press
words and larger numbers (10 and above) in conference in three languages.
figures.

Use commas to group thousands. 2,000; 10,000; 2,000,000

DO NOT use spaces. If you can’t use a comma,

add a non-breaking space (Ctrl + Shift + Space).

Use a point for decimals, not a comma. 0.5 (NOT 0,5 or .5)

FI: 29,90 euroa

EN: EUR 29.90

DO NOT start a sentence with a figure, except in FI: 15 konferenssiin osallistuneista 133:stä
itemised lists. Write the number out in full or valtionjohtajasta oli naisia.
reformulate the sentence. EN: Fifteen out of the 133 world leaders
participating in the conference were women.

FI: Vuonna 2018 eri puolilla maailmaa esiintyi useita

sään ääri-ilmiöitä.
EN: In 2018, several extreme weather events were
recorded around the world.

When two numbers are adjacent, spell out one of 90 fifty-gram weights (NOT 90 50-gram weights)
them.

39
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Dates and times

Dates are written day-month-year (NOT month- July 2024 (NOT July, 2024)
day-year). Do not use a comma in dates. 1 July 2024 (NOT July 1, 2024)
Monday 1 July 2024 (NOT Monday, 1 July 2024)
NOTE: if space is very restricted, use 1.7.2024 or
1/7/2024.

DO NOT use the Finnish week number system. 16–29 May (NOT weeks 20–21)
Write out the dates instead. If a particular week is the week beginning 9 May (NOT week 19)
referred to, mention its starting date, usually a
Monday.

DO NOT use an apostrophe in numerical 2020s (NOT 2020’s)

references to decades or centuries.

‘2000-luvulla’ can mean the century or the first FI: 2000-luvulla

decade; avoid using ‘2000s’ whenever a more EN: the 21st century
precise expression exists. EN: the first decade of the century; or e.g. the period
2000–2009

24-hour-clock

Use the 24-hour clock. In some situations, the 12- 14.00 (NOT 14; 14:00)
hour clock can be used if it adds clarity (e.g. 9.45 (NOT 09.45; 9:45)
10.30 am). To avoid confusion in the case of
midday, it may be appropriate to write FI: Tilaisuus järjestetään tiedotustilassa
‘12.00 noon’. keskiviikkona 5.10. klo 10.30–12.00.
EN: The event will be held in the Government Press
Room on Wednesday 5 October at 10.30–12.00.

FI: Osallistujia pyydetään ilmoittautumaan

perjantaihin 1.10. klo 15 mennessä.
EN: Please register by 15.00 on Friday 1 October.

40
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Percentages

The percentage symbol is written without a space 31.5% or 31.5 per cent
in British English. Use the percentage symbol if NOT 31.5 %; 31.5 percent
the text contains lots of figures, except in
legislation and in cases such as speeches where
the use of the words (per cent) may be preferred
by the reader.

If ‘per cent’ is written out, then write out the Residents representing at least five per cent of
number if below 10. those entitled to vote in a municipality may submit a
referendum initiative.

NOTE: for Finnish expressions such as ‘joka FI: joka kolmas vastaaja
kolmas vastaaja’, write ‘one in three respondents’ EN: one in three respondents; one out of three
or ‘one out of three respondents’. respondents (NOT every third respondent)

BUT
FI: joka kolmas vuosi
EN: every third year; once every three years

Ranges

Use an en dash to denote a range. ages 58–75

DO NOT use dots to denote a range (20…30). EUR 20–30 million

The meeting will be held on 12–15 April.

The helpline is open Monday–Friday at 9.00–11.00.

41
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

When you have ‘from’ always use ‘to’ and when Copy the section from page 5 to page 20.
you have ‘between’ always use ‘and’. DO NOT
use dashes with these prepositions. Participants should arrive between 9.00 and 9.30.
(NOT between 9.00–9.30)

The helpline is open from Monday to Friday between

9.00 and 11.00.

Time spans are normally written as a range using 1990–1995 (NOT 1990 – 1995; 1990-1995)
an en dash. from 1990 to 1995 (NOT from 1990-1995)
between 1990 and 1995 (NOT between 1990-1995)
in the period 1990–1995 (NOT in 1990-1995)
during 1990–1995

For dates, use either an en dash or write ‘from’ FI: 19.–23.11.

and ‘to’, depending on which flows best in the EN: 19–23 November
context. EN: from 19 to 23 November

FI: 20.12.2017–8.1.2018
EN: 20 December 2017–8 January 2018
EN: from 20 December 2017 to 8 January 2018

For age ranges, use the format ‘aged 13–17’ or FI: 13–17-vuotiaat
‘between the ages of 13 and 17’. EN: those aged 13–17
EN: people between the ages of 13 and 17

A forward slash is used for financial or budget The report covers the entire budget year 2016/2017.
years that do not coincide with calendar years
and that refer to a period of twelve months or
less.

42
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

When writing percentages as a range, do not 30–40% (NOT 30%–40%; 30 – 40%)

repeat the percentage sign when using a dash, 30% to 40% (NOT 30 to 40%)
but repeat the sign when expressing range in between 30% and 40% (NOT between 30%–40%)
other ways, such as ‘between 30% and 40%’. from 30% to 40% (NOT from 30%–40%)

Most of the tariffs are in the 8% to 12% range.

The tariffs are set between 8% and 12%.

House prices are predicted to drop between 2% and

5% this year.

Interest rates increased from 5% to 7%.

The price is expected to rise by 3–5% at the end of

the year.

43
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

6 Currencies, units and symbols

Unless otherwise indicated, use the recommendations of the European
Commission’s English Style Guide and use British English.

Currencies

Use the standard currency codes (EUR, GBP, EUR 5,000

USD, etc.). DO NOT use symbols (€, £), unless
space is limited.

In English, the currency code or symbol always Under the proposal, the European Union would use
comes before the number. Use a non-breaking a total of EUR 22.18 billion for the programme in
space (Ctrl + Shift + Space) between the currency 2021–2027.
code and the number. Currency symbols are
closed up to the number. €5,000

Names of currencies are written in lower case. Canadian dollars; Danish kroner

Sometimes it may be more appropriate to write FI: Hallitus sopi kevään kehysriihessä 370 miljoonan
out ‘5,000 euros’ (NOT 5,000 euro) instead of euron säästötoimista julkisen talouden kehyksissä.
‘EUR 5,000’, for example in a speech. EN: This past spring, the government session on
spending limits agreed on 370 million euros in
austerity measures.

Thousands, millions, billions

Use commas to group thousands. EUR 100,000

Spell out ‘million’ and ‘billion’ and use a non- EUR 50 million
breaking space (Ctrl + Shift + Space) after the
number.

44
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

In tables or other contexts where space is EUR 50 mill.; EUR 2 bn; €50 mill.
constrained, ‘million’ and ‘billion’ may be NOT 50 MEUR
abbreviated and currency symbols used.

DO NOT use ‘MEUR’, ‘mio’, ‘bio’, ‘k’, or similar

abbreviations

Finnish uses the long scales naming system for FI: miljardi
powers of ten, while both British and American EN: billion (thousand million)
English now use the short scales system. This
means that the names of larger numbers in FI: biljoona
Finnish and English differ from one another. EN: trillion (thousand billion)

FI: triljoona
EN: quintillion (million billion)

Units of measurement

With units of measurement, write numbers as It weighs 20 grams.

figures.

Use superscript and subscript where appropriate 4 m3; CO2

after first spelling out if necessary.

Use a space before units of measurement. 500 metres; 500 m

Use a non-breaking space (Ctrl + Shift + Space)

between a number and its unit to prevent them
falling on separate lines.

45
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

For units of temperatures, do not use a space. 5°C

NOTE: in scientific and technical writing, a space

is used: 5 °C

Do not write ‘minus 5°C’ or ‘plus 5°C’. Use an en The temperatures will rise from –5°C to 5°C.
dash for minus temperatures. The temperatures will drop from –5°C to –15°C over
the weekend.

Symbols

The English symbols for multiplication and FI: 5 · 2 = 10

division are x and ÷. EN: 5 x 2 = 10

FI: 10 : 2 = 5
EN: 10 ÷ 2 = 5

The Finnish § symbol is normally translated in FI: Asian käsittelyssä noudatetaan soveltuvin osin
legislation as ‘section’ (NOTE: ‘s’ in lower case) 96 §:n säännöksiä.
and in articles of association as ‘article’. EN: The provisions in section 96 shall be complied
with, as applicable, in the processing of the matter.

Numbers with symbols and abbreviations

Use a non-breaking space (Ctrl + Shift + Space) 500 m

between a number and a mathematical symbol or 10 ÷ 2 = 5
a unit of measurement. 2 x 16 = 32

The per cent sign is closed up to the number. 73.6% (NOT 73.6 %)

Allegedly, 73.6% of all statistics are made up.

46
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

If the measurement unit is an abbreviation (cm, Some tree species grow by as much as 8 cm in a
ml, etc.) or a symbol is given, the number is year. (NOT eight cm)
written as a figure.

At the beginning of a sentence, numbers are Thirty per cent of the population are over the age of
spelled out. 60 and 20% are under the age of 25.

Ten millilitres of solution were added to the sample.

47
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

7 Abbreviations
Unless otherwise indicated, use the recommendations of the European
Commission’s English Style Guide and use British English.

Punctuation and articles

As a rule, do not use full stops in abbreviations, PO Box

except with certain truncations. Art.; tel.

If an abbreviation might be confused with a word, Use ‘no.’ for number (NOT nr).
use a full stop.

The choice between ‘a’ or ‘an’ depends on an SUV (NOT a SUV); a UN peacekeeper
whether the abbreviation begins with a vowel
sound or not.

Acronyms and initialisms

An acronym is an abbreviation pronounced as a NATO; OPEC; REACH; UNESCO

word and does not usually take a definite article.
NATO is a defensive alliance.

An initialism is an abbreviation in which each the BBC; the EU; the UK

separate letter is pronounced. It usually takes a BUT IBM; ICI; UCL; UEA
definite article. However, established usage may
be different, particularly for the names of
companies and universities.

48
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

In general, spell out names such as the The Member States of the European Union decided
‘European Union’ and the ‘United States’ when to support the proposal.
used as nouns; they can be abbreviated (to ‘EU’
and ‘US’) if repeated often or when used as The United States has voted against the resolution
adjectives.

Acronyms and initialisms should be spelled out in The World Health Organization (WHO) published its
full when first mentioned in a text with the latest recommendations on swine flu.
abbreviation in brackets.

While acronyms and initialisms are generally gross domestic product (GDP); non-governmental
capitalised (BUT e.g. ‘Ecofin’), the words are not organisation (NGO)
always capitalised when written out in full.

The abbreviation of ‘Memorandum of FI: yhteisymmärryspöytäkirja

Understanding’ is ‘MoU’. EN: Memorandum of Understanding; Memorandums
of Understanding or Memoranda of Understanding

When using an acronym or initialism in a FI: GPS-järjestelmä

sentence, avoid repeating words that are EN: GPS (NOT GPS system)
included in the acronym or initialism.

Finnish acronyms and initialisms

If a Finnish acronym is used, write out the full The Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela)
name at first mention and add the acronym in is …
brackets, after which the acronym can be used in Kela will …
the text.

49
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

In some cases, the Finnish acronym is not used. The Finnish Environment Institute is …
The Institute will … (NOT SYKE, Syke or FEI)
NOTE: always check each organisation’s
website.

DO NOT abbreviate the English names of The Ministry of Education and Culture is …
Finnish ministries or agencies. The Ministry has … (NOT MEC)

Where a Finnish acronym or abbreviation is FI: Nato

used, English may use another solution. EN: NATO

FI: htv (henkilötyövuosi)

EN: person-year

FI: dnro (diaarinumero)

EN: register number (can be abbreviated to ‘reg.
no.’)

Computer terms

Certain ICT terms, such as file types, wireless GIF; JPEG; PDF; WhatsApp; Wi-Fi; WLAN
connections and apps, should be capitalised in BUT internet
English

Avoid using trademark names as verbs. They searched for information on Google.
NOT ‘Googled’ or ‘googled’

They will make a Skype call.

NOT ‘will Skype’ or ‘will skype’

50
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

United States

Use ‘the United States’ or ‘the US’ (NOT the The US was one of the original 12 countries to sign
USA). Note that a singular verb follows in the North Atlantic Treaty.
English.
Many US national parks are experiencing high
The most suitable adjectival form is usually ‘US’. numbers of visitors during the summer season.
For work that will be presented in the United
States, use ‘U.S.’.

‘America’ and ‘American’ are acceptable in some

contexts.

‘The States’ should generally be avoided.

Normally use ‘Washington DC’, but for work that FI: Kokous järjestetään Washingtonissa.
will be presented in the United States, use EN: The meeting will be organised in Washington
‘Washington, D.C.’. DC.

United Nations

Be aware that the websites of the United Nations The World Health Assembly is WHO’s highest-level
and its agencies are inconsistent in their use of decision-making forum.
the definite article with abbreviations. You should
therefore follow the advice of the relevant
organisation’s style guide, if available.

51
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Latin abbreviations

In formal texts, avoid using abbreviations such as FI: esim.

‘etc.’ in running sentences; instead use ‘and so EN: e.g. (NOT eg.)
on’, ‘for example’, ‘for instance’ or other ways to FI: toisin sanoen
convey the idea. The abbreviation can be used in EN: i.e. (NOT ie.)
brackets.
FI: Veronalaiset pakkaukset voivat olla valmistettuja
For archaic words, see section 15 on text eri materiaaleista, esim. lasista, muovista tai
cohesion and clarity. alumiinista.
EN: Containers that are subject to the duty may be
made from a variety of materials, such as glass,
plastic or aluminium.

FI: Yrityksillä on erilaisia lainsäädäntöön perustuvia

velvollisuuksia, jotka riippuvat kyseisen yrityksen
asemasta toimitusketjussa (valmistaja, maahantuoja,
tukkukauppias jne.).
EN: Businesses have various obligations by law that
are related to the position of the company in the
supply chain (manufacturer, importer, wholesaler,
etc.).

52
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

8 Foreign words and names

Unless otherwise indicated, use the recommendations of the European
Commission’s English Style Guide and use British English.

Foreign words and phrases

Foreign words may be italicised if necessary. FI: Digitaalinen sivistys rakentuu vahvan
koulutusjärjestelmän varaan.
EN: Digital Bildung relies on a strong education
system.

However, do not italicise proper nouns and FI: Tähän asti ratkaisut ovat olleet tapauskohtaisia.
common Latin phrases such as ‘ad hoc’. EN: The arrangements have so far been of an ad
hoc nature.

Foreign names

See geographical names in section 4 Names and titles.

Always check the spelling of foreign names. It is FI: Ulkoministeri Haavisto tapaa EU:n korkean
easy to make a mistake because the Finnish edustajan Josep Borrellin.
genitive, for example, may give the wrong EN: Minister for Foreign Affairs Haavisto will meet
impression. with EU High Representative Josep Borrell. (NOT
Borrelli)

53
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Remember that foreign proper names are FI: Aleksei Uljukajev

sometimes spelled differently in English than in EN: Alexei Ulyukayev
Finnish either for historical reasons or because of
differences in transliteration and transcription FI: Koraani
systems. EN: Qur’an; Quran
NOT Koran

FI: al-Qaida
EN: Al-Qaida
NOT al-Qaida; al-Gu’ida; al-Qaeda; Al-Qaeda

Always check the way the person in question FI: Jasser Arafat
spells their name. EN: Yasser Arafat

FI: Sergei Lavrov

EN: Sergei Lavrov

FI: Volodymyr Zelenskyi

EN: Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Bear in mind that the transliteration of historical FI: Nikolai Bobrikov toimi tuolloin Suomen
names may deviate from current standards in kenraalikuvernöörinä.
both Finnish and English. EN: At the time, Nikolay Bobrikov served as Russian
Governor-General in Finland.

54
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

9 Parts of speech
Unless otherwise indicated, use the recommendations of the European
Commission’s English Style Guide and use British English.

Nouns: denominalise in English whenever possible

English often uses verbs where Finnish prefers FI: Tämän tutkimuksen toimeksiannossa tilattiin
nouns. olemassa olevien toimintamallien kehittämisanalyysi.
EN: This study was commissioned to create an
See also section 15 on text cohesion and clarity. analysis of existing procedures.
EN: This study was commissioned to analyse
existing procedures.
EN: This study analyses existing procedures.

Nouns: inanimate agents

A non-living thing can perform an action. Figure 13 illustrates …

Our results indicate …
The meeting decided …

Verbs: tense

Tense use often differs between Finnish and FI: Muutosprosessi on ollut käynnissä vuosina
English. 2004–2007.
EN: The process was under way between 2004 and
2007.

FI: Ministeri Virtanen on ollut ministerinä 2 000

päivää huomenna tiistaina 13. syyskuuta.
EN: Tomorrow, on Tuesday 13 September, Minister
Virtanen will have served 2,000 days as a minister.

55
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Verbs: active/passive voice

Finnish uses passive constructions more FI: Ulkoministeriön suurlähetystöissä ja

commonly than English. You can often change konsulaateissa kirjattiin vuonna 2016 noin 55 000
the Finnish passive into the active voice in konsulipalvelua.
English. Use the passive voice sparingly or when EN: In 2016, the Foreign Ministry’s diplomatic and
there is a good reason to do so. consular missions abroad handled about 55,000
requests for consular service.

Pronouns

Be careful with the pronoun ‘we’ in translations FI: Keskustelimme asiasta pääministerin kanssa.
from Finnish. If you say ‘we discussed the matter EN: I discussed the matter with the Prime Minister.
with the prime minister’, it means that you and EN: The Prime Minister and I discussed the matter.
someone else discussed the matter with the
prime minister.

Article use with job titles

Do not use an article before the job title if it is the FI: Kokoukseen osallistui valtiovarainministeri Matti
official capitalised title and precedes the person’s Vanhanen.
name. The title and name are considered a single EN: The meeting was attended by Minister of
unit with no commas. Finance Matti Vanhanen.

Use a definite article before the job title and a FI: Kokoukseen osallistui valtiovarainministeri Matti
comma after it if you are giving the person’s Vanhanen.
name as additional information. EN: The meeting was attended by the Minister of
Finance, Matti Vanhanen.

56
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

10 Lists
Unless otherwise indicated, use the recommendations of the European
Commission’s English Style Guide and use British English.

Clarity

Lists and bullet points add to clarity. See section 11 of the European
Commission’s English Style Guide for detailed instructions.

However, in slide presentations, minimise punctuation:

• Introduce the list

• Try to keep bullet items short
• Do not use punctuation marks at the end of bullet points (except
for full stop after the last item)
• Avoid too many bullet points in a list; if the list is long, split it up
into sub-groups, each with an introduction.

Harmonisation

In general, follow the examples of lists given in section 11 of the European

Commission’s English Style Guide. Harmonise the first word in lists. Use
either infinitives, gerunds or nouns. Do not mix them.

Example using infinitives

The project’s objectives are to:

• improve traffic safety;

• reduce traffic deaths;
• enhance the prevention of traffic crime.

Example using gerunds

The project aims at:

• improving traffic safety;

• reducing traffic deaths;
• enhancing the prevention of traffic crime.

57
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Example using nouns

The project’s aims are:

• better traffic safety;

• fewer traffic deaths;
• improved prevention of traffic crime.

58
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

11 Legal language
The main source for translations of specific pieces of legislation is Finlex. The
main source for EU legislation is EUR-Lex. Specific guidance for translating
Finnish legislation into English is provided in the publication Säädösten
kääntäminen englanniksi ja valtiosopimusten suomentaminen. See Appendix
3 Useful links for a list of Finnish legal language glossaries and guidance.

Unless otherwise indicated, use the recommendations of the European

Commission’s English Style Guide and use British English.

Names of acts and decrees

The names of Finnish acts and decrees should FI: laki henkilötietojen käsittelystä rikosasioissa ja
be written in title case in English. kansallisen turvallisuuden ylläpitämisen yhteydessä
EN: Act on the Processing of Personal Data in
Criminal Matters and in Connection with Maintaining
National Security

FI: valtioneuvoston asetus vaarallisten aineiden

kuljetuksesta
EN: Government Decree on the Transport of
Dangerous Goods

However, use the lower case for the names of FI: Hallitus on antanut eduskunnalle 21. toukokuuta
acts and decrees that have not yet been enacted. esityksen laiksi väliaikaisista toimenpiteistä
välineellistetyn maahantulon torjumiseksi.
EN: The Government submitted a proposal to
Parliament for an act on temporary measures to
combat instrumentalised migration on 21 May.

59
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Parts of Finnish statutes

Statutes are divided into sections. Sections may FI: Sen lisäksi, mitä 1 luvun 2 §:n 3 momentin, 4
be divided into subsections, subsections into kohdan, a alakohdassa säädetään …
paragraphs and paragraphs into subparagraphs. EN: In addition to the provisions laid down in chapter
Sections may be grouped into chapters. In long 1, section 2, subsection 3, paragraph 4,
statutes, chapters may be grouped into parts. A subparagraph a …
section may contain one or more provisions.
FI: Painelaitelain 72 §:n mukainen …
References to provisions of Finnish law are EN: In accordance with section 72 of the Pressure
written as a list of the relevant parts of the statute Equipment Act …
separated by commas. The parts of the statute
are written in lower case.

DO NOT use the ‘pykälä’ sign §; use ‘section’

instead.

Articles in EU law

References to numbered articles in EU law are Personal data is processed in accordance with
capitalised with the subdivisions of the article in Article 6(1)(c) of the General Data Protection
brackets closed up to the number of the article. Regulation.

Annexes and appendices

In Finnish acts and decrees and in EU legislation, For further reference see Appendix III of Annex I of
use ‘Annex’ for ‘liite’ and ‘Appendix’ for ‘lisäys’ the Act.
(which is an attachment to an annex).

60
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

In other texts, use ‘appendix’ (pl. ‘appendices’) in FI: Avustuksensaaja toimittaa ulkoministeriölle
preference to ‘annex’ (pl. ‘annexes’). ohjelmaa käsittelevän vuosiraportin liitteineen
ministeriön vahvistamaan päivämäärään mennessä.
EN: The government grant recipient will submit to
the Ministry for Foreign Affairs an annual report,
including appendices, on the programme by a date
confirmed by the Ministry.

In applications and calls for proposals, the FI: Ehdotukset liitteineen säilytetään 10 vuotta
appropriate translation of ‘liitteet’ is often hankkeen päättymisen jälkeen.
‘supporting documents’. EN: The proposals and their supporting documents
are stored for 10 years after the end of the project.

61
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

12 Correspondence
Unless otherwise indicated, use the recommendations of the European
Commission’s English Style Guide and use British English.

For more detailed guidance and examples, consult ‘Useful phrases for
correspondence’ under Glossaries and guidance on the website of the Prime
Minister’s Office.

Forms of address

Use the form of address and pronouns preferred by each individual, if known.
Use ‘Ms’ rather than ‘Mrs’ or ‘Miss’, unless you know the person’s preference.
Use inclusive language. Do not use references to gender if you are writing to
someone whose gender you do not know or if you are writing to a group of
individuals of different genders.

The formality of your greeting depends on whether you are replying to an

email or letter or formulating a new one. In the first case, use the same style
as in the email or letter you are replying to. In the second case, favour a more
formal greeting. Remember that government correspondence should have a
more formal style than private correspondence.

Emails

From the point of view of the content and language used in emails, some key
cross-cultural points are worth bearing in mind:

• in some countries, emails cannot be sent to just anyone in the

organisation but should go through a particular hierarchy;
• some emails need a certain degree of formality;
• recipients may not be native English speakers or fluent in English;
• some cultures expect a preamble with a personal note;
• some countries use a direct style of communication, while other
countries prefer an indirect style.

62
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

13 Citations and references

There are different referencing systems (and variations of systems). The
choice of system is decided by the publisher. For example, the publications of
the Finnish Government use either the Harvard system or the referencing
system of the Institute for the Languages of Finland (Kotus). Whichever
system you choose, be consistent.

When translating, use the source text convention.

Unless otherwise indicated, use the recommendations of the European

Commission’s English Style Guide and use British English.

Citations

The Harvard system uses in-text citation, while the MHRA system, for
example, uses footnotes.

In-text citations are inserted in the body of the According to Aho and Sundberg (2010), Finns are
text. They consist of the name of the author or generally supportive of voting rights.
authors, the year of publication and a page
number if relevant. The results of the survey showed that Finns are
generally supportive of voting rights (Aho and
Sundberg, 2010).

When an in-text citation refers to a source with However, Mäki and others (2012) noted that young
four or more authors, use ‘and others’ in people under 25 were particularly interested in a
sentences and ‘et al.’ in brackets. bioeconomy. In contrast, people earning more than
EUR 80,000 per year showed more concern for
Finland’s position in the European Union (Forssberg
et al. 2012).

63
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

When using footnotes or endnotes, numbers It has long been argued that the Finnish sauna is the
should follow punctuation and preferably be best.1
placed at the end of a sentence.
1 John Ahonen, The Perfect Guide to Sauna (Finland
Notes should always end with a full stop. Press, 2010), pp. 36-40.

References

Full references are given in alphabetical order in a reference list at the end of
the work. Full references give full bibliographical information for all the
sources referred to in the body of the text.

The basic Harvard rule for referencing books is Ahonen, J. (2010). The Perfect Guide to Sauna.
‘Author(s) name, initials. (year). Name of book. Helsinki: Finland Press.
Place: Publisher name.’ However, publishers may
use their own variation of this basic rule.

In the Harvard system, references to non-English Ahonen, J. (2008). Sauna Suomessa. [Sauna in
books should have the original title and a Finland]. Helsinki: Finland Press.
translation of the title in square brackets.

References to online sources should include the Prime Minister’s Office (2019). English Style Guide:
date, in square brackets, on which the information A Handbook for Translators, Revisers and Authors
was accessed. Note that many organisations of Government Texts [Online]. Available at:
have their own instructions on referencing. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-287-671-3
[Accessed: 25 February 2025]

64
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

14 Inclusive language
Unless otherwise indicated, use the recommendations of the European
Commission’s English Style Guide and use British English.

Gender-neutral language

Use gender-neutral language. It is always preferable to use a term that does

not exclude anyone based on gender. We provide some guidelines below, but
it is important to keep in mind that this is a sensitive area of language that is
continually evolving.

Note that many previous translations of Finnish legislation and other

government texts have not been updated in line with the current
recommendations.

Pronouns

When a text refers to a specific individual, and you know the gender or
preferred pronouns of that person, use the appropriate pronoun. For example,
‘he’/‘him’/‘himself’, ‘she’/‘her’/‘herself’ or ‘they’/‘them’/‘themself’, which is often
preferred by non-binary people.

In contexts where the Finnish ‘hän’ covers any gender, you can use different
strategies, such as:

• changing to plural;
• repeating the noun;
• reformulating the sentence to avoid the pronoun;
• using the imperative form;
• substituting ‘the’ or ‘that’ for the possessive pronoun;
• using singular ‘they’.

Avoid:

• using multiple pronouns or forms;

• using the passive voice.

65
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

The use of ‘they’ as a singular pronoun was considered incorrect but is now
regarded as acceptable by many authoritative sources, such as the Oxford
dictionaries. However, when using the singular ‘they’, it is important to ensure
that it is clear what noun it refers to. This is particularly true when translating
legislation, which often uses complex sentence structures. When translating
legislation, we recommend exhausting the other strategies listed above before
using the singular ‘they’ unless other considerations dictate otherwise.

See Appendix 2 for examples of different strategies to use when translating

the Finnish ‘hän’.

Other bias-free language

The use of bias-free language is evolving. A good guiding principle is to

respect the terminology groups of people use to describe themselves. It is
worth noting that individuals and communities may disagree about the
preferred approach.

The two main approaches are person-first language (such as ‘people with
disabilities’) and identity-first language (such as ‘autistic people’). International
organisations, such as the UN and the EU, often use person-first language. If
you are in doubt about what kind of terminology a specific group prefers,
generally favour person-first language.

Avoid using words or group nouns that stereotype or stigmatise people or

equate them with their condition, such as ‘the elderly’, ‘the poor’, and ‘drug
addicts’.

One alternative is to use adjectival forms, such as ‘older adults’, or descriptive

phrases, such as ‘people living in poverty’ or ‘people with substance abuse
disorder’.

Examples:

FI: ikääntyvät työntekijät; ikääntyneet työntekijät

EN: ageing employees; older workers

66
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

FI: ikääntyneet; iäkkäät; vanhukset

EN: older adults; older people
NOT the elderly, elderly people

FI: vammainen; vammaiset (ihmiset); vammaiset henkilöt

EN: person with a disability; people with disabilities (person-first approach)
EN: disabled people (identity-first approach)
NOT the disabled

FI: muistisairas; muistisairaat (ihmiset); muistisairauksia sairastavat (ihmiset)

EN: person living with dementia; people with dementia

67
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

15 Text cohesion and clarity

Unless otherwise indicated, use the recommendations of the European
Commission’s English Style Guide and use British English.

Text flow

Add linking phrases when translating to improve In this context, I would like to say a few words about
cohesion in English, such as ‘once again’, ‘as the system …
regards’, ‘accordingly’, ‘for this reason’, and ‘to
this end’. Once again, I quite agree but, unfortunately, we do
not know what will happen with …

That is why I welcome the fact that, in spite of

everything, …

A range of grammar structures can make the text The National Agency for Food Safety decided to …
more interesting for the reader. Use pronouns The National Agency recommended …
(such as ‘it’, ‘this’, ‘that’, ‘those’) to refer back to The Agency looks forward to …
something mentioned earlier. Use synonyms or It proposes a more active approach …
shorter forms of names to avoid repetition.

Where appropriate, add extra information in the FI: Henkilökuntaa voi tukea liikunta- ja
target language when translating. kulttuuriedulla.
EN: Employee benefits may include an allowance
towards payments for exercise classes, event tickets
and cultural pursuits.

68
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Reverse thinking

When translating, remember that the logic of the FI: Jos sinulla on käynnistymässä tai suunnitteilla …
target language may differ from that of the EN: If you are planning or launching ...
original text. NOT If you are launching or planning …

FI: Kaikki saamamme palaute on tervetullutta ja

tärkeää.
EN: Feedback is valuable and most welcome.
NOT Feedback is welcome and valuable.

FI: Yhdessä ratkotaan ja pohditaan asioita.

EN: We deliberate and solve things together.
NOT We solve things and deliberate together.

FI: päätöksenteko ja valmistelu

EN: preparation and decision-making
NOT decision-making and preparation

End focus

It is common in English for the most important The final report of the working group for accessibility
information in a sentence to be placed at the end. to art and culture set the reinforcement of the
cultural rights of linguistic, cultural and disabled
minorities as a special goal.
NOT The reinforcement of the cultural rights of
linguistic, cultural and disabled minorities was set as
a special goal in the final report of the working group
for accessibility to art and culture.

69
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Theme

Start sentences with the theme of the sentence, FI: Kokouksen aloitusta lykättiin ongelmien vuoksi.
especially with longer structures. This also EN: Because of the problems, the start of the
applies to headings and slogans. meeting was postponed.
NOT The start of the meeting was postponed
because of the problems.

FI: Parempaa arkea hyvillä käytännöillä

EN: Good habits and practices for better living
NOT A better life through good habits and practices

English sentences usually start with shorter The real problem was the relatively poor turnout in
structures. Longer structures should be placed the 2014 European elections in many countries and
after the verb. the Eurosceptic attitudes of many of the candidates.
NOT The relatively poor turnout in the 2014
European elections in many countries and the
Eurosceptic attitudes of many of the candidates was
the real problem.

Noun stacking

Noun phrases made of four or more words can be For example, ‘Finnish data user communication
ambiguous and often need to be broken up for needs’ could mean:
the sake of clarity. Consult the writer if the a) the needs of Finnish data user communication;
meaning is unclear. b) Finnish needs for data user communication;
c) the communication needs of Finnish users of
data;
d) the communication needs of users of Finnish
data.

70
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Noun-heavy sentences can usually be improved FI: Tämän tutkimuksen toimeksiannossa tilattiin
by replacing some of the nouns with verbs. olemassa olevien toimintamallien kehittämisanalyysi.
English often uses verbs where Finnish uses EN: This study was commissioned to analyse
nouns. existing procedures.
EN: This study analyses existing procedures.
NOT This study was commissioned for the creation
of an analysis of existing procedures.

Archaic words

Avoid using archaic words, such as ‘thereafter’, in that; there (NOT therein)
‘therein’, ‘aforementioned’, ‘insofar as’, ‘albeit’, then; afterwards (NOT thereafter)
‘thus’, ‘lest’, ‘herein’, etc. therefore (NOT thus)

this report; that report; the report (NOT

aforementioned report)
NOTE: in some cases, the word ‘said’ might be
appropriate (e.g. said report).

Also avoid using Latin phrases and abbreviations, daily allowance (NOT per diem allowance)
such as ‘inter alia’, ‘i.a.’, ‘per se’, ‘per diem’, etc.

In EU contexts, ‘inter alia’ and ‘i.a.’ are

acceptable in quoted material.

Subject-verb agreement

Usually a singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a
plural verb. However, sometimes a singular subject may take a plural verb, or
a plural subject may take a singular verb.

71
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

A singular subject may take a plural verb when The police have responded to the situation.
the subject is considered to consist of many
individuals or parts.

A singular subject may take a plural verb when A record number of asylum seekers have left for
the emphasis is on a particular element of the their home country/countries.
noun phrase (e.g. emphasis on ‘asylum seekers’
rather than ‘number’ in the noun phrase ‘record
number of asylum seekers’).

A plural subject may take a singular verb when The Finnish Defence Forces is responsible for
the subject is considered to be a single entity. safeguarding territorial integrity.

Finnish Customs is responsible for the supervision of

export sanctions. (NOT The Finnish Customs)

Hyphenation

Do not use automatic hyphenation nor use hyphens to break words at the end
of a line.

Lists in a sentence

Lists are easier to read if they have a harmonised The objectives are to emphasise a comprehensive
structure. approach to conflict prevention, further develop the
participation in the programme and strengthen the
crisis management capacity.
NOT The objectives are emphasising a
comprehensive approach to conflict prevention, to
further develop the participation in the programme
and the strengthening of crisis management
capacity.

72
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Avoiding repetition

Use synonyms to avoid repetition. EN: The Ministry safeguards balanced economic
policy based on sustainable growth. It also ensures
prudent management of public finances and secures
sound fiscal policy.
NOT The Ministry ensures balanced economic policy
based on sustainable growth. The Ministry also
ensures prudent management of public finances.
Moreover, the Ministry ensures sound fiscal policy.

You can often rework a sentence in English to FI: Perheenyhdistämiselle asetettujen esteiden
avoid repetition present in the Finnish text. poistaminen edistää hallituksen ihmis- ja
perusoikeuspolitiikkaa sekä perhemyönteistä
politiikkaa.
EN: Removing barriers to family reunification
promotes the Government’s policies on human rights
and fundamental rights and on a family-friendly
society.

73
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

16 Speeches
Unless otherwise indicated, use the recommendations of the European
Commission’s English Style Guide and use British English.

For more detailed guidance and examples, consult ‘Useful phrases for
speeches’ under Glossaries and guidance on the website of the Prime
Minister’s Office.

Standard format for speeches

Speeches in English generally use the following format, but you may need to
adjust it to fit the particular audience or occasion:

• greeting;
• brief opening words after the greeting;
• short introduction of the topic that provides an overview of what
will be covered;
• structured body setting out the main points (3 to 5) and subpoints;
• short conclusion of the speech.

Greeting the audience

At the beginning of your speech, greet your audience. The formality of your
greeting will depend on the nature of the event. Favour gender-neutral
greetings, where possible.

• Formal: Honourable Members of Parliament, …;

• Less formal: Dear parliamentary colleagues, …;
• Informal: Dear friends, …

When ‘Hyvät kuulijat’ is used in the middle of a speech in Finnish, in English

consider other ways of signposting instead of ‘Ladies and gentlemen’ or ‘Dear
friends’, such as ‘and’, ‘next’, ‘at this point’ or ‘in addition’.

Readability

To ensure easy readability for the speaker, avoid

74
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

• words and sentences that are too long;

• words that may be difficult to pronounce;
• expressions that may cause the speaker to stumble or hesitate.

For example, ‘university fees’ may be easier to pronounce than ‘tuition fees’.
Instead of ‘digitalisation’, consider using ‘digital transformation’. ‘Half a million
euros’ is easier to read out loud than ‘EUR 0.5 million’.

75
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

17 Press releases and news items

Unless otherwise indicated, use the recommendations of the European
Commission’s English Style Guide and use British English.

Embargo

The publication of a press release may be FI: Julkaistavissa 14.9. klo 14.00
embargoed. EN: Embargoed until 14.00 on 14 September

FI: Julkaisuvapaa VN:n istunnon jälkeen

EN: Embargoed until after the government session

Muutosvarauksin

When a speech is published, ‘muutosvarauksin’ FI: muutosvarauksin

means that the written speech may differ from the EN: check against delivery
actual speech delivered. NOT subject to change

In a programme for an event, ‘muutosvarauksin’ FI: muutosvarauksin

means that the organiser reserves the right to EN: subject to change
make changes to the programme.

Joint press release

If a Finnish press release is headed ‘Ministeriö X FI: Ministeriö X ja ministeriö Y tiedottavat

ja ministeriö Y tiedottavat’, translate the heading EN: Ministry X, Ministry Y
as a list of the ministries, separated by commas. NOT Press release by Ministry X and Ministry Y;
Joint press release by Ministry X and Ministry Y
The same applies to joint press releases of a
ministry and a government agency.

76
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Headline

Press release headlines in English should be written in a style that

emphasises clarity, brevity and impact. Headlines follow different grammatical
conventions to the body of the text. It is also worth noting that the conventions
for Finnish and English headlines sometimes differ. See below for examples.

Press release headlines have different tenses in FI: Ministeri Tiilikainen Algeriaan
English and in Finnish. Use the infinitive to refer EN: Minister Tiilikainen to visit Algeria
to upcoming events. Use the simple present to NOT Minister Tiilikainen to Algeria
refer to past events.
FI: Ministeri Tiilikainen vieraili Algeriassa
EN: Minister Tiilikainen visits Algeria
NOT Minister Tiilikainen visited Algeria

Headlines in Finnish sometimes omit the verb. In FI: Mikko Savola puolustusministeriksi
English you need one. This is particularly EN: Mikko Savola appointed Minister of Defence
common in headlines announcing appointments. EN: Mikko Savola appointed to serve as Minister of
Defence

FI: Sanna Suomalainen pääministerin poliittiseksi

erityisavustajaksi 17. kesäkuuta
EN: Sanna Suomalainen to serve as Special Adviser
to Prime Minister from 17 June

Headlines written in Finnish in the passive voice FI: Suojelupoliisin toimintaa koskeva sisäministeriön
often work better in English in the active voice. selvitys on valmistunut
EN: Ministry of the Interior publishes report on
Finnish Security and Intelligence Service

FI: Selvitys väestöpoliittisista haasteista ja

mahdollisuuksista julkaistu
EN: New report explores demographic challenges
and opportunities

77
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Do not start a headline with an article and avoid FI: Ympäristöministeriö selvitti muovien käyttöä
using articles in headlines in general unless part rakennuksissa
of a proper name. EN: Ministry of the Environment investigates use of
plastics in buildings

However, when a headline includes a quote, do FI: Pääministeri Marin huippukokouksessa: EU:n ja
not put the quote in headline style. Länsi-Balkanin yhtenäisyys on tärkeämpää kuin
koskaan
EN: Prime Minister Marin at summit: Unity of the EU
and the Western Balkans is more important than
ever before

Location

When writing for an international audience, it may FI: Valtioneuvosto kannattaa sopimuksen tekemistä
be necessary to add a reference to Finland for EU:n ja Interpolin välille
clarity. EN: Finnish Government supports negotiations for
EU–Interpol agreement

In press releases that mention officials or FI: Slovenian ulkoministeri Tanja Fajon vierailee
organisations of more than one country, it is often Suomessa 30.1. ja tapaa ulkoministeri Elina
helpful to repeat the relevant country in the text. Valtosen.
EN: Slovenian Minister of Foreign and European
Affairs Tanja Fajon will visit Finland on 30 January
and meet Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina
Valtonen.

FI: Sopimuksen allekirjoittivat 4. huhtikuuta

valtiovarainministeri Annika Saarikko ja Ranskan
suurlähettiläs Agnès Cukierman.
EN: The treaty was signed on 4 April by Finnish
Minister of Finance Annika Saarikko and French
Ambassador Agnès Cukierman.

78
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Abbreviations

As a rule, spell out acronyms and initialisms when FI: Maailman terveysjärjestö WHO on julistanut
first mentioned and give the abbreviation in globaalin terveyshätätilan.
brackets, unless they are well known (e.g. ‘EU’, EN: The World Health Organization (WHO) has
‘NATO’). declared a public health emergency of international
concern.

‘EU’, ‘UN’ and ‘UK’ can be used as abbreviations FI: Britannian Eurooppa-asioiden ministeri vierailee
in headlines. Helsingissä
EN: UK Minister of State for Europe to visit Helsinki

‘9/11’ is so well known as shorthand for the FI: Ulkoministeri Tuomioja kunnioitti syyskuun 11.
attacks on 11 September 2001 that it can be used päivän uhreja
in headlines. In text, it can be written out as EN: Finnish Foreign Minister Tuomioja
‘September 11’. commemorates victims of 9/11

Quotations

Always use double quotation marks with quoted Minister Korhonen said: “Today’s meeting went well.
speech. The Committee will announce its conclusions on
Thursday.”

“I, too, have encouraged them to pursue this,” said

Prime Minister Juha Sipilä.

When attributing direct quotes, use ‘said’ or ‘says’ FI: “Tämä on vakava asia”, ympäristöministeri
even if the Finnish uses other verbs (e.g. ‘korosti’, korosti.
‘totesi’, ‘painotti’). EN: “This is a serious matter,” said the Minister of
the Environment.

79
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

When writing in English, put the punctuation FI: ”Hitaan kasvun saaminen vauhtiin vaatii uusia
before the closing quotation mark. keinoja”, pääministeri sanoi.
EN: “We need new tools to boost slow growth,” said
the Prime Minister.

Titles

In press releases, when the Finnish gives several FI: oikeustieteen maisteri, kansanedustaja,
titles, use only one title, usually the most pertinent hallitusneuvos Matti Meikäläinen
one. EN: Matti Meikäläinen, Senior Ministerial Adviser

Repetition of name and title

Avoid excessive repetition of a name and title by Minister of the Interior Pekka Jokinen will travel to …
varying the references to the person in question. Minister Jokinen will hold meetings with …
Jokinen also intends to …
He will return on …

Academic qualifications

In press releases concerning new appointments, FI: Valtiotieteiden maisteri Juha Korhonen on
the person’s academic qualifications may be torstaina 24.11.2019 nimitetty osastojohtajaksi.
given and should normally be translated. EN: On Thursday 24 November 2019, Juha
Korhonen, M.Soc.Sc., was appointed Director
General.

Age

If the age of a person is mentioned, it is normally FI: Tehtävään nimitettiin 38-vuotias Matti Virtanen.
expressed without the word ‘years’. EN: Matti Virtanen, 38, was appointed to the post.

80
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Lausuntopyyntö, lausuntokierros

Ministries can consult interest groups and the FI: lausuntopyyntö

public on draft proposals by issuing a EN: request for comments
‘lausuntopyyntö’ (request for comments). This
process is called a ‘lausuntokierros’ (consultation FI: lausuntokierros
round). EN: consultation round; public consultation; targeted
consultation
Consultation rounds are either public or targeted.
Public consultations are published on the FI: lähettää lausuntokierrokselle
Government’s consultation service at EN: send out for comments; circulate for comments
lausuntopalvelu.fi.
FI: Liikenne- ja viestintäministeriö pyytää lausuntoja
luonnoksesta hallituksen esitykseksi, jolla
muutettaisiin liikenteen palveluista annetun lain
tietosääntelyä.
EN: The Ministry of Transport and Communications
requests comments on a draft government proposal
for amending certain provisions on data in the Act on
Transport Services.

Online government services

Some online government services are available in FI: Hankeikkuna

English and have an established English name. EN: Gateway to Information on Government Projects

FI: Valtioneuvoston yhteinen julkaisuarkisto Valto;

Julkaisuarkisto Valto
EN: Institutional Repository for the Government
(Valto); Institutional Repository (Valto)

FI: Valtioneuvoston termipankki Valter

EN: Finnish Government Termbank Valter

81
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

When the service is not available in English, use FI: Lausuntopalvelu.fi:

the Finnish name and add an explanation in EN: Lausuntopalvelu.fi (public consulation service):
English.
FI: Lausuntoja voivat antaa kaikki organisaatiot ja
kansalaiset osoitteessa www.lausuntopalvelu.fi.
EN: Organisations and private individuals are invited
to comment using the public consultation service at
www.lausuntopalvelu.fi.

Lisätietoja

Translate ‘Lisätietoja’ as ‘Inquiries’ when followed FI: Lisätietoja:

by contact details. EN: Inquiries:

When ‘Lisätietoja’ is followed by links to related FI: Lisätietoja:

material, choose the alternative best suited to the EN: Read more:
context. EN: More information:
EN: Useful links:

FI: Lisätietoja kokouksesta:

EN: More information about the meeting:

Contact details

In the contact details at the foot of a press FI: Hallitusneuvos Tiina Turtiainen, sisäministeriö,
release, the job title comes after the person’s puh. 0295 123 456
name. EN: Tiina Turtiainen, Senior Ministerial Adviser,
Ministry of the Interior, tel. +358 295 123 456

FI: sisäministerin erityisavustaja Sanna

Suomalainen, puh. 050 123 4567
EN: Sanna Suomalainen, Special Adviser to the
Minister of the Interior, tel. +358 50 123 4567

82
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

If the subject matter is included in contact details, FI: Erityisasiantuntija Matti Meikäläinen
write the subject matter in brackets after the (viisumiasiat), puh. 0295 123 425
person’s job title. EN: Matti Meikäläinen, Senior Specialist (visas), tel.
+358 295 123 425

Remember to add country code in the phone FI: puh. 0295 123 456
number. EN: tel. +358 295 123 456
NOT tel. +358 (0) 295 123 456

Use the same email address formatting as in the FI: [email protected]

Finnish. EN: [email protected]
FI: etunimi.sukunimi(at)gov.fi
EN: firstname.lastname(at)gov.fi

In general, do not translate email addresses that FI: kirjaamo(at)gov.fi

use the name of a function. EN: kirjaamo(at)gov.fi
NOT registry(at)gov.fi

Sometimes advice is given on the formatting of FI: Valtioneuvoston sähköpostiosoitteet ovat muotoa
email addresses. Use the phrase ‘The email [email protected].
addresses of the [ministry] are in the format EN: The email addresses of the Finnish Government
[email protected].’ are in the format [email protected].

83
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

18 Social media and video content

Unless otherwise indicated, use the recommendations of the European
Commission’s English Style Guide and use British English.

Social media platforms

Consult the platform in question to check permitted character lengths and

other rules or practices.

For more detailed guidance and examples, consult ‘Government Guidelines

on Translating and Writing for Twitter’ under Glossaries and guidance on the
website of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Write in a friendly but professional tone, maintain The EU is a key player in global trade. Why is free &
standard British English. A conversational tone is fair trade so important? What benefits does it bring
easier to understand, but avoid going overboard. to the EU, its citizens & businesses? Discover the
story now: [LINK]

Write in the active voice and avoid the passive The committee will announce the winners.
voice. You can use the generic ‘you’, but do not
use ‘one’. Use the singular ‘they’ instead of the The freedom to roam means you can forage for
generic ‘he’ or ‘she’, or make the structure plural. chanterelles fresh from the forest.

Workers who earn less money are less likely to seek

medical help when they feel sick.

To keep the post short, you can omit articles, use FI: Pääministeri Orpon johtama talousneuvosto
abbreviations (such as ‘PM’, ‘e.g.’, ‘Mon–Tue’, kokoontui ensimmäistä kertaa
‘EU’) and devise compact expressions that may EN: PM Orpo chairs first Economic Council meeting
not otherwise be appropriate outside social
media.

84
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

When translating a post, keep the meaning as FI: Suomi pyrkii YK:n ihmisoikeusneuvoston
close as possible to the original, while also jäseneksi kaudelle 2022–2024. Pääministeri Sanna
making the translated post easy to read and Marin puhui Suomen YK:n
understand. ihmisoikeusneuvostokampanjan
avajaistilaisuudessa.
Be concise: use short words and sentences and EN: Finland is a candidate for the UN Human Rights
avoid unnecessary modifiers. Council for 2022–2024. Prime Minister
@MarinSanna spoke at the #FIforHRC campaign
opening

Blogs

Remember that blogs are informal in style and designed to be readily

understood by readers. Use of overly formal language and bureaucratic and
jargonistic terminology should usually be avoided or kept to a minimum.

Video texts

Texts that are designed to be read in association with a video (e.g. for
YouTube or other purposes) are usually subject to time and space constraints.
They should therefore be concisely written and checked against the video for
relevance and consistency.

85
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

19 Government and administration

Unless otherwise indicated, use the recommendations of the European
Commission’s English Style Guide and use British English.

Valtio

‘Valtio’ can be translated in a number of different ways depending on the

context, for example:

• state;
• country;
• the name of the country;
• central government;
• government;
• the Government;
• the Finnish Government;
• the Government of Finland.

See examples below:

Translate ‘valtio’ as ‘state’ when referring to a FI: Tiedot saadaan luovuttaa ainoastaan, jos
nation or territory considered as an organised asianomainen valtio varmistaa riittävän tietosuojan
political community under one government. tason.
EN: Data may only be disclosed if the state in
When translating ‘valtio’ as ‘state’, generally use question ensures an adequate level of data
lower case, but capitalise when it could be protection.
replaced by the name of a country.
state-owned enterprise; state aid; state funding
NOT State-owned enterprise; State aid; State
funding

BUT the State of Finland

86
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

While ‘state’ and ‘country’ are essentially FI: Filippiinit on noin 7 100 saaresta muodostuva
synonyms, ‘country’ is often a better translation valtio Etelä-Kiinan meren ja Tyynen valtameren
when ‘valtio’ means a territory defined in välisellä alueella.
geographical, cultural and economic terms. EN: The Philippines is a country consisting of about
7,100 islands between the South China Sea and the
Pacific Ocean.

FI: Periaate on, että verot maksetaan siihen valtioon,

jonne ne liiketoiminnan perusteella kuuluu maksaa.
EN: The principle is that taxes are paid to the
country where they are due based on the business
carried out.

Sometimes you can use the name of the country. FI: Lisäksi koordinoimme valtion luottoluokituksen
liittyviä asioita.
EN: We also coordinate matters relating to Finland’s
credit rating.

Translate ‘valtio’ as ‘central government’ when FI: valtion henkilöstöstrategia

referring to the level of government (central, EN: Central Government Human Resources
regional, municipal). Central government Strategy
comprises the ministries and the agencies and
institutes operating under them.

Translate ‘valtio’ as ‘government’ (lower case) FI: Suomen ja Ruotsin hallitukset kokoontuivat
when referring to one or more governments in Tukholmassa.
general. EN: The governments of Finland and Sweden met in
Stockholm.

FI: Kampanjassa jo mukana olevat valtiot ja

yritykset: …
EN: The following governments and companies have
joined the campaign so far: …

87
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Translate ‘valtio’ as ‘the Government’ when FI: Valtio on erilaisin tukitoimenpitein pyrkinyt
referring to the current sitting Government. lieventämään kriisin haittoja talouteen.
EN: The Government sought to reduce the
detrimental economic impact of the crisis through
various support measures.

FI: Velkaantumisen ja epäsuorien vastuiden kasvun

myötä valtion liikkumavara on viime vuosina
heikentynyt.
EN: The growing debt burden and increase in
implicit liabilities have weakened the Government’s
room for manoeuvre in recent years.

Translate ‘valtio’ as ‘the Finnish Government’ or FI: Sekä Suomen valtio että alueviranomaiset niin
‘the Government of Finland’ when you need to Ruotsin kuin Suomen puolella ovat tukeneet
make it clear you are referring to Finland’s current vuodesta 2010 Vaasan ja Uumajan välistä
sitting Government. matkustajaliikennettä.
EN: The Finnish Government and regional
authorities in both Sweden and Finland have
subsidised passenger traffic between Vaasa and
Umeå since 2010.

FI: Valtiolla on velvollisuus ryhtyä kaikkiin tarvittaviin

toimiin vastaavien loukkausten ennalta estämiseksi
tulevaisuudessa.
EN: The Finnish Government is obliged to take all
necessary measures to prevent similar violations in
the future.

88
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Valtioneuvosto, hallitus

‘Valtioneuvosto’ has two meanings. On the one hand, it is the body which
convenes for the general governing of the country, consisting of the prime
minister and other ministers. This is also the meaning of ‘hallitus’. On the
other hand, ‘valtioneuvosto’ is the decision-making body of governmental and
administrative matters consisting of the government plenary session and the
ministries.

Translate ‘valtioneuvosto’ and ‘hallitus’ as ‘the FI: Hallitus antoi keväällä 2009 eduskunnalle
Government’ or ‘the Finnish Government’ or, in a selonteon Itämeri-politiikka. Koska sen tavoitteet
general sense, ‘government’. DO NOT translate ovat jo monelta osin toteutuneet, valtioneuvosto
‘hallitus’ as ‘Cabinet’. päätti selonteon päivittämisestä.
EN: In spring 2009, the Government submitted to
Parliament a report entitled Baltic Sea Policy. As
many of its objectives have already been achieved,
the Government decided to update the report.

Capitalise ‘Government’ when it refers to the FI: Ruotsin hallitus

‘valtioneuvosto’ or ‘hallitus’ of a given country or EN: Government of Sweden
when it is the head noun in the phrase.
FI: hallitusohjelma
EN: the Government Programme

NOTE: while ‘hallitusohjelma’ translates as FI: pääministeri Petteri Orpon hallituksen ohjelma
‘Government Programme’, bear in mind that it EN: Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s
actually means ‘a programme of a government’ Government
or, more precisely, ‘a programme of a prime NOT Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government
minister’s government’. It is not a programme of a Programme; Government Programme of Prime
prime minister. Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government

89
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Write ‘government’ in lower case when it is used FI: hallituksen esitys

as a generic word or as a modifier. EN: government proposal

NOTE: ‘Suomen valtio’ can also be translated as FI: valtioneuvoston periaatepäätös

‘the Finnish Government’ or ‘the Government of EN: government resolution
Finland’ (see under Valtio above).
FI: valtioneuvoston selonteko
EN: government report

FI: valtioneuvoston toiminnan kehittäminen

EN: development of government functions

BUT
FI: hallituspuolueet
EN: Government parties

Julkinen hallinto, julkishallinto

‘Julkinen hallinto’ or ‘julkishallinto’ is a wider concept referring to central,

regional and local government together and is translated as ‘public
administration’ or ‘general government’. These are not capitalised.

Translate ‘julkinen hallinto’ or ‘julkishallinto’ as FI: Tehokkaasti toimiva julkinen hallinto vaatii
‘public administration’ in administrative contexts. investointeja digitalisaatioon.
EN: Efficient public administration requires
investment in digitalisation.

FI: Sidosryhmätyön tavoitteena on tukea hallinnon

avoimuutta, vuorovaikutteisuutta ja julkisen
toiminnan läpinäkyvyyttä.
EN: The aim of stakeholder work is to support
openness, interaction and transparency in public
administration.

90
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

‘Julkinen hallinto’ or ‘julkishallinto’ is translated as FI: Julkishallinnon velka saa olla enintään
‘general government’ in connection with general 60 prosenttia suhteessa BKT:hen.
government finances (julkinen talous) and EN: General government debt cannot exceed
national accounts (kansantalouden tilinpito). 60 per cent of GDP.

Valtionhallinto, valtion keskushallinto

‘Valtionhallinto’ is usually translated as ‘central FI: Työ ministeriössä tarjoaa näköalapaikan

government’, though it is sometimes appropriate valtionhallintoon.
to use ‘central government administration’ or EN: Working at the Ministry provides an excellent
‘state administration’. These are not capitalised. overview of central government.

‘Valtionhallinto’ is often used in the sense of FI: valtion keskushallinto

‘valtion keskushallinto’ (i.e. the ministries and the EN: central state administration
government agencies and public bodies within
each ministry’s branch of government). FI: valtion aluehallinto
EN: regional state administration
Strictly speaking, however, in administrative
terms ‘valtionhallinto’ consist of three levels: FI: valtion paikallishallinto
central, regional and local. EN: local state administration

For more information, consult the Ministry of

Finance’s page on central government.

Paikallishallinto, kunta, hyvinvointialue

‘Paikallishallinto’ is translated as ‘local FI: paikallishallinto

government’ and refers collectively to municipal EN: local government
and county government. Note that this is an EN: local government administration (in
expansion of the previous definition in which local administrative contexts)
government referred only to municipalities.

91
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

‘Kunta’ is translated as ‘municipality’ and FI: kunta

‘kuntahallinto’ as ‘municipal government’. EN: municipality

FI: kuntahallinto
EN: municipal government
EN: municipal government administration (in
administrative contexts)
NOT local government

‘Hyvinvointialue’ is translated as ‘wellbeing FI: hyvinvointialue

services county’. The shorter form ‘county’ may EN: wellbeing services county
be used when ‘hyvinvointialue’ is repeated in the EN: county (when repeated)
same text or in compound words where Finnish NOT welfare region; wellbeing services region;
uses ‘alue-’, e.g. ‘aluevaltuusto’ is translated as welfare area; wellbeing area
‘county council’.

NOTE: ‘maakunta’ is translated as ‘region’ and

‘Ahvenanmaan maakunta’ as ‘Åland’ or more
descriptively as ‘the autonomous region of Åland’.

Hallinnonala

A ministry’s ‘hallinnonala’ consists of the ministry FI: Sisäasiainhallinnon hankintaohje

together with the agencies and public bodies EN: Procurement instructions for the Ministry of the
under its administration. Interior’s branch of government

The preferred translation of ‘hallinnonala’ is

‘branch of government’. ‘Government branch’ can
also be used instead of the older translation
‘administrative branch’ if necessary.

92
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Ulkoasiainhallinto

Foreign Service (ulkoasiainhallinto, UH) covers FI: ulkoasiainhallinto

the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (ulkoministeriö, EN: Foreign Service; the Foreign Service of Finland
UM) and the Diplomatic Service
(ulkomaanedustustot, UE), that is Finland’s FI: Ulkoasiainhallinto hoitaa konsuli-, passi- ja
diplomatic and consular missions abroad. maahantulo- lupapalvelut.
EN: The Foreign Service is responsible for consular,
In lower case, foreign service refers to foreign passport and entry permit services.
service in general or foreign service of a given
country.

NOTE: the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is also

known as the Foreign Ministry

Edustusto

The Finnish ‘edustusto’ translates as ‘mission’ or FI: Ennakkoäänestyspaikkoina toimivat Suomen

‘representation’. The plural ‘edustustot’ usually edustustot ja niiden toimipaikat.
translates as ‘diplomatic and consular missions’. EN: Finland’s diplomatic and consular missions and
their offices will serve as advance polling stations
The most common types of missions are abroad.
diplomatic missions, permanent missions (or
representations) and consular missions.

Diplomatic missions represent one state in

another, while permanent missions represent a
member state in an international organisation.
Consular missions refer to consulates, headed by
a career official, or honorary consulates, led by
an honorary consul.

93
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Embassy (suurlähetystö) usually refers to the FI: Suomen Belgian suurlähetystö

building occupied by the offices of a diplomatic EN: Embassy of Finland to Belgium
mission headed by an ambassador, although it
may be used as a synonym for such a diplomatic
mission. Consult the list of Finland’s missions
abroad.

The names of permanent missions to FI: Suomen pysyvä edustusto YK:ssa

international organisations vary. Always check EN: Permanent Mission of Finland to the UN
the mission’s name on their website or consult
the list of Finland’s missions to international FI: Suomen pysyvä edustusto Euroopan unionissa
organisations. EN: Permanent Representation of Finland to the
European Union

Valtion talousarvio

‘Valtion talousarvio’ or ‘valtion budjetti’ should be FI: valtion talousarvio; valtion budjetti
translated as ‘the Budget’. In certain contexts, it EN: the Budget
may be translated as the ‘central government
budget’ or the ‘national budget’. FI: Tutkimuslaitosten T&K-toiminnan rahoitus on
valtaosin valtion talousarviosta myönnettyjä
DO NOT use ‘state budget’ or ‘State budget’. määrärahoja.
EN: R&D funding for research institutes mainly
consists of appropriations from the national budget.

Bear in mind that ‘talousarvioehdotus’ is FI: talousarvioehdotus; budjettiehdotus

submitted by a ministry to the Ministry of Finance, EN: draft budget (of the ministry and its branch of
while ‘talousarvioesitys’ is given by the government)
Government to Parliament. Be aware that
ministries sometimes mistakenly use FI: talousarvioesitys; budjettiesitys
‘talousarvioesitys’ when they should use EN: budget proposal
‘talousarvioehdotus’.

94
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Ministeri

‘Ministeri’ can mean a government minister or it can be an honorary title. See

section 4 Names and titles for advice on government ministers or consult
‘Ministerit ja ministeriöt’ under Glossaries and Guidance on the website of the
Prime Minister’s Office.

Use ‘former government minister’ if the person FI: entinen ministeri

referred to is no longer a government minister EN: former government minister; former minister
and does not hold the honorary title of ‘ministeri’.

Some former government ministers have been FI: Pohjoismaiset yhteistyöministerit keskustelevat
awarded the honorary title of ‘ministeri’. While as ministeri Jan-Erik Enestamilta tilatusta strategisesta
a rule honory titles are not translated, ‘ministeri’ selvityksestä.
can be translated as ‘minister’. EN: Ministers for Nordic Cooperation will discuss the
strategy report compiled by Minister Jan-Erik
Enestam.

Presidentti

‘Presidentti’ can refer to the sitting president or be used as the honorary title of
a former president.

The official title of the current president is FI: Suomen tasavallan presidentti; tasavallan
‘President of the Republic of Finland’. The shorter presidentti; presidentti
forms ‘President of the Republic’ and ‘President’ EN: President of the Republic of Finland; President
can also be used. of the Republic; President

When referring to former presidents, use ‘former FI: Kokoukseen osallistuu Presidentti Tarja Halonen.
President of Finland’ after the name. EN: The meeting will be attended by Tarja Halonen,
former President of Finland.

95
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Virkahenkilö, virkamies

‘Virkahenkilö’ or ‘virkamies’ is usually translated FI: Henkilötietoja pääsevät käsittelemään sivuston

as ‘public official’ (NOT ‘civil servant’ or ‘public ylläpidosta vastaavat virkahenkilöt.
servant’). EN: Personal data can be processed by public
officials responsible for maintaining the website
In some cases, ‘government official’, ‘state
official’, ‘public official in central government’ may
be appropriate.

Viranomainen, viranomaiset

‘Viranomainen’ or ‘viranomaiset’ is usually FI: Oikeusministeriö neuvoo muita viranomaisia

translated as one of the following depending on säädösvalmistelun kuulemiseen liittyvissä
the context: the authorities, public authorities, the kysymyksissä.
authority for x, the x authority, government EN: The Ministry of Justice advises other authorities
authorities. in questions related to the consultation practices in
law drafting processes.

FI: Valtioneuvoston asetuksella säädetään

viranomaisesta, jolle vaatimus osoitetaan.
EN: Provisions on the authority to which the demand
shall be addressed are issued by government
decree.

FI: Muutoksenhaku sähköturvallisuusviranomaisen

päätökseen
EN: Appealing against a decision of the Electrical
Safety Authority.

FI: Päätöksen tehnyt viranomainen on ylittänyt

toimivaltansa.
EN: The public authority that made the decision
exceeded its powers

96
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

When ‘viranomainen’ is used in a generic sense FI: Valvontaviranomainen saa käyttää rekisterin
in Finnish, it is often best translated in the plural tietoja tehtäviensä edellyttämässä laajuudessa.
in English. EN: Supervisory authorities may use the information
in the register to the extent required by their duties.

‘Toimivaltainen viranomainen’ is translated as FI: Toimivaltainen viranomainen vastaa

‘competent authority’. operatiiviseen toimintaan liittyvästä viestinnästä.
EN: The competent authority is responsible for
communications related to operational activities.

‘Asianomainen viranomainen’ can be translated FI: asianomainen viranomainen

as ‘relevant authority’ or ‘appropriate authority’. EN: relevant authority; appropriate authority

Puheenjohtaja, puheenjohtajuus

Translate ‘puheenjohtaja’ as ‘chair’ or EN: chair; chairperson

‘chairperson’. NOT chairman; chairwoman

John Smith, Chair of the Working Group on

Immigration Policy

The translation of ‘puheenjohtajuus’ depends on FI: puheenjohtajuus

the organisation in question. For example, the EN: presidency; chairpersonship
Council of the European Union has a
‘presidency’, while the Organization for Security FI: EU-puheenjohtaja(maa); EU-puheenjohtajuus;
and Co-operation in Europe has a EU-puheenjohtajakausi
‘chairpersonship’. Consult the website of the EN: Presidency of the Council of the European
organisation in question. Union; Presidency of the Council (of the EU);
Presidency
NOT EU Presidency; Presidency of the EU Council;
Presidency of the European Union

97
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Use a lower case ‘p’ for general references to the FI: Puheenjohtajakaudet hoidetaan kolmen
rotating presidency of an organisation, but an jäsenvaltion ryhmissä.
upper case ‘P’ for individual presidencies. EN: Member States holding the presidency work
together closely in groups of three, called trios.

Euroopan unionin toimielimet

When translating the names of EU institutions, FI: Euroopan komissio; komissio

make sure to use the correct forms in English. EN: European Commission; Commission
NOT EU Commission

FI: Euroopan parlamentti

EN: European Parliament; Parliament
NOT EU Parliament

FI: Euroopan unionin neuvosto; EU-neuvosto;

neuvosto; ministerineuvosto
EN: Council of the European Union; Council of the
EU; Council; Council of Ministers
NOT EU Council

FI: Eurooppa-neuvosto
EN: European Council
NOT Council of Europe

Euroalue

Translate ‘euroalue’ as ‘euro area’ (NOT euro zone; eurozone; Euro Area).

98
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Kolmannet maat

‘Third countries’ is used in EU texts to mean The EU negotiates and concludes international
countries outside the EU. If this is unclear from agreements both with non-EU countries and with
the context, use a more descriptive phrase, such international organisations, such as the WTO or the
as ‘non-EU countries’. UN.

Poikkihallinnollinen

‘Poikkihallinnollinen’ can be translated as ‘cross- FI: OECD:n suositukset otetaan tarkasteluun

government’ when it refers to ministries (and poikkihallinnollisessa työryhmässä.
possibly their branches of government). EN: The OECD recommendations will be examined
closely in a cross-government working group.

‘Interadministrative’ may be used to refer to FI: Valtion ja kuntien poikkihallinnollisessa

involvement of different administrative levels, yhteistyössä on tapahtunut edistystä.
regions or bodies. EN: The central government and municipalities have
made progress in interadministrative cooperation.

NOTE: ‘intersectoral’ or ‘cross-sectoral’ usually FI: Erityistä huomiota kiinnitetään alojen väliseen
refers to sectors of the economy. teknologiaan.
EN: Particular emphasis is given to cross-sectoral
technologies.

‘Horizontal’ (horisontaalinen) is best reserved for FI: Suomi on tehnyt pitkään vaikuttamistyötä sen
specific uses, e.g. the EU context. eteen, että EU:lle laaditaan horisontaalinen
sisämarkkinastrategia.
EN: Finland has long advocated for a horizontal
single market strategy for the EU.

99
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Kirjaamo (ministeriössä)

Translate ‘kirjaamo’ as ‘registry’, except when it is FI: kirjaamo

part of an email address. EN: registry

FI: ulkoministeriön kirjaamo

EN: Registry of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs

FI: kirjaamo(at)gov.fi
EN: kirjaamo(at)gov.fi
NOT registry(at)gov.fi

100
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

20 Frequently misused or
mistranslated
Unless otherwise indicated, use the recommendations of the European
Commission’s English Style Guide and use British English.

Ammattikorkeakoulu

Translate ‘ammattikorkeakoulu’ as ‘university of FI: Yliopistoissa, ammattikorkeakouluissa ja

applied sciences’. Do not use an abbreviation tutkimuslaitoksissa tehdään läpimurtoja, jotka luovat
(UAS). edellytyksiä uudelle kasvulle.
EN: Breakthroughs are made in universities, in
universities of applied sciences and in research
institutes that all lay a foundation for new growth.

Edelläkävijä

In most cases, ‘edelläkävijä’ refers to something FI: Suomi haluaa vahvistaa asemaansa tekoälyn
that is being developed now or that will be edelläkävijänä.
developed in the future and the developer is a EN: Finland wants to boost its position as a
pioneer in that field of activity or area of frontrunner in artificial intelligence.
knowledge.
FI: Suomen on oltava digitaalisen talouden
Besides ‘pioneer’, other words or phrases that edelläkävijä.
can be used include ‘leader’, ‘frontrunner’, ‘take EN: Finland must be at the forefront of the digital
the lead’, ‘be at the forefront of’. economy.

FI: Suomesta on tarkoitus kehittää puhtaan

teknologian edelläkävijä.
EN: Finland will aim at taking the lead in clean
technology.

101
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Use ‘forerunner’ only if you are referring to a past FI: Suomi on profiloitunut digitaalisten julkisten
achievement or an earlier technological palveluiden edelläkävijänä.
development or event. ‘Forerunner’ is someone EN: Finland’s profile is that of a forerunner in digital
or something that comes before. public services.

Hyvinvointi, sosiaalihuolto, terveydenhuolto

Translate ‘hyvinvointi’ as ‘wellbeing’ (NOT FI: hyvinvointipolitiikka

welfare). EN: wellbeing policy

In the Finnish context, translate ‘sosiaalihuolto’ as FI: sosiaalihuollon palvelut

‘social welfare’ (NOT social care). EN: social welfare services

Translate ‘terveydenhuolto’ as ‘healthcare’ (NOT FI: terveydenhuollon palvelut

health care). EN: healthcare services

Write ‘health’ before ‘social’ or ‘wellbeing’ even if FI: sosiaali- ja terveyspalvelut; sosiaali- ja
in Finnish they are in the opposite order. terveydenhuollon palvelut
EN: health and social services; healthcare and social
BUT use the existing names of organisations welfare services
(e.g. Ministry of Social Affairs and Health).
FI: sosiaali- ja terveydenhuolto
EN: healthcare and social welfare

FI: hyvinvoinnin ja terveyden edistäminen

EN: promotion of health and wellbeing

102
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Jatkossa, tulevaisuudessa

In Finnish, ‘jatkossa’ and ‘tulevaisuudessa’ are FI: Jatkossa viestimme ainoastaan sähköpostitse.
sometimes used interchangeably. When referring EN: From now on, we will use email for all
to an immediate change, translate ‘jatkossa’ or communication.
‘tulevaisuudessa’ as: from now on, moving
forward, in coming years, in future, or use the FI: Tulevaisuudessa erilaisia sovelluksia voidaan
future tense. suunnitella yhteistyössä.
EN: Moving forward, we will work together to design
a range of applications.

When referring to an unspecified time ahead, FI: Jatkossa palvelua laajennetaan uusilla
translate ‘jatkossa’ or ‘tulevaisuudessa’ as ‘in the tietokokonaisuuksilla.
future’. EN: In the future, the service will be expanded with
new data sets.

Kansalaiset

Finnish often uses ‘kansalaiset’ to refer to FI: Jaamme tietoa kansalaisille ja medialle sekä
anybody living in Finland. In this case, rakennamme yhteiskunnan vakautta, turvallisuutta ja
translations other than ‘citizen’ often work better: demokratiaa.
people, people in Finland, the public, members of EN: We share information with the public and the
the public, the general public. media and reinforce stability, security and
democracy in society.

In English, ‘citizen’ is a more narrow legal term FI: EU-alueella matkustusasiakirjaksi kelpaa EU:n
referring to people who have citizenship of a jäsenvaltion kansalaiselle Suomessa myönnetty
country. In contexts with legal significance, check virallinen henkilökortti.
whether ‘citizen’ or ‘national’ is the correct term. EN: An official identity card issued in Finland to a
citizen of an EU Member State is accepted as a
travel document within the EU.

FI: muut kuin EU-kansalaiset

EN: non-EU nationals

103
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Kokonaisuus

‘Kokonaisuus’ does not usually translate as FI: tutkintoon johtava kokonaisuus

‘entity’ or ‘whole’. Consider other alternatives first, EN: degree programme
such as ‘package’, ‘set’, ‘mix’, ‘unit’ or ‘part’.
FI: politiikkakokonaisuus
EN: mix of policies; set of core policies

FI: palvelukokonaisuus
EN: service package; set of services

FI: Ulkomaalaislaki on monimutkainen,

yksityiskohtainen ja laaja-alainen kokonaisuus.
EN: The Aliens Act is a complex, detailed and
extensive package of legislation.

FI: Johtaminen, viestintä ja toimiva tiedonkulku

kaikilla hallinnon tasoilla muodostavat tiiviin
kokonaisuuden.
EN: Management, communications and efficient flow
of information at all levels of government form a
close-knit unit.

You can also reformulate the sentence to leave FI: Euroopan kulttuuriympäristöpäivät on kymmenien
‘kokonaisuus’ out. tuhansien tapahtumien kokonaisuus, johon miljoonat
ihmiset osallistuvat vuosittain.
EN: The European Heritage Days consist of tens of
thousands of events attended by millions of people
every year.

104
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Lähtökohta

Depending on the context, ‘lähtökohta’ often FI: Ennakkovaikuttamisen lähtökohtana on, että
translates as: premise, principle, goal, aim, kehyksen tason tulee säilyä kohtuullisena.
approach, basis. Sometimes you can reword the EN: The main principle of Finland’s positions is that
sentence. the overall level of the framework must remain
reasonable.
Avoid overuse of ‘point of departure’ or ‘starting
point’. FI: Selonteossa avautuu myös Suomen lähtökohta
keskusteluun EU:n strategisesta autonomiasta.
EN: The report also outlines Finland’s approach to
the discussion on the EU’s strategic autonomy.

FI: Lähtökohtaisesti pyritään riskinjakoon

markkinatoimijoiden kanssa sekä hyödyntämään
EU-rahoitusvälineitä ja -riskinjakoa.
EN: The aim is to share risks with market operators
and to make use of EU financial instruments and
risk-sharing measures.

Muun muassa

‘Muun muassa’ does not always translate as FI: Pääministeri puhui mm. inflaatiosta.
‘among other things’. Sometimes it can be EN: Inflation was among the issues addressed by
omitted. the Prime Minister.

DO NOT use ‘inter alia’, ‘i.a.’ or ‘e.g.’ as a FI: Kokouksen asialistalla on muun muassa
translation for ‘muun muassa’. oikeusvaltioperiaate ja pian alkava EU:n
tulevaisuuskonferenssi.
EN: The agenda will include the rule of law and the
upcoming Conference on the Future of Europe.

105
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Ohjata, ohjaus

In government and administration, ‘ohjata’ and FI: Viranomaisia ohjataan huolehtimaan tietojen
‘ohjaus’ are used to describe a wide variety of luotettavuudesta.
activities. Depending on the context, translate EN: Authorities are given guidance and direction on
them as: guide, guidance, direct, direction, how to ensure the reliability of information.
manage, management, oversee, oversight,
coordinate, coordination or control. You can also FI: Työryhmän tehtävänä on ohjata suunnitelman
use a combination, such as ‘guidance and toimeenpanoa.
direction’. EN: The task of the working group is to oversee the
implementation of the plan.

Avoid translating ‘ohjata’ and ‘ohjaus’ as ‘steer’ FI: Päällikkö on se, joka tosiasiallisesti ohjaa tai
and ‘steering’, except for established terms (e.g. hallitsee venettä.
‘steering group’, ‘steering committee’) and when EN: The master is the person who in fact steers or
the meaning is to physically steer something such controls the watercraft.
as a vehicle.

However, use ‘steering’ when referring to FI: Valtion toteuttama hyvinvointialueiden ohjaus on
‘hyvinvointialueiden ohjaus’ conducted by strategista eli se keskittyy sosiaali- ja
government ministries. terveydenhuollon sekä pelastustoimen
järjestämistehtäviin.
DO NOT use ‘guidance’, ‘guidance and direction’ EN: Central government steering of wellbeing
or ‘governance’ as a translation of services counties is strategic in nature, focusing on
‘hyvinvointialueiden ohjaus’. the duties to organise healthcare, social welfare and
rescue services.

106
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Osuus

‘Osuus’ is not always ‘share’. In economic, FI: Tuulivoiman osuutta Suomen energiatuotannosta
financial and technical contexts, it often translates kasvatetaan.
as ‘proportion’ (a part of the whole) or ‘in relation EN: We will increase the proportion of energy
to’. produced using wind power in Finland.

FI: Tavoitellaan kohtuuhintaisen asuntotuotannon

osuuden nostamista vähintään 35 prosenttiin.
EN: The goal is to increase the proportion of
affordable housing production to at least 35 per cent.

FI: Euroopan osuus kasvihuonekaasujen

nettopäästöistä on pienentynyt viime
vuosikymmeninä.
EN: Europe’s share of net greenhouse gas
emissions has declined in recent decades.

Sometimes it is best not to translate ‘osuus’ FI: Naisten osuus hallitusjäsenistä oli 47 prosenttia.
directly, but to express it in another way. EN: Women made up 47 per cent of all board
members.

Be sure the meaning of ‘osuus’ is a proportion FI: Suomen viennin osuus on erityisen tärkeä tässä
and not a ratio. A ratio is the relation between two yhteydessä.
parts of a whole. EN: Finland’s export ratio is of particular importance
in this context.
NOTE: in Finnish texts, the word ‘osuus’ is
sometimes erroneously used for a ratio instead of FI: Julkisen velan BKT-osuus olisi noin 85 % vuonna
‘suhde’ (e.g. BKT-osuus). 2031.
EN: The ratio of public debt to GDP would be about
85 per cent in 2031.

107
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Puoliso

‘Puoliso’ is usually translated as ‘spouse’ but note FI: Puoliso täyttää kohdan B.
that this normally means a husband or wife EN: Section B should be filled in by your partner.
(aviopuoliso) and excludes unmarried couples
(avopuolisot). If the term covers both, then the
word ‘partner’ is appropriate.

Rauhanvälitys

Often ‘mediation’ is more appropriate than ‘peace FI: Suomi sitoutuu tuomaan rauhanvälityksen YK:n
mediation’ as a translation of ‘rauhanvälitys’. rauhantyön keskiöön.
EN: Finland commits to bring mediation to the core
NOTE: The Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ of UN peace work.
‘Rauhanvälityskeskus’ is called ‘Peace Mediation
Centre’.

Romanit

Translate ‘romanit’ as ‘the Roma’ and their FI: romanit

language as ‘Romani’. Do not use terms such as EN: the Roma
‘gypsy’ or ‘traveller’.
FI: romanikieli
EN: Romani language

FI: romaniasiat
EN: Roma affairs

FI: romanien oikeudet ja asema

EN: the situation and rights of the Roma

108
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Saamelaiset

In government texts, translate ‘saamelaiset’ as FI: saamelaiset

‘the Sami’ unless you are translating for an EN: the Sami; the Sami people
audience or an organisation that prefers another
spelling (‘Sámi’ or ‘Saami’). FI: saamen kieli; saamen kielet
EN: Sami; the Sami languages

FI: Saamelaiskäräjät
EN: Sámi Parliament

FI: Saamelaisten totuus- ja sovintokomissio

EN: Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Concerning the Sámi People

Sekä

Often ‘sekä’ translates as ‘and’ instead of ‘as well FI: Työryhmä keskusteli tämän vuoden
as’. talousarviosta, määrärahoista ja menoista sekä
verotuloista.
EN: The working group discussed this year’s
Budget, appropriations, expenditure and tax
revenue.

Toimija, taho

‘Toimija’ or ‘taho’ means people and/or FI: Jäsenvaltioiden on määriteltävä ja tunnistettava

organisations involved in doing something. kriittiset toimijat.
EN: The Member States must define and identify
‘Actor’ is best avoided as a translation of ‘toimija’. their critical entities.
Try instead: entity, body, party, operator, those
concerned, those involved. FI: Prosessissa sovitaan toimijoiden vastuista.
EN: The process includes agreeing on the
responsibilities of those concerned.

109
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

It is often preferable to rework the sentence, FI: Kiitän myös kaikkia niitä yksityisiä tahoja ja
perhaps by trying to identify exactly who you are henkilöitä, jotka ovat antaneet arkistojaan tämän
talking about and using that term, such as selvityksen käyttöön.
‘ministry’. EN: I would also like to thank the individuals and
private associations that provided their archives for
use in the study.

Alternatives such as ‘player’ can sometimes be FI: EU:n on oltava vahvempi geopoliittinen toimija.
used. EN: The EU must become a stronger geopolitical
player.

-tunnus

Always check how the Finnish ‘-tunnus’ is FI: henkilötunnus

translated into English in each case. EN: personal identity code

Besides ‘code’, ‘-tunnus’ could translate as ‘ID’, FI: Y-tunnus

‘logo’, ‘label’, ‘symbol’, ‘number’ or ‘credentials’. EN: business identity code; business ID

FI: Team Finland -tunnus

EN: Team Finland logo

Verrattuna

Use ‘compare to’ when you are pointing out or FI: Elintarvikkeiden kulutus kasvoi hieman vuoden
describing a resemblance with something else. takaiseen verrattuna.
EN: Food consumption increased slightly compared
to a year ago.

110
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Use ‘compare with’ when you want to draw FI: Suomessa on moneen muuhun maahan
attention to differences and similarities. verrattuna kattava teknologinen infrastruktuuri.
EN: Compared with many other countries, Finland
has a comprehensive technological infrastructure.

Vähemmän

‘Fewer’ answers how many. FI: Lapsia ja nuoria on tulevaisuudessa vähemmän

ja ikääntyneitä enemmän.
EN: In the future, there will be fewer children and
young people and more older people.

‘Less’ answers how much. FI: Kotitalouksilla on vähemmän rahaa käytettävissä.

EN: Households have less money to spend.

111
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Appendix 1 Changes to the English

Style Guide
From May 2025, the English Style Guide will be published as a PDF file under
Glossaries and guidance on the website of the Prime Minister’s Office. It will
be updated regularly.

This appendix lists the most significant changes.

Changes in May 2025

Extensive changes have been made to the layout, format and tables. The
order of presentation has been revised and new examples added.

Section headings and numbers

• Section Key points has been removed.

• Section 8 Foreign words and phrases has been renamed to
section 8 Foreign words and names
• Section 14 Gender-neutral and bias-free language has been
renamed to section 14 Inclusive language.
• Section 17 Translating press releases has been renamed to
section 17 Press releases and news items.
• Section 18 Social media and video texts has been renamed to
section 18 Social media and video content
• Section 20 Topical has been removed.
• Section 21 Frequently misused and overused has been
renumbered and renamed to section 20 Frequently misused or
mistranslated.
• Appendix 1 Changes to the English Style Guide has been added.
• Appendix 2 Examples of gender-neutral language has been
added.
• Section 22 Useful links has been renamed to Appendix 3 Useful
links.

1 Punctuation

Use an en dash, instead of an em dash, to emphasise an interruption or

introduce an afterthought or a specific explanation. Use the guide’s

112
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

hyphenation guidelines, unless the word is spelled differently by an

organisation or a source referred to in the text.

‘Lower-middle income country’, ‘middle-income country’ and ‘one-in, one-out

principle’ have been added to the list of words that should be hyphenated.
‘Cybersecurity’, ‘lifecycle’ and ‘roundtable’ have been added to the list of
words that should be written as one word, without a hyphen. ‘Capacity
building’, ‘state building’ and ‘value added tax’ have been added as examples
of words that should not be hyphenated or written as one word.

Titles of publications, periodicals, legal cases and so on are written in italics in

text. Titles of articles within publications, periodicals and so on are enclosed in
single quotes. If the title of a government publication has been translated into
English, use the English title.

2 Spelling

The spelling ‘fora’ for the plural of ‘forum’ is now admitted alongside ‘forums’.

3 Capitalisation

Capitalise only the first word of subheadings. When using a shortened form to
refer back to a capitalised title in the same text, use the lower case. A
descriptive translation in English may be used when the title of a report has
not been translated into English. However, it is no longer recommended to
include the Finnish title in brackets.

Use the lower case for the names of Finnish acts and decrees that have not
yet been enacted. When using the word ‘act’ or ‘decree’ to refer back to the
specific act or decree in the same text, use upper case in statutes and lower
case in other types of texts. While the titles of EU legal acts are not
capitalised, many of them have shorter alternative names that are capitalised.
Reference to a numbered article in treaties is usually capitalised.

‘NATO member states’ and ‘NATO Allies’ have been added to the list of
member states. ‘UN non-member States’ has been replaced with ‘UN non-
member observer States’.

113
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

For proprietary names, follow the capitalisation of the brand or product in

question instead of always using capitalisation.

4 Names and titles

Do not use ‘Mr’ or ‘Ms’/’Mrs’ with titles. As a rule, avoid using them in most
contexts. However, if gender needs to be indicated, use ‘Mr’ or ‘Ms’.

When the Finnish text includes a list of titles and qualifications, translate only
the most relevant one. However, in press releases concerning new
appointments, the person’s academic qualifications may be given and should
normally be translated.

As a rule, the names of permanent government bodies are capitalised, while

the names of temporary bodies are not. The Finnish ‘työryhmä’ should be
translated as ‘working group’ in government texts.

Use initial capitals for international agreements, conventions and conferences.

The new entries under Geographical names are: Abhasia – Abkhazia;

Azerbaidžan – Azerbaijan; Balkan – the Balkans; Brasilia – Brazil; Gambia –
The Gambia; Grönlanti – Greenland; Irbil – Erbil; Jordania – Jordan: Kap
Verde – Cabo Verde; Karjala – Karelia; Kiova – Kiev; Länsi-Sahara – Western
Sahara; Malesia – Malaysia; Niger – Niger; Nigeria – Nigeria; Persianlahti –
the Gulf; Pohjoismaiden ja Baltian alua – the Nordic–Baltic region; Praha –
Prague; Riad – Riyadh; Ruanda – Rwanda; Sahara – the Sahara; Sahel – the
Sahel; Saudi-Arabia – Saudi Arabia; Seychellit – Seychelles; Somalia –
Somalia; Soul – Seoul; Tšetšenia – Chechnya; Turkki – Türkiye; Valko-Venäjä
– Belarus.

The short form of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is ‘the DRC’, while
‘the Congo’ is the short form of the Republic of the Congo. Use the singular
form ‘the Palestinian territory’ in government texts. Generally use the short
form ‘Czechia’ instead of the long form ‘the Czech Republic’. Use ‘the British’,
‘Brit’ or ‘Briton’ to refer to the citizens of the UK.

114
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

7 Abbreviations

For work that will be presented in the United States, use the abbreviation
‘U.S.’ instead of ‘US’. When deciding whether to use the definite article with
abbreviations of UN agencies, follow the advice of the relevant organisation’s
style guide instead of this guide.

8 Foreign words and names

You should always check the spelling of foreign names. Sometimes foreign
proper names are spelled differently in English and in Finnish either for
historical reasons or because of differences in transliteration and transcription
systems. The spelling ’Qur’an’ is now admitted alongside ‘Quran’.

9 Parts of speech

Do not use an article before the job title if it is the official capitalised title and
precedes the person’s name. The title and name are considered a single unit
with no commas. Use a definite article before the job title and a comma after it
if you are giving the person’s name as additional information.

10 Lists

The guide now includes more detailed guidance on how to make lists in slide
presentations. It also gives examples of how to harmonise the first word in
lists.

11 Legal language

While the names of acts and decrees should be written in title case in English,
the lower case should be used for the names of acts and decrees that have
not yet been enacted. References to provisions of Finnish written as a list of
the relevant parts of the statute separated by commas. The parts of the
statute are written in lower case.

‘Liite’ should be translated as ‘annex’ in legal texts and as ‘appendix’ in other

types of texts. In applications and calls for proposals, the appropriate
translation of ‘liitteet’ is often ‘supporting documents’.

115
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

12 Correspondence

The guide now gives advice on the forms of address in emails and letters and
a checklist for writing emails.

13 Citations and references

While the guidance on citations and references is essentially the same as

before, it has been expanded and revised. As there are different referencing
systems, you should use the system decided by the publisher and be
consistent. When translating, use the source text convention.

14 Inclusive language

The section on gender-neutral and bias-free language has been expanded

into a section on inclusive language.

The recommended translation of ‘ikääntyneet’ is now ‘older adults’ or ‘older

people’. Do not use ‘the elderly’ or ‘elderly people’. ‘Ikääntyvät/ikääntyneet
työntekijät’ can be translated as ‘ageing’ or ‘older’ employees/workers. For
‘vammainen’ or ‘vammaiset’, use ‘person with a disability’ or ‘people with
disabilties’. You can also use ‘disabled people’ if you choose to use the
identity-first approach. For ‘muistisairas’ or ‘muistisairaat’, use ’person living
with dementia’ or ‘people with dementia’.

16 Speeches

The guide now gives advice on a standard format for speeches in English and
provides suggestions for greeting the audience.

17 Press releases and news items

When ‘muutosvarauksin’ refers to a speech, translate it as ‘check against

delivery’. If it refers to a programme for an event, use ‘subject to change’. For
headings of joint press releases, list the names of the ministries (or agencies),
separated by commas (do not use just ‘Press release’).

116
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

The advice on headlines of press releases and news items has been refined.
Use the infinitive to refer to upcoming events and the simple present to refer
to past events. Use a verb even if the Finnish headline does not have one.
Active voice often works better in English. Do not start a headline with an
article and avoid using articles in headlines in general unless part of a proper
name. However, when a headline includes a quote, do not put the quote in
headline style.

When writing for an international audience, it may be necessary to add a

reference to Finland for clarity. When officials or organisations of more than
one country are mentioned, it is often helpful to repeat the relevant country in
the text.

As a rule, spell out acronyms and initialisms when first mentioned and give the
abbreviation in brackets, unless they are well known. ‘EU’, ‘UN’ and ‘UK’ can
be used in headlines, but not ‘PM’.

When attributing direct quotes, use ‘said’ or ‘says’ even if the Finnish uses
other verbs.

The guide now gives advice on how to translate ‘lausuntopyyntö’ and

‘lausuntokierros’ in press releases and news items.

When an online government service is available in English, use the English

name. When a service is not available in English, use the Finnish name and
add an explanation in English.

Translate ‘Lisätietoja’ as ‘Inquiries’ when followed by contact details and as

‘Read more’, or some other alternative best suited to the context, when
followed by links.

Use the same email address formatting as in the Finnish. Do not translate
email addresses that use the name of a function. When advice is given on the
formatting of email addresses at the end of press releases or news items, use
the phrase ‘The email addresses of [the ministry] are in the format
[email protected].’

117
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

18 Social media and video content

Consult the social media platform in question to check permitted character

lengths and other rules or practices. Write in a friendly but professional tone.
Use the active voice and avoid the passive voice. When translating a post,
keep the meaning as close as possible to the original, while also making the
translated post easy to read and understand.

19 Government and administration

The advice on translating ‘valtio’ has been specified.

‘Paikallishallinto’ is translated as ‘local government’ and refers collectively to

municipal and county government. This is an expansion of the previous
definition in which local government referred only to municipalities. ‘Kunta’ is
translated as ‘municipality’ and ‘hyvinvointialue’ as ‘wellbeing services county’
or ‘county’. ‘Maakunta’ is translated as region and ‘Ahvenanmaan maakunta’
as ‘Åland’ or ‘the autonomous region of Åland’.

The preferred translation of ‘hallinnonala’ is ‘branch of government’. If

necessary, ‘government branch’ can also be used instead of the older
translation ‘administrative branch’.

The Finnish ‘edustusto’ translates as ‘mission’ or ‘representation’. The plural

‘edustustot’ usually translates as ‘diplomatic and consular missions’. Embassy
(suurlähetystö) usually refers to the building occupied by the offices of a
diplomatic mission headed by an ambassador, although it may be used as a
synonym for such a diplomatic mission. The names of permanent missions to
international organisations vary.

As a rule, translate ‘valtion talousarvio’ or ‘valtion budjetti’ as ‘the Budget’,

although in certain contexts it may be translated as the ‘central government
budget’ or the ‘national budget’. Bear in mind that ‘talousarvioehdotus’ is
submitted by a ministry to the Ministry of Finance, while ‘talousarvioesitys’ is
given by the Government to Parliament.

‘Ministeri’ can mean a government minister or it can be an honorary title. The

titles of government ministers should be capitalised, while the honorary title of

118
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

‘ministeri’ can be translated as ‘minister’. Use ‘former government minister’ if

the person referred to is no longer a government minister and does not hold
the honorary title of ‘ministeri’.

‘Presidentti’ can refer to the sitting president or be used as the honorary title of
a former president. The official title of the current president is ‘President of the
Republic of Finland’. The shorter forms ‘President of the Republic’ and
‘President’ can also be used. When referring to former presidents, use ‘former
President of Finland’ after the name. Previously, the recommendation was to
use ‘former President’ before the name.

‘Asianomainen viranomainen’ can be translated as ‘relevant authority’ or

‘appropriate authority’.

Translate ‘puheenjohtaja’ as ‘chair’ or ‘chairperson’. The translation of

‘puheenjohtajuus’ depends on the organisation in question.

When translating the names of EU institutions, make sure to use the correct
forms in English.

‘Poikkihallinnollinen’ can be translated as ‘cross-government’ when it refers to

ministries. ‘Interadministrative’ may be used to refer to involvement of different
administrative levels, regions or bodies. ‘Intersectoral’ or ‘cross-sectoral’
usually refers to sectors of the economy.

While ‘kirjaamo’ is translated as ‘registry’, do not translate ‘kirjaamo’ when it is

part of an email address.

20 Frequently misused or mistranslated

Translate ‘hyvinvointi’ as ‘wellbeing’ and ‘terveydenhuolto’ as ‘healthcare’. In

the Finnish context, translate ‘sosiaalihuolto’ as ‘social welfare’. Write ‘health’
before ‘social’ or ‘wellbeing’ even if in Finnish they are in the opposite order,
except in existing names of organisations.

Finnish often uses ‘kansalaiset’ to refer to anybody living in Finland. In this

case, translations other than ‘citizen’ often work better: people, people in

119
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Finland, (members of) the public, the general public. In English, ‘citizen’ is a
more narrow legal term referring to people who have citizenship of a country.

‘Kokonaisuus’ does not usually translate as ‘entity’ or ‘whole’. Consider other

alternatives first, such as ‘package’, ‘set’, ‘mix’, ‘unit’ or ‘part’. You can also
reformulate the sentence to leave ‘kokonaisuus’ out.

In government and administration, ‘ohjata’ and ‘ohjaus’ are used to describe a

wide variety of activities. Depending on the context, translate them as: guide,
guidance, direct, direction, manage, management, oversee, oversight,
coordinate, coordination or control. You can also use a combination, such as
‘guidance and direction’. Avoid translating ‘ohjata’ and ‘ohjaus’ as ‘steer’ and
‘steering’, except for established terms and when the meaning is to physically
steer something such as a vehicle. However, use ‘steering’ when referring to
‘hyvinvointialueiden ohjaus’ conducted by government ministries.

In government texts, translate ‘saamelaiset’ as ‘the Sami’ unless you are

translating for an audience or an organisation that prefers another spelling
(‘Sámi’ or ‘Saami’).

Always check how the Finnish ‘-tunnus’ is translated into English in each case.
Besides ‘code’, ‘-tunnus’ could translate as ‘ID’, ‘logo’, ‘label’, ‘symbol’,
‘number’ or ‘credentials’.

‘Fewer’ answers how many. ‘Less’ answers how much.

120
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Appendix 2 Examples of gender-

neutral language
In contexts where the Finnish ‘hän’ or the third-person possessive suffix
covers any gender, you can use different strategies, such as:

Changing to plural

FI: Opiskelija voi ensimmäisenä lukuvuonna ilmoittautua poissa olevaksi

myös, jos hän on estynyt aloittamasta opintojaan covid-19-epidemiaan
liittyvän viranomaismääräyksen vuoksi taikka muusta epidemiaan liittyvästä
painavasta syystä.
EN: In the first academic year, students may also register as non-attending if
they are unable to commence their studies due to an official regulation relating
to the COVID-19 epidemic or some other serious grounds relating to the
epidemic.

FI: Opiskelija, joka ei ole ilmoittautunut 39 §:ssä säädetyllä tavalla tai

suorittanut opintojaan 41 §:ssä säädetyssä ajassa tai 42 §:n mukaisessa
lisäajassa, samoin kuin opiskelija, jolle ei ole myönnetty lisäaikaa opintojen
loppuun saattamiseen, menettää opiskeluoikeutensa. Jos tällainen opiskelija
haluaa myöhemmin aloittaa opintonsa tai jatkaa niitä, hänen on haettava
yliopistolta oikeutta päästä uudelleen opiskelijaksi.
EN: Students who have not enrolled and registered in the manner specified in
section 39, or who fail to complete their studies within the time period
specified in section 41 or within the extended period of time specified in
section 42, as well as students who have not been granted an extension to
their studies, forfeit their right to study. Should such students later wish to start
or resume their studies, they shall reapply to the university for admission.

Repeating the noun

FI: Jos pelaaja on asettanut rahapelikohtaisen eston, hänelle saa kohdistaa

ainoastaan sellaisen rahapelin markkinointia, jonka pelaamista hän ei ole itse
estänyt.
EN: If a player has set a game-specific block on gambling, the player may only

121
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

be subject to the marketing of the gambling games that the player has not
personally blocked.

Reformulating the sentence to avoid the pronoun

FI: Ministeri voi valintansa mukaan joko vannoa virkavalan tai antaa
virkavakuutuksen riippumatta hänen kuulumisestaan uskonnolliseen
yhdyskuntaan.
EN: The minister may choose either to take an oath of office or make an
affirmation of office, irrespective of any affiliation with a religious community.

Using the imperative form

FI: Hakijan tulee lähettää hakemuksensa viimeistään 14.3.

EN: Please submit your application on 14 March at the latest.

Substituting ‘the’ or ‘that’ for the possessive pronoun

FI: Hakijaa pyydetään täydentämään hakemustaan.

EN: The applicant is requested to supplement the application.

Using singular ‘they’

FI: Asealan elinkeinoluvan haltijan on ilmoitettava myös hallussaan olevan

ampuma-aseen muuntamisesta ja aseen deaktivoinnista ja hävittämisestä.
EN: The holder of a firearms business licence shall also submit a notice on the
conversion of a firearm in their possession and on the deactivation and
destruction of a firearm.

FI: Ampuma-asekouluttajaksi voidaan hyväksyä se, joka on: 1) täyttänyt 20

vuotta ja suostuu tehtävään; …
EN: A person may be approved as a firearms instructor if they: 1) have
reached the age of 20 and agree to the position; …

FI: Jokaisella on oikeus omassa asiassaan käyttää suomea tai ruotsia ja

saada toimituskirja käyttämällään kielellä.
EN: Everyone has the right to use either Finnish or Swedish in matters
concerning them and to obtain official documents in the language they use.

122
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Appendix 3 Useful links

Finland

Finnish Government Termbank Valter: multilingual termbank containing

glossaries compiled by the Prime Minister’s Office or other Government
agencies
https://valter.sanakirja.fi/

Glossaries and guidance: a collection of glossaries and guidance produced

by the Prime Minister’s Office as well as the contact details of the Terminology
Service of the Prime Minister’s Office, translation memory files and links to
other glossaries
https://valtioneuvosto.fi/kaannos-ja-kielipalvelut/sanastot
https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/translation-and-language-services/glossaries

Legal language in Finland

Eduskuntasanasto: a glossary of Finnish Parliament terms available on three

websites

Finnish Government Termbank Valter

https://valter.sanakirja.fi/

Finnish Parliament termbank

https://mot.kielikone.fi/mot/eduskuntasanasto/netmot

Parliamentary Office publication 2/2008 (PDF)

https://www.eduskunta.fi/FI/naineduskuntatoimii/julkaisut/Documents/ekj_2+2
008.pdf

Finlex Translations of Finnish acts and decrees: unofficial translations of

Finnish acts and decrees
https://finlex.fi/fi/lainsaadanto/saadoskaannokset

Lainsäädäntösanasto: a glossary of legislative terms and phrases available

on three websites

123
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Finnish Government Termbank Valter

https://valter.sanakirja.fi/

Glossaries and guidance, Prime Minister’s Office (PDF)

https://valtioneuvosto.fi/documents/10616/3457861/Lainsäädäntösanasto+(fi-
sv-en).pdf/4116fc9d-94b5-47de-ba23-39a5c6f8f94a/

Translations of Finnish acts and decrees in Finlex

https://finlex.fi/fi/lainsaadanto/saadoskaannokset

Säädösten kääntäminen englanniksi ja valtiosopimusten

suomentaminen: a guide to translating Finnish acts and decrees into English
and international treaties into Finnish published by the Prime Minister’s Office
http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-287-705-5

Tuomioistuinsanasto: a glossary of court terms available on two websites

Finnish Government Termbank Valter

https://valter.sanakirja.fi/

Translations of Finnish acts and decrees in Finlex

https://finlex.fi/fi/lainsaadanto/saadoskaannokset

Valtiosopimussanasto: a glossary of terms relating to international treaties

published by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs as an appendix to
Valtiosopimusopas (Treaty Guide)

Valtiosopimussanasto (PDF)
https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/163300/UM_2021_02
-liitteet.pdf

Valtiosopimusopas: Kansainvälisten ja EU-sopimusten valmistelua ja

voimaansaattamista koskevat ohjeet (2021)
http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-281-344-2

124
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

European Union

European Commission, English Style Guide (PDF)

https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2023-
11/styleguide_english_dgt_en.pdf

European Commission, Language-specific information for translating into

English
https://commission.europa.eu/resources-partners/translation-and-drafting-
resources/guidelines-translation/language-specific-information-translating-
english_en

European Commission, Web writing guidelines

https://commission.europa.eu/resources-partners/europa-web-guide/design-
content-and-development/content/web-writing-guidelines_en

EUR-Lex
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html

Interinstitutional Style Guide

https://style-guide.europa.eu/en/

International organisations

Council of Europe English Style Guide (PDF)

https://www.ecml.at/Portals/1/6MTP/6mtp_programme%20management/CoE
%20style-guide%20EN_2021.pdf

NATO English Styleguide (PDF)

https://www.nato.int/clearwriting/clearwriting_files/docs/clearwriting_styleguide
.pdf

NATO Terminology Database NATOTerm

https://nso.nato.int/natoterm

OECD Style Guide

https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-style-guide_9789264243439-
en.html

125
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

United Nations Correspondence Manual (PDF)

https://archive.unu.edu/hq/library/resource/UN-correspondence-manual.pdf

United Nations Editorial Manual

https://www.un.org/dgacm/en/content/editorial-manual

United Nations Terminology Database UNTERM

https://unterm.un.org/unterm2/en/

United Kingdom

Government Digital Service, Style guide

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/style-guide

Government Digital Service, How to publish on GOV.UK

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-publish-on-gov-uk

Government Digital Service blog: Content quality spot checks explained

https://insidegovuk.blog.gov.uk/2014/02/14/content-quality-spot-checks-
explained/

Government Digital Service blog: What to check before you publish

https://insidegovuk.blog.gov.uk/2014/05/29/what-to-check-before-you-publish-
a-2i-checklist/

Office for National Statistics, Content style guide

https://service-manual.ons.gov.uk/content

University of Oxford Style Guide

https://www.ox.ac.uk/public-affairs/style-guide

Canada

Canadian Translation Bureau

https://www.canada.ca/en/translation-bureau.html

Government of Canada, TERMIUM Plus terminology and linguistic data bank

https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/

126
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

Language usage

European Commission, Claire’s Clear Writing Tips (PDF)

https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2016-12/clear_writing_tips_en.pdf

European Commission, How to write clearly

https://op.europa.eu/publication-detail/-/publication/bb87884e-4cb6-4985-
b796-70784ee181ce

Plain English Campaign, Free guides

https://www.plainenglish.co.uk/free-guides

University of Manchester, Academic Phrasebank

https://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/

Inclusive language

Council of the European Union, Inclusive Communication in the GSC (PDF)

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/35446/en_brochure-inclusive-
communication-in-the-gsc.pdf

European Parliament, Gender neutral language in the European Parliament

(PDF)
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/151780/GNL_Guidelines_EN.pdf

Government of Canada, Inclusive writing – Guidance and resources

https://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/en/writing-tips-plus/inclusive-
writing-guidelines-resources

National Center on Disability and Journalism, Disability Language Style Guide

https://ncdj.org/style-guide/

NATO Gender-Inclusive Language Manual (PDF)

https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pictures/images_mfu/2021/5/pd
f/210514-GIL-Manual_en.pdf

United Nations, Disability Inclusive Language Guidelines

https://www.ungeneva.org/en/about/accessibility/disability-inclusive-language

127
 ENGLISH STYLE GUIDE | PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, FINLAND | 2025

United Nations, Guidelines for gender-inclusive language in English

https://www.un.org/en/gender-inclusive-language/guidelines.shtml

Referencing

Quick guide to Harvard referencing

https://www5.open.ac.uk/library/referencing-and-plagiarism/quick-guide-to-
harvard-referencing-cite-them-right

University of York, Referencing styles – a Practical Guide

https://subjectguides.york.ac.uk/referencing-style-guides/home

Media

BBC News style guide

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsstyleguide/

Guardian and Observer style guide

https://www.theguardian.com/info/series/guardian-and-observer-style-guide

The Telegraph style book

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/style-book/

Country names

Institute for the Languages of Finland, Names of countries in seven languages

http://kaino.kotus.fi/maidennimet/index.php?h=en

UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Geographical names

index: for the list of country names, select ‘View online’ under ‘Country names’
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/geographical-names-and-
information

128