Breakdown of Kielitaitoni on huono, joten kääntäjä kääntää sen venäjäksi.
olla
to be
se
it / he / she (of a person) / that
huono
bad
joten
so, therefore
Questions & Answers about Kielitaitoni on huono, joten kääntäjä kääntää sen venäjäksi.
Why is venäjäksi in the translative case instead of just venäjä?
The translative case ending -ksi is used to express the language of communication, especially when translating. The translative expresses a change of state or a result. Since the text is being turned 'into Russian', it becomes venäjäksi.
Why is the object 'it' translated as sen rather than the partitive sitä?
Sen is the total object form. Using sen means the translator translates the specific text entirely from start to finish. If the translating was currently ongoing or if they were only translating a portion of it, you would use the partitive sitä.
Kääntäjä and kääntää look very similar. How do they relate?
Kääntäjä (translator) is a noun formed directly from the verb kääntää (to translate). The -jä suffix is added to the verb stem to indicate the person doing the action, exactly like the English '-er' or '-or' ending.
Could I use siksi instead of joten for 'so' in this sentence?
Not naturally in this exact structure. Joten connects two clauses where the second is the direct result of the first. Siksi means 'for that reason' and usually starts a new sentence. To use it, you would say: Kielitaitoni on huono. Siksi kääntäjä kääntää sen.