Breakdown of Maahanmuutto johtuu siitä, että he tarvitsevat turvapaikan.
se
it / he / she (of a person) / that
he
they
tarvita
to need
että
that (conjunction)
johtua
to result from
maahanmuutto
immigration
turvapaikka
asylum
Questions & Answers about Maahanmuutto johtuu siitä, että he tarvitsevat turvapaikan.
Why is siitä used right before että?
The verb johtua (to result from / be due to) strictly requires the thing causing the result to be in the elative case (ending in -sta or -stä). You cannot attach a case ending to the conjunction että (that). Instead, Finnish uses the pronoun se (it) as a bridge, putting it into the elative case (siitä) to satisfy the verb, and then explains what 'it' is with the että clause.
How is the compound word maahanmuutto (immigration) formed?
It literally translates to 'moving into the country.' It combines the word maa (country) in the illative case (maahan, meaning 'into the country') with muutto (the noun for 'moving'). You can see the same logic in the Finnish word for emigration, which is maastamuutto (moving out of the country).
Why does turvapaikan end in -n?
It is the direct object of the verb tarvitsevat (they need). Because the sentence is affirmative and the object is a complete, singular thing being needed, it takes the genitive-looking accusative ending -n. The word itself combines turva (safety/security) and paikka (place).
Is it possible to express this without the siitä, että structure?
Yes, but you would have to change the verb clause into a noun phrase. For example, Maahanmuutto johtuu turvapaikan tarpeesta (Immigration is due to the need for asylum). However, using the pronoun bridge siitä followed by an että clause is a very common and natural way to say 'due to the fact that' in Finnish when you want to use a full action like 'they need'.
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