Learn Hardcore Finnish: Tilasin suomenkielisen uutiskirjeen, jotta voin selata uusia tekstejä joka viikko. - I subscribed to a Finnish newsletter so that I can browse new texts every week.

Minä tilasin = I ordered (perfectly correct, just more emphatic)
Tilasin = I ordered / subscribed (neutral, most common)
Talaan would be tilaan = I am ordering / I order (present tense), which would change the meaning.

Why is it “suomenkielisen uutiskirjeen” and not “suomenkielinen uutiskirje”?

Suomenkielisen and uutiskirjeen are both in the same case: genitive/accusative singular.

Basic forms: suomenkielinen uutiskirje = a Finnish‑language newsletter.
In the sentence, this is the object of tilasin. For a single, complete object in the past, Finnish typically uses genitive/accusative:
- (minä) tilasin [minkä?] suomenkielisen uutiskirjeen.

Because the noun uutiskirje is in genitive/accusative (uutiskirjeen), its attributive adjective suomenkielinen must agree in case:

nominative: suomenkielinen uutiskirje (a Finnish‑language newsletter)
genitive/accusative: suomenkielisen uutiskirjeen (the Finnish‑language newsletter, as object)

So the change is pure case agreement, not a meaning change of the adjective itself.

What exactly does “suomenkielinen” mean, and why not just “suomalainen uutiskirje”?

Suomenkielinen literally means “Finnish‑language” (language: suomen kieli → suomenkielinen).
Suomalainen usually means “Finnish (by nationality/origin)”.

So:

suomenkielinen uutiskirje = a newsletter written in the Finnish language
suomalainen uutiskirje = a newsletter that is Finnish in origin (e.g. produced by Finns or from Finland), but not necessarily about the language.

In your sentence, we care specifically about the language of the newsletter, so suomenkielinen is the natural choice.

Why does “suomenkielinen” become “suomenkielisen”?

Suomenkielinen is an adjective ending in -nen. In oblique cases (like genitive/accusative), -nen → -se- and then you add the case ending:

suomenkielinen (nominative)
stem: suomenkielise-
genitive/accusative singular: suomenkielise + n → suomenkielisen

This pattern is very regular:

sininen paita → sinisen paidan (blue shirt → of the blue shirt / the blue shirt as object)
punainen auto → punaisen auton

So suomenkielisen is just the genitive/accusative form agreeing with uutiskirjeen.

Why is “uutiskirjeen” in that form instead of just “uutiskirje”?

The basic noun is uutiskirje (newsletter).

In “Tilasin suomenkielisen uutiskirjeen”, uutiskirjeen is the total object of a completed action (I subscribed to one newsletter). In this context, Finnish uses genitive/accusative singular:

stem: uutiskirjee-
genitive/accusative singular: uutiskirjeen

Compare:

Ostan kirjan. – I buy a (whole) book. (gen/acc kirjan)
Luen kirjaa. – I’m (in the process of) reading a book. (partitive kirjaa)

So uutiskirjeen marks a whole, countable object of a completed action in the past.

What does “jotta” mean, and how is it different from “että” or “koska”?

Jotta introduces a purpose clause: so that / in order that.

Tilasin uutiskirjeen, jotta voin selata…
→ I subscribed to the newsletter so that I can browse…

Rough contrasts:

jotta = so that / in order that (purpose, intended result)
että = that (reported speech, content clause)
- Tiedän, että tilasit uutiskirjeen. – I know that you subscribed…
koska = because (reason, cause)
- Tilasin uutiskirjeen, koska haluan lukea enemmän. – I subscribed because I want to read more.

In your sentence, the focus is clearly purpose, so jotta is the right conjunction.

Could I say “että voin selata” instead of “jotta voin selata” here?

Native speakers sometimes use että in a sense close to jotta, especially in spoken language, but jotta is the standard, precise choice for purpose.

Tilasin uutiskirjeen, että voin selata uusia tekstejä.
→ Understandable in speech, but sounds a bit colloquial / non‑standard in many contexts.
Tilasin uutiskirjeen, jotta voin selata uusia tekstejä.
→ Neutral, correct written Finnish.

For learners, it’s safer and clearer to use jotta for “so that / in order that”.

Should it be “jotta voin selata” or “jotta voisin selata”?

Both are grammatically correct, but there is a nuance:

jotta voin selata – so that I can browse
→ neutral, factual: I subscribed and now I can do it.
jotta voisin selata – so that I could browse
→ a bit more hypothetical / polite / tentative, common with requests or wishes.

For a simple, clear purpose statement about your own action, “jotta voin selata” is natural and straightforward, as in your sentence.

Why is the verb “selata” in that basic form, and what form is it?

Selata is the basic dictionary form, called the 1st infinitive (equivalent to English “to browse”).

After voin (I can), Finnish uses this infinitive:

voin selata – I can browse
haluan lukea – I want to read
osaan puhua – I know how to speak

So the structure is:

voin (I can) + selata (to browse, infinitive)

No extra markers (like English “to”) are needed; the bare infinitive after voida is correct.

Why is it “uusia tekstejä” and not “uudet tekstit”?

Uusia tekstejä is partitive plural, while uudet tekstit is nominative plural.

Basic forms:
- uusi teksti – a new text
Plural nominative:
- uudet tekstit – (the) new texts (as a whole group)
Plural partitive:
- uusia tekstejä – (some) new texts, an indefinite amount

The verb selata often takes a partitive object when the action is ongoing / not clearly bounded / involves an indefinite quantity:

selata uusia tekstejä – to browse (through) new texts (some amount, not all defined)

If you said:

selata uudet tekstit – to browse all the new texts (more like a complete, definite set)

In the context, you’re browsing some new texts every week, not necessarily a fixed list, so partitive plural “uusia tekstejä” fits the meaning.

Why is “uusia” in that form? What is happening to the adjective?

Uusi is the basic adjective: uusi = new.

Here it modifies tekstejä, which is partitive plural, so the adjective must agree in case and number:

Singular nominative: uusi teksti – a new text
Plural nominative: uudet tekstit – new texts
Singular partitive: uutta tekstiä – some new text
Plural partitive: uusia tekstejä – some new texts

So uusia is adjective, partitive plural, matching tekstejä.

Why is “tekstejä” in the partitive, and not “tekstit”?

Tekstejä is the partitive plural of teksti (text).

You use partitive for the object when:

The amount is indefinite / unbounded (some texts, not all), or
The action is ongoing / incomplete.

Browsing “uusia tekstejä” suggests you are going through some number of new texts, not a clearly delimited set. So:

Luet tekstit. – You read the texts (all of them, a definite set).
Luet tekstejä. – You read texts (some, in general).

Here selata uusia tekstejä = browse (some) new texts → partitive plural is natural.

How does “joka viikko” work? Why not a plural like “jokat viikot”?

Joka + singular time word is how Finnish says “every …”:

joka päivä – every day
joka viikko – every week
joka kuukausi – every month
joka vuosi – every year

Unlike English, Finnish keeps the noun in the singular after joka. There is no jokat viikot form; that would be ungrammatical.

So joka viikko is the fixed, correct way to say “every week.”

Is the word order “jotta voin selata uusia tekstejä joka viikko” fixed?

The main elements must stay together logically, but Finnish word order is quite flexible. Variations could be:

Tilasin suomenkielisen uutiskirjeen, jotta voin joka viikko selata uusia tekstejä.
Tilasin suomenkielisen uutiskirjeen, jotta voin selata joka viikko uusia tekstejä.

All are understandable. The original:

…jotta voin selata uusia tekstejä joka viikko.

is the most neutral and natural, with:

voin selata – can browse (verb phrase)
uusia tekstejä – what you browse (object)
joka viikko – when (time adverbial) at the end.

Could I replace “selata” with “lukea” here, and would anything in the sentence change?

You can say:

Tilasin suomenkielisen uutiskirjeen, jotta voin lukea uusia tekstejä joka viikko.

This is grammatically fine. The grammar doesn’t need to change:

voin lukea (I can read) still takes an infinitive
uusia tekstejä stays partitive plural, since you’re reading some texts, not a fully bounded set.

The only difference is in meaning nuance:

selata = to browse, skim through
lukea = to read (more thoroughly)

Grammatically, both work exactly the same in this sentence.