Talk:vaikuttaa

Vaikuttaa vs. aiheuttaa

Vaikuttaa

Syy vaikuttaa seurauksiin.

The cause brings about the outcome.

Aiheuttaa

Objekti aiheuttaa subjektiin.

The object influences the subject.

Corrections, revisions? ~ heyzeuss 10:03, 29 May 2013 (UTC)

The basic meaning of vaikuttaa is "to have an influence on" whereas aiheuttaa means "to be the cause of". In terms of logic aiheuttaa is more deterministic: if A then B, whereas vaikuttaa indicates a partial cause: if A then the likelihood of B increases, but also not-B is possible. Vaikuttaa also has the sense "to appear".

In the examples I would probably interchange the verbs:

Syy aiheuttaa seurauksen.

The cause brings about the outcome.

Subjekti vaikuttaa objektiin.

The subject influences the object.

However, in both examples both verbs are thinkable, depending on the degree of determinism in the relationship discussed. --Hekaheka (talk) 18:40, 29 May 2013 (UTC)

Am I using the words correctly in the following sentences?

Bakteerit vaikuttavat moniin ihmisiin.

Bakteerit aiheuttavat monia sairauksia.

~ heyzeuss 13:32, 2 June 2013 (UTC)