[Lingtyp] Denominal suffix > locative case

[Guillaume Jacques]

Dear Matt,

In the chapter "The origin of comitative adverbs in Japhug" in this book
<https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/152>, I describe a  prefix *kɤɣɯ- *in
Japhug (Sino-Tibetan) which derives comitative adverbs ("together with X")
from nouns (the stem is always reduplicated). For instance, *tɤ-rɟit*
‘child’ ->* kɤɣɯ-rɟɯ~rɟit *"together with (one's) child(ren)".
This prefix originates from the participle of a proprietive
denominal prefix *aɣɯ*- ˈ"having X", thus *kɤɣɯ-rɟɯ~rɟit* is historically
from *kɯ-ɤɣɯ*-*rɟɯ~rɟit* PCP:SBJ-DENOM:PROPRIETIVE-EMPH~child "having a lot
of children".
While it is not semantically exactly what you are looking for, the general
derivation process has some resemblance with what you are describing. This
is also described in the Japhug grammar
<https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/549>, pp. 186-189;1031.

Guillaume




Le lun. 12 janv. 2026 à 16:58, Matt Windsor via Lingtyp <
lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org> a écrit :

> Dear typologists,
>
> The Algonquian language I’m describing, Oji-Cree, has a locative noun
> marker that developed out of a denominal suffix meaning ‘there are lots of
> N/ there are many N’.
>
> *Is anyone familiar with comparable pathways of change in other languages?*
>
> e.g. denominal suffix > locative,
> ‘many’ > locative,
> or barring that, denominal suffixes being reinterpreted as nominal
> inflection?
>
>
> *Details*
> The basic derivation/ pathway of change in Oji-Cree is:
> 1. sakime
> ‘mosquito’ (noun)
>
> 2. sakime-hkaa
> mosquito-be.many
> ‘there are lots of mosquitoes’ (verb)
>
> 3. (kaa-ishi-)sakime-hkaa-k ‘
> rel-place-mosquito-be.many-sub
> 'where there are many mosquitoes’ (verb, adverbial subordinate of location)
> (or, as a place-name, simply sakime-hkaa-k ‘place of many mosquitoes’)
>
> 4. --> sakime-hkaak
> mosquito-loc
> ‘among the mosquitoes’ (reinterpreted as a noun + inflection)
>
> This newer locative suffix joins an existing locative suffix -k, but is
> more specialized in meaning, having a rough semantic range of ‘among, in,
> inside, surrounded by’.
>
> Any insights would be appreciated,
>
>
> --
> *Matthew Windsor* <https://www.wycliffe.ca/member/windsor-mattcaitlin/>Cell:
> 807.631.6656
> ᐃᐦᑭᑐᐃᐧᐣ ᑮᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐊᐧᐣ ᒦᓇ ᑭᑮᐃᐧᒋᐊᔮᒥᑯᓈᐣ.
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-- 
Guillaume Jacques

Directeur de recherches
CNRS (CRLAO) - EPHE- INALCO
https://scholar.google.fr/citations?user=1XCp2-oAAAAJ&hl=fr
https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/295
<http://cnrs.academia.edu/GuillaumeJacques>
http://panchr.hypotheses.org/
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