Re: The Shift of Antecedent Prepositions to Suffixes ????

In a message dated 1/23/2005 11:01:41 AM Eastern Standard Time,
Bitemeagain_walker@HOTMAIL.COM writes:

>That's an interesting idea! Any comments anyone? How might these 'new'
>postpositions come about? What type of structures might you suggest? These
>new pospositions would be sourced from within the existing vocabulary of
>the language, what words might I use?
The book _Case_ by Barry Blake contains some discussion of how cae suffixes
evolve from postpositions and how postpositions themselves orginate.  It says
"There are twp common lexical sources for case markers, one verbal and the
other nominal, of which the verbal is probably the more fruitful.  Adverbial
particles also provide a source.  The sequence of development is from noun, verb or
adverb to preposition or postposition, and from postposition to suffix."

It gives examples from various languages of the verb "come" becoming an
adposition meaning "to", and the verb "give" becoming an adposition meaning "for"
or "on behalf of."

As for nouns, a word for "back" (the body part) can come to mean "behind";
sometimes a word for "ground" comes to mean "below"; sometimes a word for "head"
comes to mean "above" or "on top of."

Doug

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