Re: Cases and adpositions

Quoting JS Bangs <jaspax@...>:

> Matthew Kehrt sikyal:
> >  Are there any natlangs that do not make this distinction
> > [whereby there are many cases and no adpositions]?
>
> Yes, although I can't name any for certain.  Hungarian comes mighty close
> and I believe has no prepositions. Finnish doesn't properly have
> prepositions, either, but only some helping adverbs that are
> preposition-like in purpose, but not in function.
According to Dixon, Dyirbal has no adpositions, and uses a relatively
small number of cases to express adpositional uses.

> >  I am considering dropping most of the cases and replacing
> > them with prepositions.  Is this more 'natural'?  Comments would be
> > appreciated. ;-)
>
> Please, please, please don't do that! Keep all of your cases, and screw
> the prepositions. Don't let anyone ever tell you that it's unnatural,
> either.
Having *no* prepositions is not unnatural, but it is unusual;
most languages either have no cases and adpositions, or some
cases and adpositions.

 =========================================================================
Thomas Wier
Dept. of Linguistics  "Nihil magis praestandum est quam ne pecorum ritu
University of Chicago sequamur antecedentium gregem, pergentes non qua
1010 E. 59th Street   eundum est, sed qua itur." -- Seneca
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