Genitivuldativ

Genitivuldativ is a term used in some discussions of grammar to denote a single grammatical case form that serves both genitive and dative functions. The name is a portmanteau of genitiv (genitive) and dative (dativ). It is not a standard category in mainstream grammars and is not widely attested as a conventional label. In its proposed sense, a single inflection would encode possession relations (genitive) and indirect-object relations (dative), depending on syntactic context, verbs, and prepositions.

In typology, such a category would be an example of case merging or syncretism, where distinct functional roles are carried by the same morphological form. It can arise in historical stages or dialects where case distinctions erode. The practical analysis would rely on where the form appears (which nouns, pronouns, or nouns with possessive semantics) and on the syntax of the verb or constructions (ditransitives, benefactive or recipient roles). Distinguishing genitivuldativ from separate genitive and dative cases often requires looking at distribution and semantics rather than morphology alone.

Examples are hypothetical: in a language with genitivuldativ, a single form could mark both “the man’s book” and “give the book to the man,” with disambiguation via word order and verbs.

Because the term is not standard, many grammars would instead describe possession with genitive and indirect objects with dative, or discuss case merging under broader topics like syncretism and historical change.