Hatáson

Hatáson is a term used in Hungarian linguistics to refer to a specific locative form associated with the word határ, meaning border or boundary. In the general Hungarian case system, locative forms convey location or position relative to a boundary, surface, or limit. For many nouns this meaning is expressed with the suffixes -on/-en/-ön, adjusted to fit vowel harmony and the phonology of the base word. While határon is the standard and most common locative form for border, hatáson appears in some dialectal varieties and in older or more formal texts.

Etymology and form: hatáson is derived from the stem határ plus the locative suffix. Its use highlights location at or on a boundary, similar to other locative forms, but it is not the predominant form in contemporary standard Hungarian. The appearance of hatáson is largely limited to regional speech, historical writings, or specific linguistic descriptions of case alternations.

Usage and register: In modern standard Hungarian, határon is typically preferred for “on the border.” Hatáson may be encountered in dialectal speech or in linguistic discussions as an example of how locative endings can attach to boundary-related nouns. When composing formal or widely understood Hungarian, practitioners generally rely on határon rather than hatáson.

Related concepts: Hungarian grammar, locative case, other boundary-related terms such as határ, határaink, and phrases using határ as a spatial reference. For detailed morphological analysis, linguistic references on Hungarian caseloads provide broader context on locative forms and their regional variations.