locativedative

Locativedative is a proposed grammatical category in linguistics that describes a single mark on a noun phrase intended to express both locative and dative readings. The term fuses locative (location) and dative (recipient or beneficiary) to capture a merged semantic role in which the referent serves as the place of an action and as an indirect object. The notion appears mainly in typological discussions and in constructed languages; it is not widely attested as a productive category in natural languages.

In theories that permit fused case semantics, locativedative may be realized as a single case suffix, clitic, or postpositional element. The resulting reading is often described as a "locative-dative" reading: the noun carries information about where an action occurs and who benefits or receives it. Some linguists treat locativedative as a true single case, while others analyze it as a polysemy of separate locative and dative markers that co-occur in certain contexts. The boundary between genuine fusion and systematic polysemy remains debated.

Cross-linguistic evidence for locativedative in natural languages is limited; most discussions arise from typological surveys or from the design of constructed languages. In teaching or descriptive grammars, locativedative can help account for expressions that otherwise require hierarchical or multiword constructions to express both location and recipient. Critics caution that the category risks obscuring distinct semantic roles, so many researchers prefer treating locativedative readings as context-dependent interpretations rather than a standalone grammar element.

See also: locative case, dative case, case grammar, polysemy, conlang linguistics.