locativeessive

Locative-essive is a linguistic term used to describe a hypothetical or marginal grammatical category that encodes both locative meaning (location or position) and essive meaning (state, condition, or role) in a single morpheme or construction. It is not a standard category in the descriptive grammars of most well-known languages, but it is discussed in typological and theoretical work as a possible combining of two distinct functions.

In languages with rich case systems or fusional morphology, the locative and essive functions may be realized together, either as a single fused form or as a fixed sequence of markers that function as a unit. When present, a locative-essive marks where something exists and in what state or role, or the location associated with that state. It is contrasted with using separate locative and essive expressions, which would independently express location and state.

Morphology can realize locative-essive in several ways:

- as a single suffix on a noun that encodes both locative and essive meaning,

- as a sequence of a locative marker plus an essive marker that together form a single unit,

- or via a periphrastic construction combining a locative preposition with an essive phrase.

Usage and attestation: The locative-essive is chiefly encountered in typological discussions and is not a widely attested or standard category in major grammars. When discussed, it typically appears in languages with extensive case inventories or in theoretical explorations of possible morphological fusion.

See also: locative case, essive case, case fusion, grammatical mood and case, typology.