lokatiivi

Lokatiivi, or locative, is a term used in linguistics to denote a grammatical case that marks location in relation to a place. In the Finnic language family, lokatiivi is most often discussed in historical or theoretical contexts, referring to an older or dialectal locative formation. In contemporary Finnish grammar, there is no single productive lokatiivi. Instead, spatial meaning is expressed through a set of cases (such as inessive, elative, illative, adessive, ablative, and allative) and through postpositional phrases. Thus the lokatiivi is primarily a concept used in descriptions of older Finnic stages or in comparative studies of related languages.

Function and typology: A locative generally marks location (where something is) or motion toward a location (direction). Some languages possess a full locative system with dedicated endings for various locational meanings, while others rely more on prepositions or postpositions to convey the same information. The lokatiivi as a morphologically defined case can be synthetic, attaching to the noun, or analytic, using separate words to indicate place.

Historical and cross-linguistic perspectives: Lokatiivi appears in discussions of Proto-Finnic and related Finnic languages, where locational meaning was encoded in specific endings. In many modern Finnic languages, locational relations have shifted toward postpositional expressions or a broader set of cases, but the lokatiivi remains an important term for understanding historical morphology and the evolution of spatial grammar.

See also: Locative case, Finnish grammar, Proto-Finnic, Finnic languages.