postpositionlike
Postpositionlike refers to elements in a language that serve the function of postpositions yet are realized in forms other than standalone postpositional words. In many languages, postpositionlike markers are bound morphemes that attach after the noun or noun phrase, often as suffixes or enclitics. They may accompany determiners or adjectives and can mark case, directional relation, spatial or temporal relations, or other grammatical roles. The realization can be suffixal, clitic, or fused with a noun, making the element appear postnominally but not as a separate postposition.
The term helps describe cross-linguistic variation where postpositions exist but some of their functions are fulfilled
In linguistic analysis, postpositionlike markers are analyzed as suffixes or particles that assign a semantic role
See also: postposition, adposition, case marker, clitic, particle.