vakgebruik

Vakgebruik is a term used in Dutch linguistics to describe how languages encode grammatical relations through case marking and related strategies. It encompasses the use of inflection, word order, articles and prepositions to express roles such as subject, direct object, indirect object, and possession. In languages with a rich case system, vakgebruik can be highly productive and distinct across cases like nominative, accusative, dative and genitive. In Dutch, the case system is largely reduced: most nouns do not inflect for case, and the primary trace of case is found in pronouns (for example, ik/mij, jij/jou, hij/hem) and in prepositional phrases. Possessive meanings in Dutch are typically expressed with possessive determiners or with van-phrases rather than genitive endings.

In comparative linguistics, vakgebruik is analyzed by mapping case functions to different grammatical resources: inflection, prepositions, determiner forms, and word order. This helps explain how languages convey who does what to whom, and how case systems evolve or disappear over time. In Germanic languages such as German, vakgebruik shows clear morphological case endings; in English, case is largely limited to pronouns. The term is mainly used in grammar descriptions, typology, and historical linguistics, rather than as a label for everyday language practice.