3.2.1.5 Further localization strategies: Postpositions

The system of locative cases covers only a part of the grammatical potential in Udi to refer to space. The basic strategy to assign a landmark function to a referent is the use of one of the two datives (CONTAINER). Locational specifications are indicated by the adessive (contact - often vertical) and the superessive (contact - horizontal). Additionally, two lative functions are marked by case forms: ablative and allative.

All other locational strategies are covered by postpositions. This is especially true for those locational strategies that refer to primarily non visible parts of a landmark (such as 'under', 'behind', 'outside', 'yonder'); additionally, we have postpositional strategies documented also for 'in' (both MASS and CONTAINER) and 'in front of' as well as for 'replacement', 'temporal relation' ('till') and some others.

Most of the postpositions are derived from inflected nouns, but note that the case markers that apply are no longer productive in Udi. The following base forms are documented:

*oq'-     'ground'
*t'o-      'outside'
c/o        'face'
t'o?g/     'side'

Other stems that themselves can be related to locative case forms in other Lezgian languages are b- 'in', q- 'behind, l- 'over'.

To these base forms the following elements can be added:

-s^:             'essive' (note that -s^ can appear as -s/)
-s^-a          'essive', 'allative'
-a               'essive'
-Vxo          'ablative'
-...-t'an      'ablative' < Azeri -dan
-Vl             'superessive'   

As a result, we have the following system of postpositions:


-s^:        t'os^ 'outside' - qos^ 'behind', bos^ 'in', be?s/ 'in front of' (Azeri bas^ ?)
-s^-a:     os^a    'after'
-a:          oq'a 'under' - t'ec/o   (< *t'e-c/o-a?) 'yonder'
-Vxo:     os^exo 'from the end of ' - oq'axo 'from under', t'ec/oxo 'from beyond' - t'o?g/o?xo 'from the side of' - laxo 'over' (no ablative reading!)
-t'an:      t'os^t'an 'from outside' - qos^t'an 'from behind' -  bos^t'an 'from the inside', be?s/t'an 'from before' 
-Vl:        t'o?g/o?l 'at'

Other postposition are: q'ati 'between', dz^ok' 'except', cirik' 'till', bip'c/o (lit. 4 sides) 'around', baxt'in(k) 'for' (lit. 'for the sake of'), ama 'till', gala 'in place of', axi?l 'near to'.

As expected, most postpositions call for a genitive case. An ablative is triggered by os^a, dz^ok', t'os^, axi?l. cirik' has both an absolutive and a superessive head.