RELATIONAL NOUN

In linguistics a 'relational noun' is a kind of noun describing a relation between two entities and which is used to describe spatial and other relations in the same way prepositions are used in some languages. The relational nouns are used to describe a relation by having the argument which is the head of the prepositional cause possess the relational noun. Constructions that can be classified as relational nouns are found in many languages but the concept is usually used within the context of Mesoamerican languages where the use of relational nouns constitute an areal feature of the Mesoamerican Linguistic Area.
For example in Classical Nahuatl, the relational noun -pan ("on") is used to denote "on top of X" where X is the grammatical possessor.
:''i:-pan'' "on him"
:3sPOSS^[1]-on
:''no-pan'' "on me"
:1sPOSS^[2]-on
Languages that use relational nouns include the Mayan languages, the Mixe-Zoquean languages, and the Oto-Manguean languages among others.

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Notes

1. 3rd. person singular possessor - "his/hers/its"
2. 1st. person singular possessor - "my"

References

★ The use of Relational Nouns in Chickasaw and Zapotec