Lokalisation im Maninka (West-Mande)

Abstract The structure of localizing expressions in Maninka is described within a universal conceptual framework developed by LEHMANN ( 1 9 9 2 ) . A key element, which appears in the linguistic manifestation of local situations, is the local relator (syntactically an adposition) which designates a local relation between the localized object and the local reference object. It is shown that in Maninka postpositions designate only spatial regions of the reference object (e.g. proximity, interior), whereas the local orientation (towards/away from/along the reference object) is expressed either by the verb root itself, i.e. is contained in the lexical information of the verb, or - in cases where the verb does not incorporate orientation - by a separate orientation verb. The semantics and syntax of the relational preverbs that are formally identical to the respective postpositions is described in terms of changes in transitivity. A conceptual link between the semantics of the postpositions and that of the relational preverbs is established. The preverbal position of the original postpositions is explained in the context of a grammaticalization chain leading from the compounding of postpositions (derived from relational nouns like body-parts and landmarks) with the verb root to the emergence of derivational prefixes.