Relational noun

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Relational nouns are a class of words used in some languages that is characterized by functioning syntactically as nouns but conveying the meaning of prepositions. 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. Languages that use relational nouns include the Mayan languages, the Mixe-Zoquean languages, and the Oto-Manguean languages among others.

A relational noun is grammatically speaking a simple noun, but because its meaning describes a spatial or temporal relation rather than a "thing", it is used to describe location, movement, and other relations just as prepositions do in the languages that have them. When used the noun is owned by another noun and describes a relation between its "owner" and a third noun. For example one could say "the cup is the table its-surface", where "its surface" is a relational noun denoting the position of something standing on a flat surface. E.g., in Classical Nahuatl:

Ca ī-pan petlatl in mistōn

Be its-on mat the cat

"The cat is on the mat"

Often relational nouns will be derived from, or related in meaning to, words for bodyparts, so that for example to say "inside" one will say "its stomach" or to say "on top of" one will say "its back".