Features

50. Ablative/partitive alternation: -(r)ik (v -tik)

Yellow: variational pattern attested
Blue: variational pattern non-attested

(2) ene ondorik
(3a) Etxetik heldu niz
(3b) Behereko etxeetarik heldu niz
(4a) Etxe(r)ik horra niz
(4b) Peko etxeeta(r)ik horra niz
(5a) Maule(r)ik jin da
(5b) Menditik jin da
(6a) etxeti
(6b) menditi
(7a) etxetikan
(7b) menditikan

Short description
Answers
References
Abbreviations

Euskaltzaindia. 1985. Euskal Gramatika: Lehen Urratsak I. Iruñea: Institución Príncipe de Viana eta Euskaltzaindia. [Reprinted in Euskaltzaindia. 1991]

Hualde, José Ignacio. 2003b. «Non-finite Forms». In José Ignacio Hualde and Jon Ortiz de Urbina (eds.), A Grammar of Basque. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 196-246.

Hualde, José Ignacio. 2016. «On Basque dialects». In Beatriz Fernández and Jon Ortiz de Urbina (eds.), Microparameters in the grammar of Basque. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 15-36.

Lafon, René. 1948. «Sur les suffixes casuels -ti et -rik». EJ 2, [Reprinted in Lafon 1999. Vasconiana (Iker 11), 199-207. Bilbo: Euskaltzaindia]

Oyharçabal, Beñat, Irantzu Epelde and Jasone Salaberria. 2009. Norantz proiektua. [Available in the Internet: http://norantz.org/]

Zuazo, Koldo. 2004. Euskalkiak, herriaren lekukoak. Donostia: Elkar.

Zuazo, Koldo. 2008. Euskalkiak, euskararen dialektoak. Donostia: Elkar.

Zuazo, Koldo. 2013. The dialects of Basque. Reno: University of Nevada.

Generalized pattern. In contemporary Basque, the ablative postposition is -tik.

(1)	ene ondotik
	my side.ABL
	‘From my side.’

Variational pattern 1. Some varieties also show the partitive -(r)ik in singular forms. This form is a vestige of an old ablative marker.

(2)	ene ondorik
	my side.PRTV
	‘From my side.’ (Euskaltzaindia 1985: 403)

Reported in: Bizkaian (Euskaltzaindia 1985: 403).

Variational pattern 2. Some varieties show -(r)ik in plural forms (-etarik).

(3a)	Etxetik	heldu	niz
	house.ABL	come.PTCP	1ABS.be
	‘I have come from the house.’

(3b)	Behereko	etxeetarik	heldu	niz
	downstairs.of	house.PL.ABL	come.PTCP	1ABS.be
	‘I have come from the houses downstairs.’ (MAIHE, Oihartzabal et al. 2009)

Reported in: eastern varieties Lafon (1948), Hualde (2003b: 185), Oihartzabal et al. (2009).

Variational pattern 3. Some varieties show -(r)ik in both singular and plural forms.

(4a)	Etxe(r)ik	horra	niz
	house.ABL	there.ALL	1ABS.be
	‘I have come from the house.’

(4b)	Peko etxeeta(r)ik	horra	niz
	downstairs.of house.PL.ABL	there.ALL	1ABS.be
	‘I have come from the houses downstairs.’ (PIEPA, Oihartzabal et al. 2009)

Reported in: Zuberoan (Oihartzabal et al. 2009).

Subvariational pattern 3

. Some variaties show -(r)ik for proper nouns and -ti(k) for common nouns.

(5a)	Maule(r)ik	jin	da
	Maule.ABL	come.PTCP	(3ABS).be
	‘(S)he has come from Maule.’

(5b)	Menditik	jin	da
	mountain.ABL	come.PTCP	(3ABS).be
	‘(S)he has come from the mountain.’

Reported in: Zuberoan (Zuazo 2004: 40, 2013: 30).

Variational pattern 4. Some variaties show -ti.

(6a)	etxeti
	house.ABL
	‘from the house/home.’

(6b)	menditi
	mountain.ABL
	‘from the mountain.’

Reported in: «a number of geographically discontinuous areas.» (Hualde 2016).

Variational pattern 5. Some variaties show -tik(an).

(7a)	etxetikan
	house.ABL
	‘from the house/home.’

(7b)	menditikan
	mountain.ABL
	‘from the mountain.’

Chapter: Postpositions (Locatives)

Keywords: ablative, locatives, partitive, postpositions

Notes:

The presence of -(r)ik in western Basque is reserved to expressions such as etxerik etxe ‘house to house’, according to Zuazo (2008: 71, 2013: 47).
«The ablative suffix -tik may derive from a sequence -ti-rik (where -ti may originally have had a wider locational meaning and -rik is the partitive suffix.» (Hualde 2016).

References:

Euskaltzaindia (1985: 403), Hualde (2003b: 185, 2016), Lafon (1948), Oyharçabal, Epelde and Salaberria (2009), Zuazo (2004, 2008, 2013)