The Semantics of Locative Adpositions in Amharic

This paper intends to describe the semantics of locative adpositions in Amharic, a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia. The analysis is based on elicited data that were collected by using Bowerman and Pederson’s (1992) topological relations picture series. The study shows that Amharic locative adpositions can convey specific and generic topological relations between the figure and ground entities. The specific locatives show a specific type of topological relations (for instance, verticality as in tatʃtʃ, below’, ‘under’; horizontality as in fit, ‘front’; containment as in wɨst’, ‘in’) between the figure and ground entities, but not the generic locatives. Aside from which, I argue that Amharic does not fit into Ameka and Levinson’s (2007) typology of locative predicates and constitutes a type of its own because it uses two copulas and a locative verb.


Introduction
Amharic belongs to the transversal group of the South Ethiopian Semitic branch of the Ethiopian Semitic subfamily, the Semitic family of the Afroasiatic phylum. 1 According to the Population Census Commission, Ethiopian people speak Amharic as a first language. 2 It is the second most populous Semitic language after Arabic. 3 It was the only language of education in Ethiopian primary schools and the most prestigious and dominant language in Ethiopia until 1991. 4 It serves as a de facto lingua franca in major cities and towns of the country, 5 and is the working language of the federal government. Although there are monolingual speakers of Amharic in various major towns and cities of the country, including Addis Abǝba, 6 native Amharic speakers live in the core Amhara areas such as Gondǝr, Godʒdʒam, (North) ʃǝwa and Wǝllo. 7 In this article, I identify and examine the linguistic forms employed in basic locative constructions in the sense of Levinson and Wilkins' topological relations. 8 The term 'basic locative construction' refers to the construction used in a basic locative function. It focuses on responses to 'wherequestions' (i.e. 'where is the X?'). 9 The data were mainly collected through elicitation. The process has been supported by Bowerman and Pederson's topological relations picture series The Semantics of Locative Adpositions in Amharic Aethiopica 23 (2020) 169 (henceforth TRPS). 10 This stimuli kit, which includes a one-page instruction sheet, has been prepared to obtain linguistic expressions of spatial relations between figure and ground entities. Many linguists all over the world use the task in their fieldwork. Regarding the procedure, I follow the instructions mentioned in the material. For the elicitation, eight male and seven female native speakers of Amharic from different core Amhara areas have been consulted. Moreover, intuitive data was used in a few instances because the author is a native speaker of the language.
The article consistently uses IPA symbols in the transcription and the linguistic data is glossed based on the Leipzig glossing rules and the use of three-line glossing. The first line is the phonemic transcription; the second is the linear morphological analysis; the third is the free translation. However, when there is a phonological or morphophonemic process, the phonetic form of the word is given in square brackets following its phonemic form.
Languages of the world deploy different classes of linguistic units (e.g. adpositions, nominal predicates, case inflections, locative verbs) when expressing basic location. 11 Ameka and Levinson identified four basic typological types of locative predication based on the size and semantic type of verbs used in basic locative construction (i.e. Type 0, Type I, Type II, and Type III). 12 Type 0 includes languages that do not have verbs in a locative statement (e.g. Saliba, Austronesia, Papua New Guinea). Type I refers to languages that have a single locative verb (or suppletion under grammatical conditioning). The locative verb can be (1) copula (e.g. English, Tamil, Chukchi, Tiriyó) or (2) locative (+existential) (e.g. Japanese, Ewe, Yukatek). Type II languages are those that employ a small contrastive set of locative verbs (three to seven verbs). The verbs can be (1) postural verbs (e.g. Arrente, Dutch, Goemai) or (2) verbs denoting ground space (e.g. Tidore). Type III includes languages that use a large set of dispositional verbs (nine to one hundred verbs; e.g. Tezetal, Zapotee, German). They claim that languages related in terms of genetics, typology, and area can belong to different types of locative predication typology. Genetically close-related languages, such as Dutch and German, belong to Type II (six verbs) and Type III (ten verbs) respectively. 13 10 Bowerman and Pederson 1992. 11 Levinson and Wilkins 2006b, 16. 12 Ameka and Levinson 2007, 863-864. 13 Ibid., 864.

Basic Locative Constructions
Basic locative construction refers to responses of where-questions, namely 'where is the figure with respect to the ground entity'. Amharic mainly uses spatial adpositions (i.e. prepositions and postpositions) with a copula or a locative (+existential) verb in basic locative constructions. 14 In the literature, the Amharic prepositions, including the spatial prepositions, are treated in two ways: (1) as separate words, 15 and (2) as semantic case markers. 16 In this study, the former is followed. This is due to their being optional, which they would not be were they case markers like the accusative or genitive cases. As mentioned above, Amharic uses copulas in locative constructions. The copulas are nǝ-, 'be','exist','be.PST','exist.PST'. 18 The first two are used in present-tense expressions. The latter, however, is the suppletive form and used in past-tense expressions. This implies that Amharic employs two copulas in locational expressions. All such copulas are accompanied by various suffixes indicating person, gender, and number. 19 Amharic can also use the locative verb jɨ-t-gǝɲɲ-all > [jɨ-ggǝɲɲ-all], 'be found'. Note that the copulas and the locative verb compete almost equally for locative constructions. When observing the typology of Amharic locative predicates, it emerges that Amharic does not fit Ameka and Levinson's typology, 20 as they do not include languages of more than one copula in their typological classifications.
The basic locative construction in Amharic is of the form noun phrase expressing figure followed by an adpositional phrase denoting site and, finally, the copulas or the existential verb. The adpositional phrase can be made up of (1) the spatial preposition and the ground nominal, or (2) the ground nominal and the spatial postposition, or (3) the spatial preposition, ground nominal, and the postposition. When both the spatial preposition and postposition co-occur in a single locative statement, they have hierarchical syntactic relations. First, spatial prepositions and postpositions are 14 A reviewer commented that the verb tǝgǝɲɲǝ/jɨggǝɲɲall, 'exist', can be used in basic locative constructions, with which I agree. 15 Bayǝ Yɨmam 2016-2017Anbessa Teferra and Hudson 2007, 46-47;Leslau 1995, 597-616. 16 Baker and Kramer 2014, 144;Hetzron 1970, 308-315. 17 It is an existential copula but it can also be used in locational expressions. 18 Cf. Meyer 2011bMeyer , 1196Meyer -1197 Bayǝ Yɨmam 2016Yɨmam -2017 Ameka and Levinson 2007, 863-864. Aethiopica 23 (2020) 171 now to be described in separate subsections; then I will proceed to a discussion on how they are coordinated.

Spatial Prepositions
In Amharic, basic location can be expressed by using the spatial prepositions kǝ-and ɨ-, 'at'. 21 These prepositions have a general locative function; they do not show specific types of topological relations between the figure and the ground. This means that they convey a dimensionless position of the figure. Amharic speakers usually use kǝ-or ɨ-interchangeably in situations where the noun of the ground begins with a consonant. When the ground noun begins with a vowel, they use kǝ-. For illustration, consider utterances 1, 2, and 3. 1) ɨrsas-u ɨ/kǝ=t 'ǝrǝp'eza-u laj nǝ-u, 22  As shown in examples 1 and 2 above, the ground nouns t'ǝrǝp'eza, 'table', and mǝsk'ǝja, 'hanger', begin with the consonants /t'/and /m/ respectively. In such cases, speakers use the locative prepositions kǝ-and ɨ-interchangeably, as in 1 and 2. In example 3 above, the ground noun angǝt, 21 The preposition kǝ-is substituted by tǝ-in the Amharic varieties of Wǝllo (cf. Amsalu Aklilu and Habte Mariam Markos 1973, 126), North ʃǝwa (Mǝnz; cf. Hailu Fulass and Fisseha Sisay 1973, 123), and Godʒdʒam (cf. Meyer 2011bMeyer , 1182. Save in the Gondǝr variety, particularly in South Gondǝr, it occurs as tǝ-and sometimes as hǝ-(cf. Anbessa Tefera 2013, 260). 22 The phonetic form of it is [nǝw]. 'neck', begins with a vowel (i.e. /a/), so speakers do not use the morpheme ɨ-in place of kǝ-.
There is also another locative preposition bǝ-, 'at', which has a slight semantic difference from the other locative prepositions. Although it is not usually used in basic locative expressions, it has a locative function. In many instances, it occurs with verbs designating topological relations as in In examples 4a and 4b, the verbs tǝlǝt't'ǝf-, 'having stuck', and tǝt'ǝmǝt't'ǝm-, 'having encircled', express topological relations: adhesion and encirclement respectively. In such instances, the preposition bǝ-shows that the noun phrases posta, 'envelope', and ʃama, 'candle', have the function of locations at which tembɨr, 'stamp' (4a), and kɨrr, 'thread' (4b), are fixed. However, it can also occur with the copula.
The local beer is in the glass' (lit. 'The local beer is inside the glass').
In this example, the preposition bǝ-shows that the ground bɨrtʃ'ɨk'o serves as a container of t'ǝlla. In such a case, speakers emphasize to the container. The container itself is the location of t'ǝlla.

Spatial Postpositions
Amharic uses considerable numbers of spatial postpositions to express the static location of the figure. The postpositions encode the general location of the figure, which does not show the specific type of topological features, or relative location of the figure, which indicates specific relational positions in reference to ground. Some spatial postpositions overlap with frames of reference but here they are described as non-angular specifications. Amharic spatial postpositions encode (1) general location of a figure, (2) specific topological relations between figure and ground, or (3) a region at which figure is located (see Table 1).  3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 1) The figure is in contact with the ground horizontally or vertically.
2) The figure sits or stands on the ground but is not covered by it.
3) The figure is anchored or stuck on the ground.
wɨst' inside 2, 11, 14, The figure is totally or partially covered by the ground.
wɨtʃ'tʃ' outside The figure is outside of the container. 2) The figure is between two grounds.
tʃ'af tip 20 The figure is on the tip of the vertically or horizontally extended ground. The figure is located in the region of moveable ground or non-place name ground which covers a small land area. zǝnd t'ɨgg next to 6 The figure is next to the inanimate ground.
at'ǝg ǝb nearness 6, 38, 49 The figure is close to the ground.
ak'rabbija vicinity The figure is in the vicinity of the ground.

Postpositions Designating a General Location
In Amharic, the postposition laj, 'at', 'on', 'top', is at the centre of static locational expressions. In the descriptions of seventy-one TRPS, laj appears in fifty-three of them. It is a general locative postposition that does not show a specific relational position of the figure with respect to ground. It can be used in contexts when (1) figure is in contact with ground horizontally or vertically, as in 6a and in 6b; (2) figure is anchored or stuck on ground as in 7; (3) figure is part of whole (part of ground) as in 9; and (4) figure sits or stands on ground (see examples 10a and b).
Consider examples 6a and 6b above: the figure mǝs'haf, 'book', in 6a is supported horizontally by mǝdǝrdǝrija, 'shelf', whereas the figure kot, 'coat', in 6b is hung at mǝsk'ǝja, 'hanger'. The topological relation between mǝs'haf and mǝdǝrdǝrija in 6a is horizontal, while the spatial relation between kot and mǝsk'ǝja in 6b is vertical (hanging position). Although the topological relations between figure and ground in 6a and 6b are not the same, Amharic employs identical postposition laj to express both spatial relations. Therefore, we can say that the postposition laj does not differentiate horizontal and vertical support in topological relations. In such a case, the specific topological relation can be determined from the knowledge of the observers.
The postposition laj can also be used when the figure is fixed on the ground. In this case, there is no space between the figure and the ground. This implies that the figure covers some parts of the ground. Consider the following descriptions of picture 20 ('balloon on a stick') and 03 ('stamp on a letter') of TRPS.
balloon-DEF at=stick-DEF on COP-3SG.M, {exist, be.found} 'The balloon is on the stick' (TRPS 20). Note that the figure fiɲɲa, 'balloon', in picture 20 ('balloon on stick') of TRPS is anchored on bǝttɨr, 'stick'. In picture 03 ('stamp on letter') of TRPS, the figure tembɨr is securely stuck on posta. In the descriptions of both scenes, in examples 7a and 7b, the general spatial postposition laj is used to express the locations of the figures fiɲɲa and tembɨr. Thus, Amharic does not have postpositions that can contrast spatial relations of (+/-) attachment by cord and (+/-) adhesion. To specify such kinds of spatial relations, positional verbs can be included. In these examples, the verbs tasɨr-, 'having tied', in 8a and tǝlǝt't'ɨf-, 'having stuck', in 8b encode the notions of attachment and adhesion respectively. In addition, the Amharic postposition laj can be deployed to indicate the figure is in part-whole relation with the ground and to encode marks on the surface. This shows that the basic locative construction can be used for the part-whole relation. Consider the following examples. 9) s'ɨhuf-u kǝ/ɨ=ʃǝmiz-u laj nǝ-u, {all-ǝ, jɨ-ggǝɲɲ-all} writing-DEF at=shirt-DEF on COP-3SG.M, {exist, be.found} 'The writing is on the shirt' (TRPS 68).
Picture 34 ('man on roof') of TRPS shows that the figure sǝw, 'man', stands on the t'ara, 'roof'. On the other hand, picture 40 ('cat on the mat') of TRPS reveals that the figure dɨmmǝt, 'cat', sits on the ground mɨnt'af, 'mat'. In these different contexts, to represent the location of sǝw in 10a and dɨmmǝt in 10b, the postposition laj is used. In general, the spatial postposition laj does not specify topological relations between figure and ground.
Moreover, the spatial postpositions zǝnd, 'at', 24 that appears in the Amharic varieties of Wǝllo, Gondǝr, and Godʒdʒam, and ga, 'at', that occurs in the Addis Abǝba and North ʃǝwa varieties, can also be used to express the general location of the figure. 25 Amharic can only deploy them in contexts when the ground is moveable or covering a small land area. When we say 'moveable entity' as a location of a figure, we refer to its location because the location subsumes the entity. So, using these postpositions in such contexts indicates that more emphasis is given to the ground than to its location. Consider the static locative expressions presented below. 11) a. In example 11a, the ground entity (i.e. betǝsǝb, 'family') is moveable. In 11b, the ground object betǝkɨrsɨtjan, 'church', covers a small land area. To represent such entities as locations of mist, 'wife', in 11a and k'es, 'priest', in 11b, the postpositions zǝnd and ga are used. Such types of expressions, of course, can indicate that figures are located at the site of moveable ground (betǝsǝb) or ground objects covering a small land area. For instance, when we say mist is located at betǝsǝb, we are referring to the location where betǝsǝb is found. The postposition zǝnd in 11a has the meanings of 'at families' place and with them'.

Postpositions Representing Specific Topological Relations
Specific topological relations can be expressed by using those spatial postpositions representing the relative location of a figure in reference to ground. These postpositions can also be categorized as nouns. This is because they behave, in other contexts, like other nominals, that is, they can inflect for gender, possession, and definiteness. However, semantically they serve as locatives. 26 When they express the basic location of the figure, they do not show inflections; they behave like other spatial adpositions and can be treated as closed-class words. As a result, 'spatial adpositions' is the preferred designation here. Spatial postpositions can specify the location of the figure with respect to the ground. Amharic postpositions expressing specific topological relations between figure and ground entities cover the following semantic components. These are (1) horizontality, (2) verticality, (3) containment (enclosure), and (4) distance.

Horizontality
The horizontal topological relations that Amharic shows are front-back and central-peripheral relations. The topological relation of the front is present in the spatial postpositions fit, 'front', and fit-lǝ-fit, 27 'in front of', whereas the back topological relation is found in the terms h w ala, 'back', and dʒǝrba, 'back', that compete equally. Note that these terms also have projective meanings, that is, they specify the angular location of the figure in reference to the ground entity. Central topological relations can be encoded by using mǝhal, 'centre'; the spatial information of the periphery is depicted by the spatial postpositions dar, 'edge', and g w ǝdn > The spatial term fit-lǝ-fit in 12a specifies the spatial relation of the figure (here jǝ-wɨha gudg w ad, 'well of water') to the location of the ground (here bet, 'house'), that is, jǝ-wɨha gudg w ad has horizontal topological relation, specifically front relation, with respect to bet. In 12b, the spatial postposition dʒǝrba expresses the specific type of horizontal topological relation (i.e. back) between the figure object k'ǝfo, 'hive', and the ground object bet.

Verticality
The semantic element of verticality is contrasted with the postpositions laj ('top'), bǝlaj ('above', 'over'), mǝhal ('midsection'), tatʃtʃ ('bottom'), and bǝtatʃtʃ ('under', 'below'). When the figure is located at the top of the ground, the postposition laj can be used; if a figure is located over the ground, the term bǝlaj is preferred. If the figure is located at the middle of the vertically extended ground, the postposition mǝhal can be employed; if the location of the figure is below the location of the ground entity, the term bǝtatʃtʃ is used. In addition, positional relations of body parts, such as anat ('head'), rasge ('on the top of'), and gɨrge ('at the foot', 'on the bottom of'), sɨr ('bottom'), and wǝgǝb ('midsection'), can designate specific topological relations. These postpositions are to be discussed in more detail in the context of frames of reference.

13) a. gum-u kǝ=tǝrara-u bǝlaj nǝ-u > [kǝtǝraraw] > [nǝw]
fog-DEF at=mountain-DEF above COP-3SG.M 'The fog is above the mountain' (TRPS 36). In these examples, the spatial relation between the figures and the grounds is vertical. In 13a, gum, 'fog' (i.e. the figure), is located above the location of tǝrara, 'mountain' (i.e. the ground). This specific topological relation is represented by the term bǝlaj. In 13b, the spatial postposition sɨr shows that dɨmmǝt (i.e. the figure) is located below t'ǝrǝp'eza, that is, the ground object.

Containment (Enclosure)
The spatial relation of containment is expressed by the postposition wɨst', 'in', when the ground object occludes the visibility of the figure. This postposition can be deployed in contexts when a figure is located at the interior portion of bounded ground, thereby the figure is enclosed. This means that the postposition wɨst' refers to situations when a figure is partially or wholly enclosed by the bounded ground. It represents an enclosure conformation and a volume conformation. Hence, it encodes the notions of 'enclosure' and 'containment'. 14) a. 'The house is in the fence' (TRPS 60).
In example 14a, asa, 'fish', is located in mɨntʃǝt, 'pot', that is, a bounded ground object. Here, the ground (i.e. mɨntʃǝt) serves as a container of the figure (i.e. asa). In addition, mɨntʃǝt occludes the visibility of asa. The postposition wɨst' depicts the notion of containment with occlusion. In 14b, bet (the figure entity) is encircled by at'ɨr, 'fence' (i.e. the ground entity). In this scene, the ground may partially hide the figure from view. Here, the spatial postposition wɨst' does not convey the semantic notion of containment. Instead, it expresses the semantic notion of encirclement with occlusion. Therefore, the postposition wɨst' is associated with occlusion.
Picture 15 ('fence around the house') of TRPS shows that the figure at'ɨr is located around the ground bet and the figure does not make contact with the ground. The postposition zurija pays attention to this kind of topological relation.
Moreover, the spatial postposition wɨtʃtʃ', 'out', expresses the situation in which the figure is located at an exterior portion of bounded ground without any contact.

Distance
Amharic has other types of spatial postpositions which can specify spatial proximity between figure and ground when they are separated in space. They represent a relative position of a figure in relation to a ground. For example, when a figure is proximal to ground at a different level of proximity, the postpositions like akkababi ('surrounding area'), gɨdɨm ('near'), ak'ɨrabbija ('vicinity'), at'ǝgǝb ('nearness'), and t'ɨgg ('next to') are used; when it is distal to ground, the postpositions such as mado ('across', 'the other side'), and baʃʃaggǝr ('across', 'beyond') are deployed. The spatial postpositions mado and baʃʃaggǝr require a boundary between the figure and the ground. Notice that these postpositions designate gradable distance between the figure and the ground. 28 Aethiopica 23 (2020) 181 Assume that the site A is the ground's location and the sites B through H, which have a different level of spatial proximity to the ground, are possible locations of the figure. When the figure is at A, the postposition laj can be used; if it is at the site B, the term t'ɨgg is employed. If the figure is in C, at'ǝgǝb; in D, gɨdɨm; in E, ak'ɨrabbija; in F, akkababi; in G, mado; and, in H, baʃʃaggǝr can be deployed in locative statements. These postpositions can also be followed by the generic postposition laj (see the example in 16 below). However, the general locative postposition is optional. In example 16a, the figure zaf, 'tree', is located on the very close range of the ground entity betǝkɨrsɨtjan. To specify this spatial proximity, the postposition t'ɨgg is employed. Similarly, wuʃʃa, 'dog' (i.e. the figure), in 16b is located near the doghouse (i.e. the ground). To refer to such spatial proximity, at'ǝgǝb is used. Thus, such kinds of postpositions can specify the position of the figure with respect to the ground.

16) a. zaf-u kǝ/ɨ=betǝkɨrsɨtjan-u t'ɨgg
The specific locative postpositions can be accompanied by the general locative postposition laj, though its occurrence is optional. When it occurs, the ground is expressed with a complex adpositional phrase made up of preposition, ground noun, specific and general locative postpositions. The syntactic relation between the constituents, particularly adpositions, is not horizontal. Consider 17a below, which is derived as follows. The specific locative postposition dar merges with the ground noun ɨsatu, 'the fire', to  Note that dar in 17a represents specific topological relation, that is, the figure (here lɨdʒ, 'child') is located at the edge of the location of ground (here ɨsat, 'fire'). In the expression, speakers emphasize to ɨsat which subsumes its location. They construe the space next to ɨsat as the end point of its location. Thus, lɨdʒ and ɨsat have horizontal topological relations. That is why they deploy the postposition dar to express the specific location of lɨdʒ. In example 17b, the spatial postposition mǝhal encodes the specific location of the figure. It shows that the figure (mǝnʃ, 'pitchfork') is located at the centre of the ground (awdɨmma, 'threshing floor'). Thus, when the figure is located at the centre of an encircled space, the spatial relation can be specified with the postposition mǝhal. Example 17c shows a specific type of vertical spatial relation between kǝzǝra, 'cane' (i.e. the figure), and alga, 'bed' (i.e. the ground). In Amharic, the position of alga is understood through the human body because its function is related to the human being. The part of alga where the upper body parts are laid is construed as head, while the part of it where lower body parts are laid is conceived as a leg. Therefore, the bed is construed as a vertically extended object. As seen in the example 17c above, kǝzǝra is located on the lower part of the bed. To express the specific location of the cane, the term gɨrge, 'at the foot of (bed)', is used.

Combinations of Spatial Adpositions in Basic Locative Constructions
As discussed above, Amharic uses spatial adpositions (prepositions and postpositions) in basic locative constructions. The prepositions designate a general location of a figure while the postpositions can render the figure's general or specific location, spatial proximity, and region. These adpositions may not be deployed independently. Instead, they are constructed in combinations. 30 As locative prepositions do not specify the location of the figure with respect to ground, in most cases, they can co-occur with spatial postpositions. For example, scenes involving 'cup on the As can be observed in examples 18a and 18b above, the basic location is constructed by using the general locative prepositions kǝ-or ɨ-with the generic spatial postposition laj. When we see their syntactic relation in the adpositional phrase, firstly, the prepositions kǝ-or ɨ-merge with the ground nouns t'ǝrǝp'eza and sahɨn, 'plate', to form the prepositional phrases kǝ/ɨ=t'ǝrǝp'ezau, 'at the table', and kǝ/ɨ=sahɨn, 'at the plate', respectively. Then, the postposition laj merges with these prepositional phrases to form the complex adpositional phrases kǝ/ɨ=t'ǝrǝp'eza-u laj, 'at the table', as in 18a and kǝ/ɨ=sahɨn laj, 'on the plate', as in 18b. This implies, in syntactic structure, that the prepositions are more proximal than the postposition to the ground. In spite of syn-tactic proximity, the prepositions kǝ-and ɨ-are less relevant than the generic postposition laj semantically. The prepositions may be omitted and their omission does not cause semantic differences, as in the examples in 19 given below, but, if the postpositions are reduced in basic locative constructions, the statement cannot be felicitous. For instance, the above expressions (i.e. 18a and 18b) can be uttered as 19a and 19b below respectively. 19) a. sɨni-u t'ǝrǝp'eza-u laj nǝ-u, {all-ǝ, jɨ-ggǝɲɲ-all} > [sɨniw] > [t 'ǝrǝp'ezaw] porcelain.cup-DEF As can be shown in examples 19a and 19b above, the prepositions kǝ-and its variant ɨ-are omitted and became zero morphemes but they do not cause a semantic difference in the expressions. Similar to the prepositions, the postposition laj can be reduced to zero morph in situations when the ground is a location (e.g. home, market, church, school) which is conceived as covering a small land area. In this case, site can be expressed with the preposition (see 20b) or interpreted from the context (i.e. from the nature of the ground; see 20c). For example, speaker X asks speaker Y about where he is at the time of utterance to which he may respond by saying, 20) a. X: jǝt nǝ-h?
where COP-2SG.M 'Where are you?' (introspection). We can see that the prepositions kǝ-or ɨ-, as in 20b, can be used in the absence of the spatial postposition laj. In example 20c, there is no preposition or postposition to refer to the ground which has a function of location. However, the response is interpreted as location. The interrogative pronoun jǝt, 'where', in 20a entails that the response bet (nǝɲɲ), 'I am home', in 20c is a locational response and can be interpreted as 'the figure is at home'.