Grammaticalization and linguistic typology

The far majority of postpositions in Cabecar are of denominal origin, where the source is a region noun. The origin of a postpositional construction based on a region noun is a syntactic construction visualized in the following diagram.

Postpositional phrase with intermediate noun
	N^d	N^d/h		P
[ [	noun phrase	noun	]_NP	postposition	]_PoP

N^d is typically a concrete noun phrase, and N^d/h is typically, though not necessarily a region noun which takes N^d as a possessive attribute. The complex NP thus formed depends on P, typically a primitive local postposition. illustrates this construction.

.	kal	digí̱	=na̱
Cabecar	tree	bottom	=in
	below the tree		(s.d.)

and show a region noun with two different postpositions.

.	Jié	d-ë́l=ju̱	yís	mí̱na̱	tö́	=ga.
	3.sg	emerge-s.prf=am	1.sg	mother	track	=lat
	He has arrived after my mother.					(s.d.)

.	Bá	shk-ö́	yís	tä́	=wa!
	2.sg	walk-sbj	1.sg	track	=per
	Walk after me !

Likewise and show another region noun with different postpositions.

.	S'	j-ö́=a̱	mi̱n-a̱	bá	wä́	=kí̱!
	1.sg	let-sbj=tot	go-vsn	2.sg	face	=sup
	Let me go in front of you!

.	Kjós	káte	óshkoro	ju	wä́	=saka.
	black.oak	pos:stand	chicken	house	face	=loc
	The black oak stands opposite the chicken coop.

As these monosyllabic postpositions are enclitic, univerbation affects such constructions and coalesces the region noun with the postposition. The result gets lexicalized as a complex postposition with the meaning indicated by the translations.