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Can predicative possession be expressed with an S-like possessum and a possessor that is coded like an adnominal possessor?
Summary
This question concerns predicative possession, i.e. clauses that express an ownership relation between a possessor and possessum. This feature concerns clauses where the possessum is the subject and the possessor is construed as a modifier of the possessum (e.g. my car exists to mean ‘I have a car’).
This type of predicative possessive construction is known as the ‘genitive possessive’ in the work of Stassen (2001, 2013).
Procedure
- Find the section on predicative possession.
- If no such section exists, search for words like ‘own’, ‘possess’, ‘have’, and ‘belong’.
- If there is no information on how predicative possession is expressed in the language, code as ?.
- If it is clear that there is a clause type where a possessum is coded as a subject and the possessor is coded as a modifier of the subject, code as 1.
- If there are multiple constructions besides this one to express predicative possession, code 1 for this feature and verify whether any of the other constructions are relevant to GB250, GB252, GB253 or GB256.
Examples
Rapa Nui (ISO 639-3: rap, Glottolog: rapa1244)
In Rapa Nui, predicative possession is expressed by a clause stating the existence of the possessed noun. The possessor is encoded as a modifier of the noun. Rapanui is coded as 1 for this feature. In the example below, 'a is the inalienable possessive marker that is also found in attributive possession.
E ai rō ꞌā te kona ꞌoka mahute ꞌa Kekepuē ko tetu
IPFV exist EMPH CONT ART place plant mulberry POSS Kekepue EMPH huge
‘Kekepue had a huge plantation of mulberries.’ (Kieviet 2017: 467),
Further reading
Stassen, Leon. 2001. Predicative Possession. In Martin Haspelmath, Wulf Oesterreicher & Wolfgang Raible (eds) Language typology and language universals. 954–960. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Stassen, Leon. 2013. Predicative Possession. In Matthew S. Dryer & Martin Haspelmath (eds), The world atlas of language structures online. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
References
Kieviet, Paulus. 2017. A grammar of Rapa Nui. Berlin: Language Science Press.
Stassen, Leon. 2001. Predicative Possession. In Martin Haspelmath, Wulf Oesterreicher and Raible, Wolfgang (eds.) Language Typology and Language Universals, 2. 954-960. Berlin and New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
Stassen, Leon. 2013. Predicative Possession. In: Dryer, Matthew S. & Haspelmath, Martin (eds.) The World Atlas of Language Structures Online. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
Related Features
- GB250 Can predicative possession be expressed with a transitive ‘habeo’ verb?
- GB252 Can predicative possession be expressed with an S-like possessum and a locative-coded possessor?
- GB253 Can predicative possession be expressed with an S-like possessum and a dative-coded possessor?
- GB256 Can predicative possession be expressed with a comitative/conjunctional construction?
Patron
Hedvig Skirgård