 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (March 2020) |
| Grammatical features |
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In linguistics, possession[1][2] is an asymmetric relationship between two constituents, the referent of one of which (the possessor) in some sense possesses (owns, has as a part, rules over, etc.) the referent of the other (the possessed).
Possession may be marked in many ways, such as simple juxtaposition of nouns, possessive case, possessed case, construct state (as in Arabic and Nêlêmwa),[3] or adpositions (possessive suffixes, possessive adjectives). For example, English uses a possessive clitic, 's; a preposition, of; and adjectives, my, your, his, her, etc.
Predicates denoting possession may be formed either by using a verb such as English have or by other means, such as existential clauses (as is usual in languages such as Russian).
Some languages have more than two possessive classes. In Papua New Guinea, for example, Anêm has at least 20 and Amele has 32.[4][5]
- ^ Peters, Stanley; Westerst ̊ahl, Dag. "The Semantics of Possessives" (PDF). Stockholm University.
- ^ Miestamo, Matti; Tamm, Anne; Wagner-Nagy, Beáta (2015). Negation in Uralic Languages. John Benjamins Publishing Company. ISBN 9789027268648 – via Google Books.
- ^ Isabelle Bril (2012). "Ownership, part–whole, and other possessive–associative relations in Nêlêmwa (New Caledonia)". In Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald; R. M. W. Dixon (eds.). Possession and Ownership. Oxford University Press. pp. 65–89. ISBN 9780191745096.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
inalien.posswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Nichols, Johanna; Bickel, Balthasar. "Possessive Classification". World Atlas of Language Structures. Retrieved 26 February 2011.