GB313
Are there special adnominal possessive pronouns that are not formed by an otherwise regular process?
This feature identifies phonologically independent possessive pronouns that are not formed by the application of regular possessive morphology or core case marking to more general pronominal forms. Instead, languages that qualify for a 1 code for this feature form at least some possessive pronouns through some process other than the usual possessive marking, or, frequently, with suppletive forms. Note that special adnominal possessive pronouns are most commonly found in the first and second person.
To qualify as ‘special adnominal possessive pronouns’, the possessive pronouns must not be identical to the pronominal forms used for core arguments. It is not necessary for the possessive pronouns to be dedicated solely to the function of possession, provided that the criteria above are satisfied.
- Identify the regular possessive construction(s) of the language, including all possessive constructions used with full nominal possessors (e.g. English X’s Y, and Y of X’s).
- Identify the construction(s) used to express possession with a pronominal possessor.
- If the pronominal possessors in the constructions identified in step 2 are regular formations that are identical to any constructions identified in step 1, code 0.
- If any of these possessive pronoun formation processes identified in 2 are different from those in 1 and result in forms that are not identical to the corresponding pronominal forms used to express core (S, A and P) arguments in this language, code 1.
- If the pronominal possessors in any constructions identified in step 2 are expressed using phonologically independent, suppletive forms, code 1.
- If no phonologically independent possessive pronouns exist, code 0 and include a comment to note the non-existence of the target forms.
- If the phonologically independent pronouns used in adnominal possession are unmarked (bare), are identical to pronominal forms used for core (S, A and P) arguments, and are used in simple juxtaposition with the possessum nominal, code 0.
- If the possessive pronouns that have triggered a 1 code are not entirely dedicated to the function of possession, please indicate in the comments any other functions these forms have.
English (ISO 639-3: eng, Glottolog: stan1293)
Possession with a nominal possessor:
John’s book
a friend of John’s
Possession with a pronominal possessor (first person):
my book (*I’s book)
a friend of mine (*a friend of I’s)
English uses suppletive forms for these first person possessive pronouns, rather than using the morphological marking pattern that is used for possessive nouns. These pronouns (my/mine) are not identical to the non-possessive pronouns used to express core arguments. English is coded 1.
Basque (ISO 639-3: eus, Glottolog: basq1248)
The genitive -en/-ren is suffixed to nouns in Basque’s possessive noun phrases.
a. Muñagorri-ren bertsoak
Muñagorri-GEN verses
‘Muñagorri’s verses’ (Hualde & de Urbana 2003: 143)
b. nere aita-ren etxea
my father-GEN house
‘my father’s house’ (Hualde & de Urbana 2003: 143)
The first and second person possessive pronouns in Basque are not formed through the application of the -en/-ren suffix to pronominal forms. The suffix -re (which is not used to mark pronouns for the core absolutive, ergative, or dative cases) is used to create most possessive pronouns, while a small number are suppletive.
| Person/Number | Personal | Possessive |
|---|---|---|
| 1SG | ni (‘I’) | ene, nere, nire (‘my’) |
| 2SG (intimate) | hi (‘you’) | hire (‘your’) |
| 2SG (unmarked) | zu (‘you’) | zure (‘your’) |
| 1PL | gu (‘we’) | gure (‘our’) |
| 2PL | zuek (‘you’) | zuen (‘your’) |
(Hualde & de Urbana 2003, 144)
While the paradigm is not entirely uniform, the regular suffixation process that is used to form many of the possessive pronouns is different from the morphology associated with possessive nouns and from the morphology used to mark personal pronouns for core cases. This is sufficient to trigger a 1 value for this feature. There are also suppletive forms in the first person (e.g. ene, zuen). These suppletive possessive pronouns are also sufficient to trigger a 1 value for this feature. Basque is therefore coded 1.
Luo (ISO 639-3: luo, Glottolog: luok1236)
Luo has a series of possessive pronouns that are formed by a regular process in which the personal pronoun is suffixed to the form mar ‘belonging to (singular)’ or mag/mek ‘belonging to (plural)’. The resulting pronouns are as follows (Okoth Okombo 1997: 57–59):
| Person/Number | Personal | Possessive |
|---|---|---|
| 1SG | -a (‘I’) | mar-a (‘my’) |
| 2SG | -i (‘you’) | mar-i (‘your (SG)’) |
| 3SG | -e, -go (‘he/she/it’) | mar-e (‘his/her/its’) |
| 1PL | -wa (‘we’) | mar-wa (‘our’) |
| 2PL | -u (‘you all’) | mar-u (‘your (PL)’) |
| 3PL | -gi (‘they’) | mar-gi (‘their’) |
In practice, adnominal possession involving a pronominal possessor is typically expressed by marking the possessum noun with the personal pronominal suffix that corresponds to the person/number of the possessor, as in the example below (Okoth Okombo 1997: 59):
bug-e
book-3SG
‘his book’
Because the phonologically independent possessive pronouns are formed through a regular process and possession is otherwise marked by phonologically bound forms, Luo is coded 0.
Van Baal, Yvonne & Jan Don. 2018. Universals in possessive morphology. Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics, 3(1). 11. 1–19.
Hualde, José I. & Jon Ortiz de Urbana. 2003. A grammar of Basque. (Mouton Grammar Library, 26.) Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Okoth Okombo, Duncan. 1997. A functional grammar of Dholuo. (Nilo-Saharan, 12.) Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe.
- GB430 Can adnominal possession be marked by a prefix on the possessor?
- GB432 Can adnominal possession be marked by a suffix on the possessor?
Hannah J. Haynie