Documentation

Linglib.Features.Possession

Possession — typological feature substrate #

[Sta09b] [Sta13a] [Nic86] [NB13d] [NB13a] [Hei97] [Hei09a] [Aik12] [DH13b]

Theory-neutral classification enums for possession. Per-language values are bare defs in Fragments/<Lang>/Possession.lean, consumed by Studies/NicholsBickel2013, Studies/Heine1997, and Studies/KampanarouAlexiadou2026. Bare-root Possession namespace under Features/, like Features/Case.

Main definitions #

Obligatoriness (WALS 58A), Classification (59A), AffixPosition (57A), PredicativeStrategy ([Sta09b] four-way; [Sta13a] adds Genitive), AdnominalMarking ([Nic86]), Notion and Source ([Hei97]), InalienabilityRank, and the neutral Alienability cut. Per-language values are bare defs in Fragments/<Lang>/Possession.lean; cross-linguistic aggregation uses a study-local row in Studies/NicholsBickel2013.lean.

Notes #

These enums adopt specific frameworks, not field-wide consensus: PredicativeStrategy is Stassen's typology (Genitive is his WALS 117A addition, grouped with Locational as "Oblique Possessive"); Classification collapses Mayan/Oceanic multi-class systems into threeOrMore; Source (Heine's event schemas) and PredicativeStrategy are parallel typologies bridged by predicativeSource.

WALS 58A: whether some nouns (kinship, body parts) require possessive marking.

  • exists_ : Obligatoriness

    Obligatory possessive inflection exists (Mohawk, Navajo).

  • noObligatory : Obligatoriness

    No obligatory possessive inflection (English, Russian).

  • unclear : Obligatoriness

    Inflection exists but is never obligatory; data insufficient.

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      WALS 59A: whether possession is morphosyntactically classified (alienability).

      • noClassification : Classification

        One construction for all nouns (English, Russian).

      • twoWay : Classification

        Two-way, typically alienable vs inalienable (Fijian, Hawaiian).

      • threeOrMore : Classification

        Three or more possessive classes.

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          How a language predicates possession ("I have X"); [Sta09b] four-way, [Sta13a] (WALS 117A) adds Genitive.

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              [Nic86]; WALS 24A [NB13a]: locus of NP-internal marking.

              • headMarking : AdnominalMarking

                Marker on the possessed head noun (Hungarian, Swahili).

              • dependentMarking : AdnominalMarking

                Marker on the possessor (English 's, Japanese no).

              • doubleMarking : AdnominalMarking

                Both possessor and head marked (Turkish, Georgian).

              • zeroMarking : AdnominalMarking

                No overt marker; word order alone (WALS "no marking"; Vietnamese).

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                  WALS 57A: position of pronominal possessive affixes on the noun.

                  • prefixes : AffixPosition

                    Possessive prefixes (Bantu, many Papuan).

                  • suffixes : AffixPosition

                    Possessive suffixes (Turkish, Hungarian, Finnish).

                  • both : AffixPosition

                    Both prefixes and suffixes.

                  • noAffix : AffixPosition

                    No affixes; independent words/clitics (English my, Mandarin de).

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                      [Hei97]: semantic targets of possession (vs Source, the diachronic origin).

                      • physical : Notion

                        Physical possession ("a pen in my hand").

                      • temporary : Notion

                        Temporary possession ("a rental car").

                      • permanent : Notion

                        Permanent possession ("a house").

                      • inalienable : Notion

                        Inalienable possession ("two sisters", "blue eyes").

                      • abstract : Notion

                        Abstract possession ("a headache", "an idea").

                      • inanimateInalienable : Notion

                        Inanimate inalienable ("the tree has branches").

                      • inanimateAlienable : Notion

                        Inanimate alienable ("the room has a window").

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                        def Possession.instReprNotion.repr :
                        NotionNatStd.Format
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                          Coarse inalienability cline (body-part/kinship rank highest). toNat is an operationalization for comparison, not a claimed universal — [Nic86] and [Aik12] treat kinship and body-parts as co-central.

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                              [Hei97] / [Hei09a]: diachronic source schemas of predicative possession.

                              • action : Source

                                Action "X takes Y" (English have < OE habban).

                              • location : Source

                                Location "Y is at X" (Finnish adessive, Russian u).

                              • companion : Source

                                Companion "X is with Y" (Swahili -na).

                              • genitive : Source

                                Genitive "X's Y exists" (Turkish var).

                              • goal : Source

                                Goal "Y exists for X" (Hindi, Irish).

                              • source : Source

                                Source "Y exists from X".

                              • topic : Source

                                Topic "as for X, Y exists" (Japanese).

                              • equation : Source

                                Equation "Y is X's" (Scots Gaelic).

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                                def Possession.instReprSource.repr :
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                                  The neutral alienability cut #

                                  Neutral alienable/inalienable cut, low in Features so the typological Classification, DM PossessionType, and V&J PossessionRelationType can coarsen onto it instead of re-stipulating the contrast.

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                                      A language draws the alienability cut iff it classifies possession at all.

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                                        Coarsen the cline at a language's cut: ranks at or above cut are inalienable.

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