Predicative Possession - Oxford Studien Intypology And Linguistictheory Phần 5 pps

(147)Lushai (Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Naga-Kuki-Chin)
Ka hne
ˆ
na a om
1sg to it be
‘I have it’ (Lorraine and Savidge 1898: 21)
(148)Burmese (Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Burmese-Lolo)
Cunto-hma pai-hsan hyı
´
1sg-at money exist
‘I have some money’ (Okell 1969: 130)
(149)Qiang (Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Qiangic)
?u
˜
-dóoKu-le: qa-tA
§@
2sg-key-def.class 1sg-loc exist
‘Your key is at my place/ I have your key’ (LaPolla and Huang 2003: 99)
In the Tibeto-Burman languages under discussion here, deranking of tem-
poral and other adverbial clauses is a very prominent strategy in clause
chaining. In Classical Tibetan, for example, hardly any balanced temporal
sequencing can be found. As for the morphological make-up of deranked
predicate forms, we Wnd the by now familiar mix of converbs (characterized
by suYxes on the bare verb stem) and oblique verbal nouns (characterized by
case suYxes on an overtly marked nominalized form). The distinction be-
tween the two types of deranked forms is, however, not very strict, as many
converbal suYxes have their origin in locational or instrumental case markers.
A synchronic case which illustrates this point is the converbal marker -ill« in
Limbu, which is also in use as the instrumental case marker on nouns.
Similarly, the converbal markers -on in Garo, -in in Lushai, -la in DaXa, and
-hma in Burmese all double as locative case markers in their respective

languages.
Although some of the languages have deranked forms that are special-
ized into same-subject conditions only, most converbs and oblique verbal
nouns allow absolute use as well. Nominative (or ergative) case for the
subjects of deranked predicates seems to be the norm, but, as the below
examples from Newari and Garo illustrate, genitive marking is not totally
excluded.
(150)Classical Newari (Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Himalayan)
a. Thva kanya vam-na-va rajaputra-n mitra-yake pha-lam
dem girl.nom go-vn-soc prince-ag friend-dir say-indic
‘When the girl had gone, the prince said to his friend’
(Jo
¨
rgensen 1941: 69)
318 Determinant factors
b. Simha-ya pyatya-na-va
lion-gen become.hungry-soc
‘When the lion had become hungry’ (Jo
¨
rgensen 1941: 23)
(151)Thakali (Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Himalayan)
a. Ra ki kja
´
-si soto ra ki ra-pa mu-ci
goat one cry- conv other goat one know-pcp be
‘One goat cried, the other goat was smart/ While one goat was
crying, . . .’ (Georg 1996: 127)
b. Sarma k’a-jan
˙
se c

´
antrama njan
˙
ca
´
mran
˙
-la a
clouds come-conv.cond moon 1pl see-inf neg
k’am
can
‘If there are clouds, we can’t see the moon’ (Georg 1996: 129)
c. Ki k’a-pa-e ontro t’e jul pi-si je-ci
2sg come-vn-gen before 3sg village leave-conv go-past
‘He left the village before you came’ (Georg 1996: 133)
d. Apa
´
curi k’a-pa-e cipa
´
ri n
˙
a Comsom je-ci
father here come-vn-gen after 1sg C. go-past
‘After father had come here, I went to Jomsom’ (Georg 1996: 219)
(152)Lepcha (Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Himalayan)
a. Hu-nun tya
´
ng shang-lel-lung-sa a-lun
he-erg all waste-Wnish-vn-gen after
o-tha

`
lyang ore-ka
`
kritnam ngun-non-ne
then country that-loc famine happen-go-past.indic
‘When he had squandered everything, a famine came to happen in
that country’ (Grierson 1909: 244)
b. Ado-sa akup lot-thi-wung-sa-do
you-gen son back-come-vn-gen-on
ho-nun dun klong-ma
you-erg feast give-pres.indic
‘Now that your son has returned, you give a feast’
(Grierson 1909: 246)
(153)Limbu (Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Himalayan)
KO
˛ menchuma-‘n la˛ghe’g-?ille ku-la˛buk sa’rik muk
this lady-abs walk-ger/instr her-footsteps very beat
‘When this lady walks, her footsteps make a lot of noise’
(Van Driem 1987: 233)
Locational Possessives 319
(154)Classical Tibetan (Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Himalayan)
Na sa tub-tub-la kyod-di sin kyon
1sg.erg meat cut-cut- dat 2sg-erg wood bring
‘While I am cutting the meat into pieces, you must bring some wood’
(Ja
¨
schke 1929: 58)
(155)Ladakhi (Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Himalayan)
Kho azhang-ngi khangpa-la sleb-za-na
he.abs uncle-gen house-to arrive-vn-loc

azhang-ngis nangla khrid-de khyer-s
uncle-erg inside lead-pcp take-past.indic
‘When he arrived at his uncle’s house, the uncle took him inside’
(Grierson 1909: 69)
(156)Garo (Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Bodic)
a. U-a sokba-on a
˛-a ca’-gen
3sg-nom arrive-loc/conv 1sg-nom eat-fut
‘When he arrives, I will eat’ (Burling 1961: 30)
b. U-ni okam-on a
˛-a re’a˛-aha
3sg-gen call-loc/conv 1sg-nom go-perf
‘When he called/ At his call, I went’ (Burling 1961: 31)
c. Tusi-miti
˛-o juma˛ nik-aha
sleep-with-loc dream see-perf
‘While (I) was sleeping, I had a dream’ (Burling 1961: 31)
(157)Kham (Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Bodic)
a. O-ma-hu-d@ z@
˛a-zyu-ke
3sg-neg-come-conv emp 1sg-eat-perf
‘He having not come, I ate’: ‘I ate before he came’
(Watters 2002: 212)
b. H@i o-ra-do-k@ te la:-ke-r@
thus 3sg-3pl-say-conv foc take-perf-3pl
‘When he told them, they took it’ (Watters 2002: 331)
c. H@i ya-li-zya-o-t@ z@ nuhl ta-ke
thus 3pl-say-cont-nmnl-on emp destruction be-perf
‘While they were speaking, destruction happened’
(Watters 2002: 321)

(158)Dafla (Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, North Assam)
Ha guda ha
ˆ
dema durre u-t-la
that country in great famine become-past-loc
320 Determinant factors
mu
¨
g ai da-pa-ma-tla
his belly eat-get-neg-past
‘When a great famine came to pass in that country, he could not get
food’ (Grierson 1909: 603)
(159)Meithei (Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Meithei)
N@
˛-n@ lingwistiks t@ m-pi-p@-t@
you-contrast linguistics teach-recip-nmnl-loc
@ynu
´
˛ay-ı
´
1sg be.happy-nonhyp
‘When you teach (me) linguistics, I am happy’ (Chelliah 1997: 95)
(160)Lushai (Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Naga-Kuki-Chin)
Ka lo-thlen’-in a-in a lo-ka
ˆ
ng
1sg towards-arrive-loc his-house 3sg towards-burn
‘When I arrived, his house was burning’ (Lorrain and Savidge 1898: 28)
(161)Burmese (Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Burmese-Lolo)
Qalou’ pi:-hma cano htamin sa-ya-me

work Wnish-at I food eat-can-fut
‘Only when/if the work is Wnished, I will get a chance to eat’
(Cornyn and Roop 1968: 262 )
(162)Qiang (Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Qiangic)
a. QA stuAhA tch@-lai the: jan t
§he
1sg rice eat-conv.sim 3sg cigarette smoke
‘When/while I am eating, s/he is smoking’
(LaPolla and Huang 2003: 164)
b. QA tc=@u-lA k@-s-tA the: l@gz su-ji
1sg home-loc go-vn-loc 3sg book study-asp
‘When I came home, s/he was already studying’
(LaPolla & Huang 2003: 165)
9.9 Middle East and North Africa
Apart from the Eurasian landmass, the Middle East and North Africa is the
second area in which the Locational Possessive is an important option of
possession encoding. The area is occupied largely by the various branches of
the Afro-Asiatic family, and for some subfamilies we can trace a Locational
Possessive back to ancient times. Thus, it has been established that Old
Egyptian had a Locational Possessive, which was characterized by the dative
Locational Possessives 321
preWx or preposition n ‘to’ on the possessor. The option is retained in Coptic,
the descendant of Old Egy ptian.
(163)Old Egyptian (Afro-Asiatic, Egyptian)
Nb n-j
gold to-1sg
‘I have gold’ (Benveniste 1966: 202)
(164)Coptic (Afro-Asiatic, Egyptian)
Oyon nt-ak noyhvos mmay
exist to-2sg gown there

‘You have a gown’ (Mallon 1956: 155)
Whether Old Egyptian had anything that could be analysed as some form of
deranking is unclear. In any case, Coptic turns out to have a nominalized verb
form called the inWnitive, which can be used as subject, object, and as
complement of prepositions.16 As predicate in temporal clauses the inWnitive
occurs with the prepositions n ‘at, in’ (for simultaneity) or menensa ‘after’ (for
anterior action). Fur thermore, Coptic has a verbal noun, which is derived
from the verb stem by the preWx djin-ordjin-thre-; it is a masculine noun,
which takes the article p-/pi In construction with the preposition khen ‘in,
among, w ith’, this formation encodes simultaneous clauses.
(165)Coptic (Afro-Asiatic, Egyptian)
a. Na-f-neou n-aschai pe
imperf-3sg.m-walk at-grow.inf imperf
‘It [i.e. the word of God] went and multiplied’ (Acts, 12:24)
(Mallon 1956: 129)
b. Menensa thre p-Sois schari e
after prt art.Lord hit.inf to
phiaro n-Che
`
mi
art.river gen-Egypt
‘After the Lord had struck the river of Egypt’ (Mallon 1956: 131
)
c. Khen p-djinthre-f-so
ˆ
tem ndje palou n-Abraham
in/with art.m-vn-his-hear subj art.m.servant gen-A.
e paisadji
to art.pl.word
‘When Abraham’s servant heard these words’ (Mallon 1956: 136)

16 For the rather complex formation of this inWnitive see Mallon 1956: 86 8.
322 Determinant factors
Older forms of the Semitic languages demonstrate the choice of a Locational
Possessive as well. Both Biblical Hebrew and Classical Arabic marked the
possessor by a dative preposition/preWx, with the form le- (Hebrew) or li
(Arabic). This option has been retained in Modern Hebrew. In the two
sampled modern Arabic variants, the dative marking on the possessor has
been replaced by a preposition with the basic meaning ‘at’.17
(166)Biblical Hebrew (Afro-Asiatic, Semitic)
Hayah’ so’n le-’Abraham
existed cattle to-A.
‘Abraham had cattle’ (Lambdin 1971: 56)
(167)Classical Arabic (Afro-Asiatic, Semitic)
Kaana-t li Zayd-in xubzatu-n
was-f to Z gen loaf-indef
‘Zayd had a loaf’ (Comrie 1989: 216)
(168)Modern Hebrew (Afro-Asiatic, Semitic)
Le-Yarden yesh meleh
to-Jordan exist king
‘Jordan has a king’ (Glinert 1989: 168)
(169)Cairene Arabic (Afro-Asiatic, Semitic)
Àand-i Àarabijja
at/with-1sg car
‘I have a car’ (Gary and Gamal-Eldin 1982: 49)
(170)Maltese (Afro-Asiatic, Semitic)
Pawlu gand-u ktieb
P. at-him book
‘Pawlu has a book’ (Comrie 1989: 213)
Like Coptic, both Biblical Hebr ew and Classical Arabic possessed a verbal noun
or inWnitive, which, in these two languages, was formed by way of a speciWc

vocalization pattern. In construction with a preposition, such as the locative
marker be-/bi- (Hebrew) or ba- (Arabic) for simultaneous action, the inWnitive
could encode a deranked temporal clause. Such forms could have their own
subjects, which were constructed either as a possessive suYx or as a nominative.
In Modern Hebrew this form of deranking still survives, albeit that its use is
deemed ‘particularly formal’ (Glinert 1989: 315) nowadays. In Cairene Arabic
17 As we have seen in Section 6.4, the possessive construction in Maltese is in a process of
transitivization.
Locational Possessives 323
and Maltese the form appears to have been abandoned altogether. As a result,
these two variants of modern Arabic must be rated as counter-examples to the
central claim of this chapter, at least from a synchronic point of view.
(171)Biblical Hebrew (Afro-Asiatic, Semitic)
a. Be-‘amd-i lepanay-o
ˆ
in-stand.inf-my before-him
‘When/while I stood before him’ (Lambdin 1971: 129)
b. Min mosa’ dabar
from go.out.inf.constr word
‘After the word went out’ (Wim Delsman p.c)
(172)Modern Hebrew (Afro-Asiatic, Semitic)
Bi-shmo’a Mirjam et hajedi’a
in-hearing.conv Mirjam acc the.news
‘On Mirjam hearing the news’ (Glinert 1989: 315)
(173)Classical Arabic (Afro-Asiatic, Semitic)
Ba-duhuli-ni al-bayta kataba
in-enter.vn-my the-house.acc write.3sg.m.past
‘As I entered the house, he was writing’ (Cees Versteegh p.c.)
As we have noted in Section 3.6, the two sampled languages from the southern
branch of Semitic (Amharic and Tigre), as well as the Berber languages, have a

Topic-Locational hybrid construction; they will be discussed in Chapter 11.
Among the four sampled languages of the Cushitic branch of Afro-Asiatic,
only Bedawi and Bilin have the option of a Locational Possessive. The other
two Cushitic languages in the sample, Oromo and Somali, have a Have-Posses-
sive, an option which is available for Bedawi and Bilin as well (see Section 12.10).
(174)Bedawi (Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic)
Ha
´
mmed-i geb reu
ˆ
e-W
H gen at/side money 3sg.m-be.pres
‘Hammed has money’ (Reinisch 1893 II: 96)
(175)Bilin (Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic)
G@d@
˛ @rg-@x
w
all-u
dog.nom be -3sg.m.pres to-him
‘He has a dog’ (Tucker and Bryan 1966 : 544)
Absolute deranking of temporal clauses in Bedawi and Bilin can take the form
of oblique verbal nouns. The formation is based on a nominalization which
consists of the verb stem plus a suYx(-e in Bedawi, -na in Bilin), and which
324 Determinant factors
can be provided with various locative case suYxes or postpositions to encode
a range of adverbial meanings. Such forms allow diVerent-subject conditions,
in which case their subjects are encoded in the nominative case. Quite
unty pically, indexing of the subject on the deranked predicate is required,
by means of pronominal subject aYxes.
In addition, Bilin has a subordinate verb form which is called the ‘syn-

chronous’ or ‘simultaneous mood’. The formation is marked by the suYx-u;
according to Reinisch (1882: 81), the form is probably an old action nominal.
As its label indicates, the form expresses simultaneity, and can be used under
same-subject as well as diVerent-subject conditions. A subject is in the
nominative case, and is represented in the predicate by means of the set of
personal inWxes that are also used for main predicates. Unlike main predi-
cates, however, the simultaneous mood does not have tense marking.
(176)Bedawi (Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic)
a. Anı
´
o-gau
ˆ
s
ˇ
um-an-e-hob Bilald
,
a
´
bya
1sg.nom art-house enter-1sg.perf-vn-at B. already
ı
´
-he
3sg.perf-go
‘When I entered the house, Bilal was already gone’
(Reinisch 1893: III.190)
b. Sak-nan-e-k e-ya
leave-1pl.perf-vn-from 3sg.perf -come
‘When we had left, he came’ (Reinisch 1893: III.190)
(177)Bilin (Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic)

a. Kua
´
ra lab--na-dı
´
nı kau
ˆ
-l g

eru
~
x
sun go.down-3sg-vn-com 3sg.nom house-dat go.3sg.perf
‘When the sun had set, he went home’ (Reinisch 1882: 60)
b. Q

u-n-u tu
ˆ
-na ı
´
lla
eat-1pl-conv.sim enter-vn not.be.3sg.pres
‘While we eat, nobody is allowed to enter’ (Reinisch 1882: 54)
To conclude our investigationof Afro-Asiatic, we must consider thefoursampled
members of the Chadic branch. For all these languages a Locational Possessive
can be documented, although at least for Hausa and Margi a With-Possessive
seemstobe themoreusual option.In anycase,theLocationalPossessiveinChadic
is matched by deranked temporal clauses, which are built around verbal nouns.
In Hausa, this verbal noun is used in construction with prepositions, such as the
item da
`

‘with’; use of this item indicates simultaneity. In the other three Chadic
Locational Possessives 325
languages in the sample, verbal nouns in temporal clauses do not occur with
prepositions. Instead, the deranked clause, with its nominalized predicate, is
placed in the position of a sentential topic. In all four languages, subjects of
deranked temporal clauses take genitival marking.
(178)Hausa (Afro-Asiatic, Chadic)
a. Akwai mota gare shi
exist car with/at him
‘He has a car’ (Cowan and Schuh 1976: 69)
b. Sabuwar
ˇ
munduwa ce da
`
ita
new bracelet be.sg.f with her
‘She has a new bracelet’ (Newman 2000: 161)
(179)Hausa (Afro-Asiatic, Chadic)
a. Da
`
zuwa
`
-nsa
`
sai aikı
with come.vn-his then work
‘When he comes, then (there is a lot of) work’
(Kraft and Kirk-Greene 1973: 189)
b. Da
`

iso
ˆ
war
ˇ
-sa
`
sai sarkı ya yi tsalle
with arrive.vn-his then chief 3sg.m do jump.vn
‘On his arrival, the chief jumped up’ (Newman 2000: 560)
(180)Tera (Afro-Asiatic, Chadic)
a. Ali koro xa-nda
A. donkey with-him
‘Ali has a donkey’ (Newman 1970: 136)
b. Mejin xa rem
money with us
‘We have money’ (Newman 1970: 25)
(181)Tera (Afro-Asiatic, Chadic)
Gab-te be Shoka ne gar, Mapulu te nji
return-vn of Squirrel to bush Hyena seq eat
zu-a bara
meat-the away
‘As soon as Squirrel returned to the bush, Hyena ate up the meat’
(Newman 1970: 96)
(182)Margi (Afro-Asiatic, Chadic)
Ce
´
de
`
a
´

’ı
`
a
`
ra
´
-y

u

money exist with-me
‘I have money’ (HoVmann 1963: 241)
326 Determinant factors
(183)Margi (Afro-Asiatic, Chadic)
Fa
`
rpa
´
d@
´
ku
`
˙
nı
`
ga
`
shı
`
lı

´
cease.vn rain.gen this 1sg narr come
‘As soon as this rain ceased, I came’ (HoVmann 1963: 182)
(184)Hdi (Afro-Asiatic, Chadic)
a. Ma
`
a
´
hla
`
da
`
ı
ˆ
ı
´
exist cow at 1sg
‘There is a cow at my place’; ‘I have a cow’ (it may or may not be
mine) (Frajzyngier 2001: 351)
b. Ma
`
mu
´
ko
´
'u
`
da
`
tsı

´
exist money at 3sg
‘She has money’ (Frajzyngier 2001: 351)
(185)Hdi (Afro-Asiatic, Chadic)
a. La
´
ma
`
krı
`
da
´
xa
`
da
`
ka
`
hla
`
na
´
gha
´
-ta
´
-tsı
´
t-u
´

va
´
enter.vn dog.gen to here then Wnd-he-him obj-cat
‘When Dog entered there, he found Cat’ (Frajzyngier 2001: 484)
b. Ta
`
wa
´
wa
`
ku
´
-a
´
nı
´
krı
`
impf walk.around.vn-his dog.gen
‘While Dog was taking a walk’ (Frajzyngier 2001: 485)
9.10 Other African languages
In contrast to Afro-Asiatic, where the Locational Possessive is a major
option, the other three language phyla in Africa show only occasional use
of this type. In Khoisan, the type is not attested at all. In Nilo-Saharan,
Locational Possessives are clearly a minor option when compared to the
other three possession types, and they seldom are the only option in a
language. Thus, the Locational Possessive of Kanuri, one of the two
sampled languages of the Saharan branch of Nilo-Saharan, is in competi-
tion with a With-Possessive and a Topic Possessive. In this Locational
Possessive, the possessor is encoded by a pronominal possessive suYx

(na
ˆ
‘place’) on the noun, which in its turn is followed by the locative
suYx-n ‘at’. The construction is matched by deranked predicate forma-
tions that can be viewed as oblique verbal nouns. These formations allow
their own subject, which is in the nominative case and can be indexed on
the deranked predicate by a pronominal possessive aYx.
Locational Possessives 327
(186)Kanuri (Nilo-Saharan, Saharan)
a. Na
ˆ
-nze-n kabi mbeji
place-his-at arrow exist
‘He has an arrow’ (CyVer 1974: 109)
b. Na
ˆ
-nyı
ˆ
-n ta
´
ta
`
ba
ˆ
place-my-at boy not.be
‘I have no boy’ (Lukas 1937: 29)
(187)Kanuri (Nilo-Saharan, Saharan)
a. K@ska-d@ gana-nz@-lan dungokk@g@min
tree-det be.small.vn-3sg.poss-in bend.2sg.imperf
‘When the tree is small, you can bend it’ (Hutchison 1976: 139)

b. L@ma
ˆ
n bannaza
ˆ
iavı
´
ma gaps@-ny-ro
`
money waste.3pl.pres anything be.left.vn-neg-dat
‘They waste money so that/until nothing is left’ (Lukas 1937: 164)
In Nobiin, a language also known as Nile Nubian or Fadicca Nubian, a
Locational Possessive doubles with a Have-Possessive. The Locational Posses-
sive is characterized by various locative suYxes on the possessor; it is probable
that this variation corresponds to semantic diVerences within the domain of
possession. These locational options are matched by a system of deranked
forms. For simultaneous events a converbal form is used, marked by the suYx
-in on the verb stem; this suYx is also the marker of the genitive in nominals.
For anterior action the language employes this same converb, but in this case
it is followed by the postposition baatta ‘after’. These deranked forms can (or
maybe even must) be employed under diVerent-subject conditions; subjects
are either in the nominative or in the genitive case.
(188)Nobiin (Nile/Fadicca Nubian) (Nilo-Saharan, East Sudanic)
a. Ai-lok nog wei darin
1sg-at house one be.3sg.f.pres
‘I have a house’ (Reinisch 1879: 119)
b. Shı
´
bı
´
rr-alu

´
kkı
´
da
`
arı
`
basket-loc ear be.3sg.pres
‘The basket has ears’ (Werner 1987: 316)
(189)Nobiin (Nile/Fadicca Nubian) (Nilo-Saharan, Eastern Sudanic)
a. A
`
aga
`
ka
`
ar-in iı
´
gdı
´
ijo
`
n
he search-gen/conv Wre go.out.3sg.past
‘While he was searching, the Wre went out’ (Werner 1987: 320)
328 Determinant factors
b. Ta
`
rı
´

in kıre
´
-n baatta fa
`
aaylo
`
he.gen come-gen after fut do.1pl.pres
‘We will do (it) after he comes’ (Werner 1987: 139)
Songhay, a language from Mali, is the westernmost Nilo-Saharan language,
which is geographically isolated from the other branches of the phylum. The
language knows considerable dialectal divergence, and the various dialects
diVer from each other both in terms of their possessive encoding options and
with respect to their possibilities in deranking. In the Songhay dialect called
Djenne
´
Chiini (Heath 1999) we can attest a number of diVerent manifest-
ations of the Locational Possessive, some of which encode temporary posses-
sion, while others seem to have an alienable interpretation.
(190)Songhay (Djenne
´
Chiini dialect) (Nilo-Saharan, Songhay)
a. Kuumuu goo ay ga
hoe be 1sg by
‘I have a hoe on me’ (temporary physical possession or custody)
(Heath 1999: 152)
b. Na a hiney go ni see
if 3sg means be 2sg dat
‘If you have the means of (¼for) it’ (¼ ‘if you can aVord it’)
(Heath 1999: 401)
c. Takoula go nda ay

bread be with me
‘I have bread’ (Hacquard and Dupuis 1897: 29)
Unlike other dialects of Songhay, Djenne
´
Chiini has the option to derank
temporal clauses under diVerent-subject conditions. This is eVectuated by
means of a so-called ‘participial form’, which consists of the verb stem plus the
suYx-nte . That such forms are nominalizations is illustrated by the fact that
they can be marked for deWniteness. On the other hand, the form must also be
assumed to retain some degree of verbal character, seeing that its subjects are
encoded in the nominative case.
(191)Songhay (Djenne
´
Chiini dialect) (Nilo-Saharan, Songhay)
a. A key-nte di
3sg stand-pcp def
‘While it is standing’ (Heath 1999: 396)
b. A kaa-nte ay guna ga mOreyda
3sg come-pcp 1sg see 3sg.obj now
‘I saw him right after he came (back)’ (Heath 1999: 423)
Locational Possessives 329
c. Baana di kay-nte ka ben, fufu di sinti
rain def stop-pcp inf end coldness def begin
‘After the rainy season stops, the cold weather begins’
(Heath 1999: 423)
Finally, we can note occurrences of the Locational Possessive in two of the
sampled languages from the Central Sudanic branch of Nilo-Saharan. Ma’di,
an East Sudanic language, encodes predicative possession through the loca-
tive/dative postposition dr ‘at, to’ on the possessor.18 In its deranking options,
Ma’di is similar to Djenne

´
Chiini in several respects. Again, we see that
temporal clauses can be absolutely deranked by turning the predicate into a
subordinate verb form, which can be followed by a deWniteness marker; in
some cases, such as when the clause has a causal interpretation, the deranked
form can be followed by a postposition. In contrast to Djenne
´
Chiini,
however, subjects of the deranked form are marked for genitive case by way
of a postposition.
(192)Ma’di (Nilo-Saharan, East Central Sudanic)
a. A
`
ma drı
´
- O
`
pı
´
-a?a
`
1pl.excl at/to chiefs present
‘We have chiefs’ (Blackings and Fabb 2003: 230)
b. Lea
`
na drı
´
- 'ara
´
a?a

`
elephant det at/to child present
‘That elephant has a child’ (Blackings and Fabb 2003: 319)
(193)Ma’di (Nilo-Saharan, East Central Sudanic)
a. Mu-re rı
´
-ma'a
`
ru
´
ı
`
jo
go-subord def 1sg home absent
‘When (he) was going I was not at home’
(Blackings and Fabb 2003: 194)
b. Ma
´
?a
`
ndre-re rı
´
- O-sU sa
´
tı
´
-ı
´
-ka
1sg gen see-subord def 3-wear shirt red

‘When I saw him, he was wearing a red shirt’
(Blackings and Fabb 2003: 198)
c. A
`
ma
`
a
´
sı
´
ı
`
g'e
´
O
`
pı
´
- ?a
`
e-mu
´
-ka s
`
1pl.excl heart cold O. gen vent-go-subord instr
‘We are happy because Opi is coming/has come’
(Blackings and Fabb 2003: 209)
18 In addition to this Locational Possessive Ma’di has a With Possessive.
330 Determinant factors
In the West Central Sudanic language Bongo we Wnd a Locational Possessive that

is characterized by the dative adposition jı
´
‘to’ on the possessor. This option is
matched by absolutely deranked temporal clauses, which can take the form of
oblique verbal nouns. As is common, diVerent adpositions in these oblique
verbal noun complexes encode diVerent semantic notions of temporality.
(194)Bongo (Nilo-Saharan, West Central Sudanic)
Sha na ji-ba kotu
cow be to-him one
‘He has one cow’ (Santandrea 1963: 24)
(195)Bongo (Nilo-Saharan, West Central Sudanic)
a. ‘Dugba ba rO ‘bugu
3pl.catch.past him on steal.vn
‘They caught him when he was stealing’ (Santandrea 1963: 92)
b. Mba gima h-uta ma ‘bene na
mother child 3sg.f-see.past child her with
mui
die.vn
‘The mother of the child found her child when/while it was dying’
(Santandrea 1963: 92)
c. B-uta kpurr do ‘bii
3sg.m-Wnd.past lion at sleep.vn
‘He found the lion asleep’ (Santandrea 1963: 92)
d. M-ota
´
ba
´
, amata ‘be
`
e

`
‘be
`
e
`
1sg-see him arrive.inf home home
‘I saw him, when he was arriving home’ (Santandrea 1963: 69)
In the various branches of Niger-Kordofanian, the fourth language phylum in
Africa, Locational Possessives do not, as a rule, occur at all. The conspicuous
exception to this is formed by the Mande languages of West Africa. Bambara
marks its possessors by means of the locative/instrumental postposition fe
`
‘at,
with’.19 The other four Mande languages in the sample have a Locational
Possessive in which the possessor NP is constructed as the adnominal pos-
sessor to a locational noun with the meaning ‘hand’.20 Thus, a construction
19 The postposition fe
`
in Bambara is, in all probability, a grammaticalization from an old locational
noun meaning ‘side’. The fe
`
construction is also documented for Malinke; in this language, the
construction has temporary possessive meaning.
20 In some of the languages at issue, such as Kpelle, the locational hand noun is marked overtly for
locative case, by means of a suYx or postposition. In other languages there is no overt case marking on
the locational noun. However, this is not a special feature of this possessive construction: locative
phrases are generally unmarked in these languages.
Locational Possessives 331
like ‘my brother has money’ gets a literal rendition along the lines of ‘money is
in/at my brother’s hand’. It should be remarked, however, that in this con-

struction the original meaning of the locational noun has been ‘bleached’
completely, and the construction is fully grammaticalized into a Locational
Possessive which now covers alienable possession as well as temporary pos-
session (Bernd Heine p.c.).21
(196)Bambara (Niger-Kordofanian, Mande)
Mobili be
`
n’ fe
`
car be 1sg with/at
‘I have a car’ (Bird and Kante 1976: 54)
(197)Vai (Niger-Kordofanian, Mande)
Ka
´
pa
`
na
´
a
´
nı
`
b

e n
´
gbo
`
’o
`

cent four be my hand
‘I have four cents’ (Welmers 1976: 51)
(198)Kpelle (Niger-Kordofanian, Mande)
Seng-kau ka
´
a nang yee-ı
`
money be father hand-at
‘Father has money’ (Welmers 1973: 316)
(199)Koranko (Niger-Kordofanian, Mande)
Wodi ye
´
n bolo
money be my hand
‘I have money’ (Kastenholz 1987: 112)
(200)Malinke (Niger-Kordofanian, Mande)
a. Baa fula be m bolo
goat two be my hand
‘I have two goats’ (Labouret 1934: 209)
b. Wari te m fe
money not.be my side
‘I don’t have money (with me)’ (Delafosse 1929: 194
)
In addition to various possibilities of balanced encoding, all Wve of the
sampled Mande languages have a deranked construction for temporal clauses.
21 The hand construction for possession encoding can be found in West Africa outside the Mande
family as well. An example is Ewe, a Kwa language from Ghana.
(i) Ewe (Niger Kordofanian, Kwa)
So le Sobi si
horse be S. hand

‘Sobi has a horse’ (Westermann 1907: 75)
332 Determinant factors
In this construction, the deranked predicate can be viewed as either a converb
or as a verbal noun, as it consists of the verb stem followed by a locational (i.e.
a locative, a dative, or an ablative) suYx. Such deranked forms, which are
commonly called ‘participles’ in the literature, can take their own subjects.
(201)Bambara (Niger-Kordofanian, Mande)
An fa bo-len (ko
´
) an ye mankan-ci damine
1pl father go-pcp.past (after) 1pl past noise-make begin
‘After our father had left, we began to make noise’
(Bird and Kante 1976: 55)
(202)Vai (Niger-Kordofanian, Mande)
Anda senenu binda-re, anda ta
they farms burn-at/to they go
‘When they had burned the farms, they left’ (Koelle 1854: 91)
(203)Kpelle (Niger-Kordofanian, Mande)
A
`
pa
`
, nga pa-ı
ˆ
lı
ˆ
-ı
`
3sg.cond come.at I come-pres go-vn
‘If/when he comes, I will go’ (Welmers 1973: 363)

(204)Koranko (Niger-Kordofanian, Mande)
Du
`
ndO tinbi ke
´
ke-la n
´
si wu
´
li
rooster prt crow-at I hab rise
‘When the rooster crows, I get up’ (Kastenholz 1987: 264)
(205)Malinke (Niger-Kordofanian, Mande)
a. A tara-to ko
˜
ngo-la sa
˜
-ngyi be-ra-hali
he/his go-pcp countryside-to rain fall-past-heavy
‘As he went to the country, it rained heavily’ (Delafosse 1929: 263)
b. A sa-le-ko a doro-kye
`
sigi-ra a
he/his die-pcp-from his younger.brother sit-past his
no-na
place-in
‘After he died, his younger brother succeeded him’
(Delafosse 1929: 263)
Apart from Mande, I have found one additional instance of the Locational
Possessive in Niger-Kordofanian. In one of the possessive constructions of the

Gur language Supyire, the possessor is marked by the dative postposition a
´
‘to’. The construction is matched by an absolutely deranked temporal clause,
in which the predicate takes the form of an oblique verbal noun.
Locational Possessives 333
(206)Supyire (Niger-Kordofanian, Gur)
TafwOnre
ˆ
-boro na wa
´
Mpi a
´
rotting-sack prog be.there Hare to
‘Hare has a sack which causes rotting’ (Carlson 1994: 248)
(207)Supyire (Niger-Kordofanian, Gur)
a. Uru u a pyi mii shye
´
re
´
-
˛iwyer’e-˛i
he.emp he perf be my witness-def money-def
ta
`
-kan-ge
´
e
vn-give-def at
‘It was he who was my witness when the money was given’
(Carlson 1994: 111)

b. pi num-bahabii na, ciga a
`
cwo
they vn-playing.def on, tree.def perf fall
‘While they were playing, the tree fell’ (R. Carlson 1990: 962)
9.11 Indian and PaciWc Ocean
While the Locational Possessive is Wrmly entrenched in the Eurasian mega-
area, this type of possession encoding is encountered only incidentally in the
neighbouring area formed by east and south-east Asia, the Indian Ocean, and
the PaciWc Ocean. In the languages of south-east Asia the Locational Posses-
sive is not found at all. Within Austronesian, we Wnd a concentration of
Locational Possessives on the easternmost Xank of the phylum, in the lan-
guages of Polynesia and the East Oceanic language Fijian. In all of the four
sampled languages at issue, the possessor is marked by a preposition indicat-
ing a genitive/dative meaning. The construction is matched by a deranking
option for temporal clauses. Such clauses contain a nominalized verb form,
commonly marked by a nominalizing suYx and a nominal article. In some
cases, this nominalized verb form is governed by a locational preposition, so
that we can rate the formation as an instance of the deranking category of
oblique verbal nouns. In other cases, the locational preposition is lacking, and
the deranked clause is placed in sentence-topic position. Deranked clauses can
take their own subject, which is put in the genitive case or has the form of a
possessive pronoun.
(208)Fijian (Austronesian, East Oceanic)
Sa tu vei au e dua na isele
perf stand to me pred one art knife
‘I have a knife’ (Churchward 1941: 40)
334 Determinant factors
(209)Fijian (Austronesian, East Oceanic)
a. Na neitou tiko mai kea

art our stay.vn to there
‘While we were there’ (Schu
¨
tz 1985: 399)
b. Nona curu ga yani
his enter.vn lim dir
‘Just as he entered’ (Schu
¨
tz 1985: 399)
(210)Maori (Austronesian, Polynesian)
E pepa ta Tere
pres paper of T.
‘Tere has some paper’ (Rere 1965: 26)
(211)Maori (Austronesian, Polynesian)
a. I tooku haere-nga mai i Taupo, i konei a
at my return-vn dir at T. at this.place art
Paka e noho ana
P. past sit loc
‘When I returned from Taupo, Paka was sitting there’
(Krupa 1968: 35)
b. Te tae-nga o Hutu ki raro
art arrive-VN of H. to below
‘When Hutu arrived in the underworld’ (Chung 1978: 300)
(212)Samoan (Austronesian, Polynesian)
Sa i ai ia Sina se ta’avale
past exist to S. art car
‘Sina had a car’ (Marsack 1975: 54)
(213)Samoan (Austronesian, Polynesian)
’O le sau a le ta’avale a leoleo,
prt art come.vn of art car of police

’ou te le malamalama ’i ai
I unspec not understand to it
‘When the police car came, I wasn’t aware of it’ (Chung 1978: 306)
(214)Tahitian (Austronesian, Polynesian)
’E fare nehenehe to tera ta’ata
pres house nice of that man
‘That man has a nice house’ (Tryon 1970: 55)
Locational Possessives 335
(215)Tahitian (Austronesian, Polynesian)
’I te ara-ra’a mai teie vahine ua tupu te
at art wake up-nmnl dir this woman perf grow art
tumu ’uru
tree breadfruit
‘When this woman woke up, the breadfruit tree had grown’
(Tryon 1970: 124)
Outside Polynesia, I have documented a Locational Possessive in three other
Austronesian languages, two of which belong to the East Indonesian branch of
the phylum. Both languages employ prepositions to mark the possessor. In
Waropen, the marker is locative (‘at, with’), while Banggai uses a preposition
with a general dative/locative meaning (‘to, at, with’).
(216)Waropen (Austronesian, East Indonesian)
Buigha ana ri Ghafai
clam be at/with G.
‘Ghafai has a clam’ (Held 1942: 6)
(217)Banggai (Austronesian, East Indonesian)
Guet-guet doi aku ano
palace to me exist
‘I have a palace’ (Van Den Bergh 1953: 65)
Absolutely deranked constructions in both Waropen and Banggai can be of
the topicalized (i.e. non-oblique) verbal-noun type; in addition, Banggai can

also employ oblique verbal nouns. Subjects of the constructions are indexed
on the verbal noun in the form of possessive pronouns.
(218)Waropen (Austronesian, East Indonesian)
I-oba-gha dan-gha, na wai-gha kisi-kikapari
his-cut-art Wrewood-art with stone-art 3du-light
‘While he cut Wrewood, the two others lit a torch’ (Held 1942: 146)
(219)Banggai (Austronesian, East Indonesian)
a. Kona kita-an-o do mian doo mu po-akate,
3sg.poss see-vn-3sg.poss art people dem rm pref-Wght
sodo pisil ko olojo
just oblique art sun
‘As she saw the people that were Wghting, it was a little past noon’
(Van Den Bergh 1953:
93)
336 Determinant factors
b. Iaku ku inum-an-o ko tobui doo
1sg.emp 1sg drink-vn-1sg.poss art sea dem
iana ooti memeeng
3sg.emp dry immediately
‘When I drank the sea, it went dry immediately’
(Van Den Bergh 1953: 95)
c. Doi nggu montotooli-an labue badaang nanggu
at my guard-vn rice.Weld much I
linongol palangujung doi tolias
hear repet-hum.vn at edge
‘As I was guarding the rice Weld, I heard a constant soft humming at
the edge (of the Weld)’ (Van Den Bergh 1953: 135)
The West Oceanic language Hiri Motu (or Police Motu) is a pidgin form of
Motu, the Austronesian language spoken in and around Port Moresby, the
capital of Papua New Guinea. Hiri Motu has a Locational Possessive con-

struction, in which the possessor is marked by the postposition dekenai ‘to, at,
in, from, with’ (Dutton and Voorhoeve 1994: 190). The construction is
matched by a deranked temporal clause type in Hanuabada Motu (‘Village
Motu’), which is the substrate of Hiri Motu. This simultaneous clause has the
form of an oblique verbal noun, with the subject marked by way of a
possessive pronominal suYx.
(220)Hiri Motu (Austronesian, West Oceanic)
lau dekenai be kavabu ia noho
1sg loc art bottle 3sg be
‘I have a bottle’ (Dutton and Voorhoeve 1994: 139)
(221)Hanuabada Motu (Austronesian, West Oceanic)
a. Boroma na i-ala-na-i na kau
pig the vn-kill-his-in I arrive
‘While he was killing the pig, I arrived’
(Lister-Turner and Clark 1930: 52)
b. Helai-na-i na pidi-a
sit-his-in I shoot-it
‘I shot it while it was sitting’ (Lister-Turner and Clark 1930: 52)
Among the Papuan languages, Locational Possessives are only encountered
sporadically, and as far as I can see there is no genetic or areal relationship
between the languages that have this option. Markers on the possessor include
Locational Possessives 337
a genitive/locative suYx (in Awtuw), a dative (or ‘destinative’) suYx (in
Ka
ˆ
te), and a locative postposition (in Omie).
(222)Awtuw (Papuan, Sepik)
Wan-ke piyren d-awkey
1sg-gen/loc dog real-exist
‘I have a dog’ (Feldman 1986: 106)

(223)K
^
ate (Papuan, Finisterre-Huon)
Ngo-le qato ju-kopilec
1sg-dest dog live-2du.pres
‘I have two dogs’ (Pilhofer 1933: 109)
(223)Omie (Papuan, Central and South-Eastern)
Sa?ae nasi o
¨
rire j-ev-e
land 1sg.poss loc be-3sg-pres
‘I have land’ (Austing and Upia 1995: 590)
Awtuw and Ka
ˆ
te provide direct matches with their possessive constructions,
in that their deranked predicates are oblique verbal nouns which are marked
by a genitive/locative and a destinative suYx, respectively. For Awtuw, we can
speak of a locative absolute construction, as the subject of the oblique verbal
noun is in the genitive/locative case as well. Parallel to this, we Wnd an ablative
absolute construction in Omie.22
(225)Awtuw (Papuan, Sepik)
yen-ke ma-wey-e-wa-re-k
2sg-gen/loc go-arrive-past-just-obj-loc
nom kil de-alow d-æ-ka-m
1pl speech fact-talk fact-go-perf-pl
‘Since you arrived, we have gone on talking’ (Feldman 1986: 169)
22 In addition to these oblique verbal nouns, Ka
ˆ
te and Omie have converbal constructions, which
manifest themselves as so called ‘medial verb forms’. In Ka

ˆ
te, absolute use of such forms is marked by a
system of special personal suYxes on the medial verb.
(i) K
^
ate (Papuan, Finisterre Huon)
No gie sala ha pe e sac hafe wec
1sg Weld plant conv.sim 1sg 3sg fence bind 3sg.past
‘While I planted the Weld, he made a fence’ (Pilhofer 1933: 36)
(ii) Omie (Papuan, Central and South Eastern)
a. e
¨
ne rue romo bure ro
ˆ
v ade je
rain come med wind come 3sg.past aux
‘It was raining and the wind was blowing’ (Austing and Upia 1975: 567)
b. Siso
ˆ
nuv amu ri?o
¨
j ade je?
morning.come med.past rise 3sg.past aux
‘When morning came he got up’ (Austing and Upia 1975: 569)
338 Determinant factors
(226)K
^
ate (Papuan, Finisterre-Huon)
mu-kicne-le mi mu-zo
say-vn-dest neg say-pot

‘When/because it has been said, one cannot say it (again)’
(Pilhofer 1933: 33)
(227)Omie (Papuan, Central and South-East)
nasi ?am-e
¨
ro ji-e
¨
?-e
¨
ro va-?ejo
¨
my village-abl be-perf-abl go-1sg.fut
‘Since it is my village, I shall go (to it)’ (Austing and Upia 1995: 562)
A Locational Possessive is absent in the sampled non-Pama-Nyungan lan-
guages of Australia. Pama-Nyungan itself is very much the domain of the
With-Possessive, in the form of the so-called ‘proprietive’ construction (see
Section 5.2) However, some Pama-Nyungan languages appear to have a
Locational Possessive as an extra option. In Arrernte and in Gumbainggir
we can Wnd such a construction, and in both cases the possessor is marked by
a genitive suYx.
(228)Arrernte (Australian, Pama-Nyungan)
Inkata tara etna-ka na-ra-ka
chief two 3pl-gen be-du-past
‘They had two chieftains’ (Holmer 1963: 96)
(229)Gumbainggir (Australian, Pama-Nyungan)
Baba-gundi jaraman djaling
father-gen some horse
‘Father has a few horses’ (Smythe 1948: 92)
As is common in Pama-Nyuangan, Arrernte and Gumbainggir can use converbs
to derank temporal clauses. The distinction between converbs and oblique

verbal nouns is, however, not strict, since nominal case suYxes double as
converbal suYxes in many cases. In Arrernte, converbs form a four-way
switch-reference system, based on the parameters of temporality (simultaneous
vs. anterior action) and conditionality (same-subject vs. diVerent-subject con-
ditions). The simultaneous diVerent-subject converb in Arrernte, as illustrated
in sentence (230), is marked by the ablative suYx-nge. In Gumbainggir, the
deranked predicate that is marked by the genitive suYx-ndi/-andi/-jundi/-gundi
encodes a ‘generalized subordinate clause’,23 which ‘can translate indiVerently
23 For a detailed discussion of the generalized subordinate clause in Australian languages see
Hale (1976).
Locational Possessives 339
the English adjectival, conditional and adverbial clauses’ (Smythe 1948: 99). In
addition, Gumbainggir has oblique verbal nouns; the locative case suYx-ba
indicates simultaneity. Subjects of all deranked forms in Arrernte and Gum-
bainggir take absolute or ergative case.
(230)Arrernte (Australian, Pama-Nyungan)
Artwe alye-lhe-rle-nge ayenge petye-me
man.abs sing-refl-general-abl/ds 1sg come-nonpast.prog
‘I am coming while the man is singing’ (Wilkins 1989: 459)
(231)Gumbainggir (Australian, Pama-Nyungan)
a. Nginda ngari-w-andi gidu-da gulunay-gu barway
2sg.abs play-fut-gen sand-loc rain-fut big
‘If you play in the sand, there will be big storms’ (Eades 1979: 323)
b. Nayan bunggi-gam-ba ngali ya:ngu
sun.abs set-vn-loc 1du.incl go.fut
‘When the sun sets, we will go’ (Eades 1979: 289)
9.12 North and Central America
Clear, straightforward instances of the Locational Possessive are hard to come
by in North and Central America.24 The most important concentration of this
possession type in this area is found in the languages of the Na-Dene family.

Here we can document dative marking on the possessor for Tlingit, Sarcee,
and Slave, locative marking for Navajo, and ablative marking in an alternative
Locational Possessive in Slave.
(232)Tlingit (Na-Dene, Tlingit)
a. Du-djı’q! ye yu-tı’-yı
ˆ
s!aq gata’ a-ke a-se-wati
3sg-to thus dem-be-pcp bone trap it-up it-aor-set.up
‘He set up a bone trap he had’ (Swanton 1911a: 189)
b. Wuts
´
a’G¸ a ‘ac-djı’ hu yu caw
^’t
cane her-to was that woman
‘That woman had a cane’ (Boas 1917: 54)
(233)Slave (Na-Dene, Athapaskan)
a. ?ena
´
keeke kwik’ı
´
go-ts’e˛
´
Inuit.pl gun 3pl-to
‘The Inuit have guns’ (Rice 1989: 1299)
24 It should be remarked here that quite a few North American languages have a possessive
construction of the type that I have analysed in Section 3.6 as a hybrid between a Locational Possessive
and a Topic Possessive. A discussion of these cases will be presented in Chapter 11.
340 Determinant factors
b. ts’e
´

t’u
´
ne-ts’e˛
cigarettes 2sg-from
‘Do you have cigarettes?’ (Rice 1989: 933)
c. ?etthe˛
´
naxe-ts’e˛h gha
meat 1pl-from fut
‘We will have meat’ (Rice 1989: 1053)
(234)Sarcee (Na-Dene, Athapaskan)
a. Nı
´
-ma
´
za sı
´
-go
`
your-knife me-to
‘I have your knife’ (Cook 1984: 32)
b. a
`
kı
´
yı
´
zo
`
znı

´
-go
`
two child you-to
‘You have two children’ (Cook 1984: 32)
(235)Navajo (Na-Dene, Athapaskan)
Chidı
?
b-ee ho
´
lo
˙
car 3sg-at/with 3sg.exist
‘S/he has a car’ (Goossen 1967: 91)
Deranked temporal clauses in these languages commonly take the form of
oblique verbal nouns: we Wnd this option in Tlingit, Slave, and Sarcee. In all
cases, the instrumental/comitative suYx ‘with’ encodes simultaneity. In add-
ition, some of the languages have deranked predicate forms that might be
rated as converbs. In particular, Navajo and Slave have a form in which the
verb stem is followed by an adverbial suYx-go (Navajo) or -gu
´
(Slave); these
forms can be used under both same-subject and diVerent-subject conditions,
and agree with their subjects in person and number. Subjects of all deranked
predicate forms in these languages are encoded in the nominative case.
(236)Tlingit (Na-Dene, Tlingit)
a. Du-q!e’-n
^xcı
ˆ
tc !a yut

his-mouth-from blood that out.of.it
q !a-n
^c-xe
ˆ
n-tc du-ı’yeq
mouth-prog-Xow-always his-spirit
ga-ga-
^’t- ı
ˆ
-n
towards-prog-come-pcp-with
‘Blood would Xow out of his mouth, when his spirits came to him’
(Swanton 1911a: 185)
Locational Possessives 341
b. I-tu-wu q!w^nc^t!ı
ˆ
’q Nı
ˆ
xa
ˆ
’neł
your-mind-poss hort be.strong N. house.into
gu’t-n-ı
ˆ
go-with-pcp
‘Be courageous when Nixa comes in’ (Swanton 1911a: 185)
c. Ha
`
-d ga-gud-i-n
this-to asp-come-pcp-with

‘when he came here (DS)’ (Story 1966: 145)
(237)Slave (Na-Dene, Athapaskan)
a. ?eyi t’eere [ be-chile rı
´
rahe˛ja-i he
´
]so˛di hi˛-li
that girl 3-brother 3.return-nmnl with happy 3-be
‘That girl is happy because her brother came home’ (Rice 1989: 1039)
b. Ts’o˛
´
dani hehli˛-gu
´
?aba
´
lani˛we
child 1.be-adv father 3sg.die
‘My father died when I was a child’ (Rice 1989: 1256)
(238)Sarcee (Na-Dene, Athapaskan)
A
´
lı
´
nı
´
nı
`
duwa
`
h-ı

´
-ı
`
hı
´
la
`
ı
`
yı
´
ga
`
h-la
´
to
´
na
`
? nıst’a
`
s
meat Wnish-nmnl-with this spruce bark you.cook
‘Cook this spruce bark, since/while the meat is all gone’
(Cook 1984: 95)
(239)Navajo (Na-Dene, Athapaskan)
a. ‘Awe
´
Á’taÁhyı
´

go’-go nina
´
’a
´
dinicta
ˆ
Á-go
baby water.into it.plunge-conv life I.risk-conv
bitÁi˛’ taÁhyicgod
it.toward water.in 1sg.run
‘When the baby fell into the water, I, risking my life, went after it’
(Reichard 1974: 329)
b. T’ah ‘a
´
na
´
-s-ts
´
ı
´
Ásı
´
-go ci-ma
´
‘nt’e
´
Á ‘a
´
-din
still stat-1sg-be.small-conv my-mother 3.stat-be.missing

‘When I was still a child, my mother was missing/wanting (i.e.,
I had no mother’) (Reichard 1974: 383)
Apart from Na-Dene, a Locational Possessive can be found in North America
in just a few isolated cases. Squamish is an exceptional case among the Salish
languages, which, as I have argued in Section 5.2.2, typically select a With-
Possessive. In Squamish, however, it is the possessor instead of the possessed
item that is marked; the language uses an oblique article for this marking. The
342 Determinant factors