Russian possessive question

[adassovsky]

Wayles Browne wrote:
>Can someone tell me why it is "ego vladel'cu/joho vlasnykovi" and not
>"svoemu vladel'cu/svojemu vlasnykovi"?

Let's try to translate:
In English you would may be use the passive voice ; "The bearer of the
present certificate is entitled....".
In French too : "Le titulaire du present certificat est habilit=E9..."
It seems awkward to write :"Ce certificat habilite son porteur" or "The
present certificate entitles its bearer".
So first remark: In English or in French, what one is talking about is "the
bearer", while in Russian it's "the certificate".

Now, concerning the difference between "ego" and "svoj", "svoj" adds a
possessive emphasis parallel to "his own" or "son propre", although "svoj"
is used in Russian more systematically.
Supposing the active voice is used in English or in French, we couldn't say
"The present certificate entitles its own bearer" or "Le present certificat
habilite son propre porteur".In Russian, we couldn't either, speaking about
a certificate.

The present text is no more that my own feelings about the subject....

Cheers
Georges,
Tahiti.