[Lingtyp] Ablative possession vs. past or distal possession

[Kate Lindsey]

Hi all,

I've come across a unique construction in Ende (and other Pahoturi River
languages of southern New Guinea) that I am calling "ablative possession".
This possessive marker is formally distinct from the more common genitive
possessive and marks a possessor that may be spatially, chronologically, or
figuratively sourced from the possessor.
For example:

   1. Pentai=ba:ne up da 'the banana that was once Pentai's and is now
   mine', or
   2. Pentai=ba:ne ibiatt da 'Pentai's footsteps, which are still hers but
   are left behind' or
   3. Pentai=ba:ne digol dompa popoatt da 'the dompa arrow that Pentai made
   and still belongs to her' or even
   4. Pentai=ba:ne ma:n da 'Pentai's daughter who no longer lives with her
   but has married'. Note that the reverse (Pentai=ba:ne yae da 'Pentai's
   mother who she no longer lives with') is not observed.

These examples seem to me to be distinct from examples of past
possession as seen in Macushi (u-ye 'her tooth', u-ye-re'pi 'her former
tooth') or in Hixkaryana (ro-kanawa-ri 'my canoe', ro-kanawa-tho 'the canoe
that used to be mine').

Does anyone know whether this kind of source meaning is also observed in
languages with so-called past possession or does this warrant a distinction
in terminology? Or has anyone seen similar types of ablative possession
elsewhere?

Thank you for any suggestions,
Kate
____________________
Kate L. Lindsey
Assistant Professor of Linguistics
Boston University
Boston, MA 02215
http://ling.bu.edu/people/lindsey
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