[Lingtyp] Discourse functions of possessive markers

Wed Jul 17 21:36:16 UTC 2024

Dear Guillaume,

Considering similar possessive constructions, I think when someone emphasizes one member of a group by highlighting a particular feature, it typically conveys a superlative meaning. This suggests that the member is likely perceived as the best in that feature. For example, in Persian one can say:

Zerang=ešun    goft
Smart=3pl        said
“The smart one of them said”

This implies that the other members are either not smart or not as smart as this person, making this person the smartest. I am not sure about other languages, but in Perisan, =ešun still refers to a plural entity in such uses.

All the best,
Zahra

From: Guillaume Jacques <rgyalrongskad at gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2024 5:49 PM
To: Zahra Etebari Shekarsaraei <zahra.etebari at lingfil.uu.se>
Cc: lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org
Subject: Re: [Lingtyp] Discourse functions of possessive markers

Dear Zahra,

It is maybe not what you are looking for, but in Japhug, the possessive prefixes on the participle of an adjectival verb can be used to express a superlative meaning, as in the following example.

[pɣa tʰamtɕɤt ɣɯ nɯ-kɯ-mpɕɤr] nɯ rmɤβja ɲɯ-ŋu.
bird all gen 3pl.poss-sbj:pcp-be.beautiful dem peacock sens-be
'The most beautiful of all birds is the peacock.'
(ex 82, p. 1451 of the Japhug grammar, A grammar of Japhug | Language Science Press (langsci-press.org)<https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/295>)

Although it can be viewed as a special type of possessive construction (literally "The beautiful one of/among the birds"), I thought that was nevertheless distinct enough from usual possessive constructions to be interesting to your query, and perhaps relatable to the "emphatic" function of possessive prefixes you mention.

I actually wonder if this is a crosslinguistically widespread way of expressing superlative.

Guillaume

Le mar. 16 juil. 2024 à 14:53, Zahra Etebari Shekarsaraei via Lingtyp <lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org<mailto:lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org>> a écrit :
Dear all,

I am preparing a dataset for development of discourse functions in possessive/personal markers cross-linguistically. I am particularly interested in constructions (relevant examples below) where a possessive/personal marker is used not to convey possession or refer to another item, but to denote functions such as definiteness, topicality, emphasis or contrast.

Definiteness

  1.  Kútip turǵan adamı kelmedi.                                           [Karakalpak]

The person he/she has been waiting for did not come.

(Utepovich 2023: 80)

Contrast

  1.  Ulizy-vylizy                kyk                   bratjos,           pokći-ez                                  [Udmurt]
             lived-were.3SG        two                         brothers         younger.brother-3SG
             kuaner,                      byȝym-ez                                uzyr.
             Poor                           older.brother-3SG                         rich
             There lived two brothers, the younger one was poor, the older one was rich.
             (Serebrennikov 1963: 133)

So far, I have collected cases from over 60 language varieties spanning Uralic (Ugric, Permic, Mari, Mordvin, Samoyed), Altaic (Turkic, Tungusic, Mongolic), Indo-European (Iranic), Afro-Asiatic (Semitic), and Austronesian (Javanese, Malay) families. If you have encountered similar uses in a language you work on or if you are aware of any lesser-known source on this topic, especially non-English sources, I would be extremely grateful if you could share them with me.

Many thanks for your time!

Best wishes,
Zahra

References:

Serebrennikov, Boris A. 1963. Istoriceskaja Morfologija Permskix Jazykov [Historical morphology of the Permic languages]. Moscow: Izdateľstvo AN SSSR.

Utepovich, Bekbergenov H. 2023. Semantic peculiarities of the possessive affixes in the Karakalpak language and their equivalents in English. Journal of Advanced Linguistic Studies. 10(2). 64-82.

Zahra Etebari
Postdoctoral researcher
Department of Linguistics and Philology
Uppsala University
Thunbergsvägen 3H, Box 635
75126 Uppsala, Sweden

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Guillaume Jacques

Directeur de recherches
CNRS (CRLAO) - EPHE- INALCO
https://scholar.google.fr/citations?user=1XCp2-oAAAAJ&hl=fr
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