Query: Possessor Raising

[Koontz John E]

Bob asks:
> The question in Omaha and Ponca would be whether you could
> get "Shinuda iNt?e" by itself.  aN+ki (dative/benefactive) collapses
> to iN- in Ponca but aN- in Quapaw.  There's a "ki" hidden in there.
> You report Shinuda (witta) iNt?e.  Does that mean the witta is
> optional?  That's my basic question.

Examples from Dorsey 1890.  Basically, it looks to me as though an animate
inalienable possessum generally gets the dative construction with all
persons of possessors, though some non-dative examples occur in at least
embedded contexts.  The construction is also used with partitives, e.g.,
'some/many of us died' or 'some/many of you died', but non partitive
constructions occur, too, perhaps more frequently.  Sometimes the posessum
seems to be marked as subject.


S^iN'gaz^iNga git?e'       ugdha'=bi=ama.
Child         his was dead he told of his, they say.
jod 1890:347.10

Inalienable possession.  Third person.

Ni'kkas^iNga ama iN't?a=i
People       the have died to me
jod 1890:495.8

Presumably 'people' refers to friends, kin, associates, so inalienable
possession or at least initmate association.  First person.  Possessum
marked as subject with article.

S^iN'gaz^iNga aNttaN'=i  ede, we't?a=i ha.
Child         we had him but,  he died to us
A child which we had (?)
jod 1890:347.10-11

Inalienable possession.  Inclusive person.

Di'ghe=s^te   wakhe'ga a'higi wea't?a=i  UmaN'haN ama.
Small-pox too sick     many   died to us Omahas   the.
jod 1890:399.8

"Many of our/us Omahas had died of the smallpox."

Partitive.  Inclusive person.  Dative formation.  Possessor marked as
subject?  Or is it the possessum?  Noun subject with inclusive agreement.

N.B.:  Case before has wa-(gi)-; this, wa-(gi)-a-.  Is this just personal
variation, or something else?

GaN' ni'kkas^iNga s^e'nuz^iNga wahe'h=az^i=xti    bahi'=xti aNt?a'=i ha.
And  person       young man    very stout-hearted picked    we have died.
jod 1890:502.2

Partitive.  Inclusive peson.  Non-dative formation.  Compare to
(1890:399.8) (smallpox example).

N.B.:  'Very stout-hearted' is literally 'very not trembling'.

Ni'as^iNga aNt?a'=i ha.
People     we have died
jod 1890:687.3-4

Partitive.  Inclusive person.  Non-dative formation.

A'=na    s^aN'   dhat?a'=i     e=iN=the winaN'?aN=i     kkaN'=bdha.
How many in fact you have died perhaps  I hear from you I wish.
jod 1890:512.1-2

Partitive without dative.  Second person.  In embedded position.

Wiz^iN'dhe       iN't?e,     naN'de iN'ppi=m=az^i=hnaN   s^aN's^aN.
My elder brother died to me, heart  bad for me regularly always.
jod 1890:506.3

Clear inalienable possessum.  First person dative.  Simple association of
clauses, with body part first person dative in second clause.

INda'di,   S^e'kki, udhe'hna=tte ha,   witta'haN         t?e=the.
My father, Ceki,    you will tell him, my brother-in-law died the.
jod 1890:497.8-9

Clear inalienable possessum, but no dative, and verb agrees with
possessum.  'Died' in embedded position.