'To have' or not 'to have': a survey of predicative possessive constructions in the Pacific Northwest Coast linguistic area

Stassen (2009) defines four major types of predicate possession: with-possessives, topic-possessives, locational possessives and have-possessive. This thesis examines which of these types occur in a sample of the languages of the Pacific North West Coast linguistic area. The data used for this research was collected for eight languages and the sample is one of convenience, though it was attempted to gather a sample as genetically and geographically dispersed as possible. The possession-type for each language was determined by examining data gathered with a questionnaire and/or with existing data from grammars or dictionaries. The research shows that four of the languages use a predicativized with-possessive construction, one has a basic with-possessive, one has a topic-possessive, and two have a dual system consisting of a have-possessive in combination with one of the other basic types. Stassen (2009) formulates four universals of predicative possession, one for every basic type of...Show moreStassen (2009) defines four major types of predicate possession: with-possessives, topic-possessives, locational possessives and have-possessive. This thesis examines which of these types occur in a sample of the languages of the Pacific North West Coast linguistic area. The data used for this research was collected for eight languages and the sample is one of convenience, though it was attempted to gather a sample as genetically and geographically dispersed as possible. The possession-type for each language was determined by examining data gathered with a questionnaire and/or with existing data from grammars or dictionaries. The research shows that four of the languages use a predicativized with-possessive construction, one has a basic with-possessive, one has a topic-possessive, and two have a dual system consisting of a have-possessive in combination with one of the other basic types. Stassen (2009) formulates four universals of predicative possession, one for every basic type of construction. The universal for with-possessive is as follows: if a language has a with-possessive, it has deranked DS-sequences. The data shows that Gitksan is a with-possessive language, but that it has balanced DS-sequences. This makes Gitksan a counterexample to the with-possessive universal as formulated by Stassen (2009).Show less

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'To have' or not 'to have': a survey of predicative possessive constructions in the Pacific Northwest Coast linguistic area