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Part of
The Diachrony of Classification Systems
Edited by William B. McGregor and Søren Wichmann
[Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 342] 2018
► pp. 165–200

The diachrony of Oceanic possessive classifiers

With just a small number of exceptions, Oceanic languages have multiple types of attributive possessive constructions that involve a more or less elaborate system of possessive classifiers. Constructions with possessive classifiers usually serve to express alienable possession. A different construction type, one that does not involve possessive classifiers, is typically used to express inalienable possession. Proto-Oceanic had three possessive classifiers. In some present-day languages the original system of classifiers has been expanded considerably, while in some others it has been reduced or eliminated altogether. In some languages possessive classifiers exist alongside numeral classifiers, but the two systems operate on different principles. The paper investigates the system of possessive constructions in Proto-Oceanic, its emergence and its subsequent developments. It also critically assesses the claim that the Oceanic system with different constructions to express alienable and inalienable possession is the result of contact with Papuan (non-Austronesian) languages.

Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The typical Oceanic pattern of attributive possessive constructions
  • 3.The diachrony of the possessive classifiers systems within Oceanic
    • 3.1The Proto-Oceanic possessive system
    • 3.2Reductions and expansions in Oceanic possessive systems
    • 3.3The Polynesian pattern
    • 3.4Possessive constructions in Oceanic: A brief summary
  • 4.Multiple possessive constructions in non-Oceanic Austronesian languages
  • 5.Multiple possessive constructions in Papuan languages
  • 6.Summary and conclusions
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 14 May 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.342.07lic
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Cristofaro, Sonia
2023. Explaining alienability splits in the use of overt and zero possessive marking: a source-oriented approach. Linguistics 61:6 ► pp. 1613 ff. DOI logo

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