Predicative possession

[Xing]

How do you express predicative possession?



I have a cat.

I have a brain.

I have a car.

In Wakeu, I have been using a genitive strategy:

E nea ta wara o mai.
PRS stand SG cat GEN 1s
"There is a cat of mine"

E nea ta kanipanau o mai.
PRS stand SG brain GEN 1s
"There is a brain of mine"

E nea ta kanna o mai.
PRS stand SG car GEN 1s
"There is a cat of mine"

I have been pondering a conjunctional strategy lately:

E nea mai we ta wara.
PRS stand 1s and SG cat
"It's me and a cat" Etc.

I'm not sure if I want to change Wakeu. Maybe I'll save the conjoined strategy for another lang instead.

[bororo]

For some reason, I like to have a distinction between alienable and inalienable possession :

Jir gleel na bur
1S have.VOL PRS cat

Jir gleey na kri
1S have.NVOL PRS brain

As for my most recent project, I can't post full-fledged examples yet, but I plan to use impersonal "verbs" with applicatives, along the lines of :
"it with-cats me"
"it by-brains me"

[atman]

Atlantika glosa

Option 1 - The dative construction (typically used for permanent possessions)

Eqhefalos mit este.
/e'ɣefalos mit 'ɛste/
brain I-DAT be-3SG.
I have a brain. - literally "a brain is to me"

Option 2 - The accusative construction (typically used for temporary possessions)

Amashan eqome.
/'amaʃan 'exome/
car-ACC have-1SG.
I have a car.

[DanH34]

1) I have an animal (it's in my hand/it's available to me).
2) I have a head (inalienable).
3) I have a vehicle (alienable).

- Zidhgebzhail

1) vil kielef Aen
v-il kiel-ef Ø-Ae-n
1-ERG.SG.M animal-ACC.SG.M PRS-hold-SIMPLE
I hold animal.

2) bons h[a]ji-vae
bons-Ø ha-hi-v-ae
head-ABS.SG.M COP-COP.REL-1-GEN.SG.M
Head is that is mine.

3) vwot h[a]ji-vaa
vwot-Ø ha-hi-v-aa
vehicle-ABS.SG.M COP-COP.REL-1-OBJ_GEN.SG.M
Vehicle is that is of me.

Examples (2) and (3) use two copulae run together; /h/ mutates to /j/ when word-medial, and the vowel disappears in the vernacular. Possession is the sole use for this construct. Incidentally, putting the two copulae the other way around (hja) turns a finite verb into what I think would be a kind of passive participle in English ('nent hja-lEntan' - 'food which has been eaten', to be contrasted with 'nent-zhlEntan' - 'has-been-eaten-food', which uses an actual participle).

Example (2), used for inalienable possession, would also be used when referring to particularly close personal relationships ('azjeva h[a]ji-ozae' - 'man has wife', for example).

[Micamo]

Project Charcoal uses a simple conjunctional strategy:

ti ma nakato
ti ma no-kato
1s also.DS 1s.POSS-cat
"I have a cat."

The twist is the particle "ma" is also used to indicate that two clauses happened at the same time, though the two clauses have to be non-finite:

ti mina ma bo hara
1s sleep also.DS 3m hunt
"I slept while he hunted." (lit. "My sleeping was at the same time as his hunting.")

[Dormouse559]

My mictic lang uses a simple "have" construction when the possessor is in a "large" noun class, or when the possessor is human and the possessed is in a "small" noun class.

Since "I" is human and "cat" and "brain" are both in small noun classes, the first two sentences are translated like that.

Slopwâtâ ma swametö.
So-lo-po-pa-ta ma se-pa-me-to.
Have-TR-HUM-ANIM.2*-VRB 1.SG cat-ANIM.2-INDF-NOM.
[slopʷɔːtɔː ma sʷametøː]
I have a cat.

Slopwuotâ ma xwùmitö.
So-lo-po-pu-ta ma xi.a-pu-me-to.
Have-TR-HUM-INAN.2**-VRB 1.SG brain-INAN.2-INDF-NOM.
[slopʷu͡otɔː ma xʷoːmitøː]
I have a brain.


The language uses an existential structure when the possessor is in a small noun class, or when the possessor is human and the possessed is in a large noun class.

Since "car" is in a large class, the third sentence is translated with this strategy.

Sloifyìtai sramwiumotö mwotā.
Sa.i-lo-pi-xi-ta sramu.o-pi-me-to ma-po-ta.
Know-TR-INAN.1***-IMP-VRB vehicle-INAN.1-INDF-NOM 1.SG-HUM-VRB.
[slojfˠeːtaj sramʷi͡umotøː mʷotaː]
I have a car.
(lit. Be aware of my car)

* small animate, the second animate class in mictic lang
** small inanimate, the second inanimate class
*** large inanimate, the first inanimate class

[kiwikami]

Culphecc Glyw

Ttakh afell.
possess[non-consent]-1S.PRES INDEF.ACC-cat
I have a cat.

Thchalh apnc.
possess[body]-1S.PRES INDEF.ACC-brain
I have a brain.

Mhvth aot.
possess[ownership]-1S.PRES INDEF.ACC-car
I have a car.


Culphecc Glyw uses a "have" construction, but has a number of different words for "to have" depending on the situation and the thing in question.
~ The first sentence uses ttak, which means to own a life without verbally given consent from the life being owned. It's also used for slavery, and is distinguished from owning a person/animal due to a life debt (athng) or owning a life after the person/animal to whom it belongs has given consent (an indentured servant). Naturally, this doesn't tend to happen with cats.
~ Thchal means to possess as part of one's body. It also refers to genetic and incurable diseases, and various other physical aspects (nearsightedness, superpowers, etc.)
~ Mhvt means to own or possess a material object. It is distinguished from another word (buried in my lexicon, which I'm too lazy to bring up right now) meaning to have an item that is not actually in your possession (a dogsitter's sitted dogs) and another that essentially means "to hold," and means to have an object, that you own, right there in front of you at that very moment.

[MrKrov]

Simple have strategy.
Project 1, Epaspak:

yirá kucaw
yirá ku-Ø-caw
cat 1SA-3SP-have
1 have a cat.

etuy kucaw
etuy ku-Ø-caw
brain 1SA-3SP-have
I have a brain.

tamákki kucaw
tamákki ku-Ø-caw
car 1SA-3SP-have
I have a car.

[Iron]

Mósínatat ú nhalá.
['mˠɔ:i̯ʃiə̯nˠɑtˠɑtˠ ʊ: 'jɑ:lˠɑ:]
cat_to.be-IND.PRS.3SG on 1s-ACC
"I have a cat."

Óluiráchatat ú nhalá.
[‘ɔ:lˠɰi:ə̯ɾˠɑxɑtˠɑtˠ ʊ: 'jɑ:lˠɑ:]
brain_to.be-IND.PRS.3SG on 1s-ACC
"I have a brain."

Uimpair ú nhalá.
['i:ə̯mˠpˠəɾˠ ʊ: 'jɑ:lˠɑ:]
carriage_to.be-IND.PRS.3SG on 1s-ACC
"I have a carriage."

Literally, it would be "a <something> is on/at/in me."

[Chagen]

Pazmat just has a boring verb meaning "have".

1.
Tuucos sei
cat-ACC have-1SG

2.
Anscos sei
brain-ACC have-1SG

3.
Rawaqisjtaros sei
mechanical-mover have-1SG

[SLiV]

Leabathen uses the verb kan "to have" as well:

Heo kortoeem kan.
Heo korto-e-em kan.
1SG wagon-INDEF.ART-ACC1 have.
I have a wagon.

Generally, Accusative 1 is used; if the object is uncountable or the amount is irrelevant, the Partitive is used.

Heo firmaene omokan.
Heo firma-ene omo-kan.
1SG brains-PART GNOMIC-have.
I inherently have some brain.
I have a brain.

The gnomic is used because all humans tend to have brains.
The statement

Heo firmaem kan.
Heo firma-em kan.
1SG brains-ACC1 have.
I have a brain.

would not be appropriate (unless you're a surgeon's assistent, or a zombie, or whatever).

For statements other than absolute possession, the comitive is used.

Peatore veasheo cien.
Peator-e veas-heo cien.
Father-INDEF.ART COMIT-1SG exist.
With me there exists a father.
I have a father.

So, depending on your view of the world, both Heo kabaeem kan (I own a cat) and Kabae veasheo cien (There is a cat for me) would be acceptable.

[Xing]

Maybe I should "update" my translation with the new ideas I toyed with yesterday.

E nea ta wara we mai. / E nea ta wara o mai
PRS stand SG car and 1.s
"There is a cat and I." (="I have a cat")

I haven't decided whether the word corresponding to "and" should be we or o. Posssibly I will allow both, as dialectal or stylistic varieties or something.

For reference; here are the alternatives from WALS (hop I recall them correctly):

Have-possessive:
"I have a cat."

Locational:
"There's a cat at me."

Genitive:
"There's a cat of mine; there's a my cat."

Topical:
"As for me, there's a cat."

Conjunctional:
"There's a cat and I"; "there's a cat with me" (If the word for "with" can also serve to connect clauses).

[Lao Kou]

Culphecc Glyw uses a "have" construction, but has a number of different words for "to have" depending on the situation and the thing in question.

This is the Géarthnuns strategy as well (though if you asked a Géarthçins what the word for "have" was, you'd get "ven" as the answer):



Sí la sau teshersaut dvölesal.
[si 'la sɔ tɛ'ʃɛɾsɔt dvølɛ'sal]
1SG-NOM AUX.PRES INDEF cat-ACC have/keep/raise
I have a cat.

Sí la sí ngévrölsít wéböth.
[si 'la si ŋe'vɾølsit 'ʋebøθ]
1SG-NOM AUX.PRES INDEF brain-ACC have/be."equipped".with
I have a brain.

Sí la se töthset ven.
[si 'la sɛ 'tøθsɛt 'vɛn]
1SG-NOM AUX/PRES INDEF car-ACC have
I have a car.

dvölesal -- for animals only, I should think. They're along for the ride, but you know, without a thumb, they need help with the can opener, the doorknob, changing the litterbox...
wéböth -- a car has four wheels, an elephant has a trunk, a Western teacup has a handle, we have two ears...
ven -- certainly the most possessishy of the bunch, so I guess most alienable stuff could grammatically safely end up here.

There are others: "having friends/relatives; good health", "having a disease", "having a tree in the backyard", etc. -- all separate lexical items. I guess it's the inalienables that get divvied up... Huh. Who knew?
_______________________

?Sí la sau teshersaut ven.
?I have a cat. (Rigor mortis has set in. Shall we hammer ten-penny nails with it?)

?Sí la sí ngévrölsít ven.
?I have a brain. (It's alive! Mwa ha ha ha ha!)

Jury still out...

[Bagliun Edar]

Vlomijoabil āniamagur.
[ˈvlɔmiʒɔˌabil ˈaːniaˌmaguɾ]
vlomi-jo-abil āniama-gur
have-IND.POL-1SG.NOM cat-IND_SG.INDF.NEUT[ACC]
I have a cat. (possess but do not own)

Rulbujoabil ruloadigur.
[ˈɾulbuʒɔˌabil ˈɾulɔaˌdiguɾ]
rulbu-jo-abil ruloadi-gur
have-IND.POL-1SG.NOM brain-IND_SG.INDF.NEUT[ACC]
I have a brain.

Vlōmjoabil elrādiungemgur.
[ˈvlɔːmʒɔˌabil ˈɛlɾaːdiunˌgɛmguɾ]
vlōm-jo-abil elrādiungem-gur
have-IND.POL-1SG.NOM car-IND_SG.INDF.NEUT[ACC]
I have(own) a car.

Beanajoabil yulugur.
[ˈbɛanaʒɔˌabil ˈʎuluguɾ]
beana-jo-abil yulu-gur
have-IND.POL-1SG.NOM servant-IND_SG.INDF.NEUT[ACC]
I have a servant. (an employee, not a slave)

While scanning my lexicon for "have", I find four flavors of the verb "to have":
vlomi [ˈvlɔmi] v. have (possession); S has/possesses O. Does not imply ownership.
vlōm [ˈvlɔːm] v. have (possession); S owns/possesses O. Does imply ownership.
rulbu [ˈrulbu] v. have (inalienable possession); S has O. Have as in having feelings, attitudes, bodyparts, sight, hearing, etc.
beana [ˈbɛana] v. have (non-possession); S has O. Having persons or external things without possessing them.

There is another way to state exactly the same thing, although it has a more formal feeling. The sentences:
Azobilovion āniamagurorjo.
azobil-ovion āniama-gur-or-jo
that-PAT cat-IND_SG.INDF.NEUT-COP-IND.POL
That's a cat.

Azobilovion ruloadigurorjo.
azobil-ovion ruloadi-gur-or-jo
that-PAT brain-IND_SG.INDF.NEUT-COP-IND.POL
That's a brain.

Azobilovion elrādiungemgurorjo.
azobil-ovion elrādiungem-gur-or-jo
that-PAT car-IND_SG.INDF.NEUT-COP-IND.POL
That's a car.

Azobilovion yulugurorjo.
azobil-ovion yulu-gur-or-jo
that-PAT servant-IND_SG.INDF.NEUT-COP-IND.POL
That's a servant.

...can be turned into possessives thus:
Āniamagurorjovlomabil.
āniama-gur-or-jo-vlom-abil
cat-IND_SG.INDF.NEUT-COP-IND.POL-POSS-1SG.NOM
I have a cat. (possess but do not own)

Ruloadigurorjobomabil.
ruloadi-gur-or-jo-bom-abil
brain-IND_SG.INDF.NEUT-COP-IND.POL-POSS-1SG.NOM
I have a brain. (inalienable ownership)

Elrādiungemgurorjovomabil.
elrādiungem-gur-or-jo-vom-abil
car-IND_SG.INDF.NEUT-COP-IND.POL-POSS-1SG.NOM
I have a car. (ownership)

Yulugurorjobenabil.
yulu-gur-or-jo-ben-abil
servant-IND_SG.INDF.NEUT-COP-IND.POL-POSS-1SG.NOM
I have a servant. (an employee, not a slave)

-ben: have (non-possession)
-vlom: have (possession). Does not imply ownership.
-vom: have (possession). Does imply ownership.
-bom: have (possession). Imply inalienable ownership.

[Omzinesý]

Vtain doesn't make too much difference between different kinds of possession. Some nouns are obligatorily possessed and have a possessive maker, but the main construction is the same anyway.
Vtain uses a copular construction [[possessor+dative] [pause] [possessed]].

Saho – mauxa.
sax-DVo maux-a
Sg1-SPEC.DAT domestic_cat-SPEC.INTR
‘I have a cat.’
Lit. ‘For me is a cat.’

Saho – klosba.
sax-DVo kloz-b-a
Sg1-SPEC.DAT brain-my-SPEC.INTR
‘I have my brain.’

Saho – tiega.
sax-DVo tieg-a
Sg1-SPEC.DAT car-SPEC.INTR
‘I have a car*.’

*Their cars don't have motors. They are more like wagons.'

[Omzinesý]

Vtain doesn't make too much difference between different kinds of possession. Some nouns are obligatorily possessed and have a possessive maker, but the main construction is the same anyway. [...]

Saho – mauxa.
sax-DVo maux-a
Sg1-SPEC.DAT domestic_cat-SPEC.INTR
‘I have a cat.’
Lit. ‘For me is a cat.’

Saho – klosba.
sax-DVo kloz-b-a
Sg1-SPEC.DAT brain-my-SPEC.INTR
‘I my-brain-have.’

Saho – tiega.
sax-DVo tieg-a
Sg1-SPEC.DAT car-SPEC.INTR
‘I have a car*.’

*Their cars don't have motors. They are more like wagons.'

When I started thinking about that, I decided that Vtain will have a synthetic habitive verb of the Greenlandic style.
The habitive suffix is /r/ which is historically related to adjectival comitative suffix /r/, but in the modern language it inflexts like any verb. Some nouns are obligatorily possessed and have a possessive maker, but the possessive maker just appears inside the derived verb.

Saxa mauxri.
sax-a maux-r-i
Sg1-SPEC.INTRC domestic_cat-have-PRS
‘I have a cat.’
Lit. ‘I cat-have.'

Saxa – klosbri.
sax-a kloz-b-r-i
Sg1-SPEC.INTR brain-my-have-PRS
‘I have my brain.’

Saxa – tiegri.
sax-a tieg-r-i
Sg1-SPEC.DAT car-have-PRS
‘I have a car*.’
Lit. 'I car-have.'

*Their cars don't have motors. They are more like wagons.'

[k1234567890y]

Lonmai Luna/Liunan
there's a possessive verb, but there seems to have no alienable distinction in the verb:

se pabel hi-les manuk
1.SG have one-CLF fowl/flightless.bird
I have a fowl

se pabel hi-les manok
1.SG have one-CLF car
I have a car

se pabel hi-les yekla
1.SG have one-CLF brain

[Täzari]

Lözusöteli uses the verb ezaka "to have" followed by the possessed noun in the GEN case. This is viewed like some kind of partitive construction even though the real partitive meaning is expressed with the preposition tik followed by the GEN case.

Au geśśri.
['au 'ges:ri]
(have.pres.3sg cat-GENsg)
"I have a cat"

Harttunæ beteś?
['hart:unaɪ̆ 'beteɕ]
(have.past.2sg-INT.2sg-NEG house-GENsg)
"Didn't you have a house?"

[Dezinaa]

Yetra:

Ŋe ŋwəɂ kat.
/ŋe ŋwəʔ kat/

Ŋe ŋwəɂ ɂərtayi
/ŋe ŋwəʔ ʔərˈtaji/

Ŋe ŋwəɂ kar.
/ŋe ŋwəʔ kar/

I'm not even going to gloss these. Maybe I should do something more interesting.

[Chagen]

Pazmat just has a boring verb meaning "have".

1.
Tuucos sei
cat-ACC have-1SG

2.
Anscos sei
brain-ACC have-1SG

3.
Rawaqisjtaros sei
mechanical-mover have-1SG

New Pazmat has....the exact same verb. But this time, the noun is in the instrumental. The whole construction basically means " I an engaging in the act of having with a/the [noun]"

Tūcōmi sīna
Kosōmi sīna
Iśtōmi sīna

If the nouns are definite, they change:

Tūcrāmi sīna
Kosrāmi sīna
Iśtrāmi sīna