Re: THEORY: Mixed erg/acc

In a message dated 3/11/2000 3:23:11 PM Eastern Standard Time,
a.rosta@PMAIL.NET writes:

<< > (3)  Some linguists have proposed that possessive "have" is
 > derived (synchronically) by combining "be" with an adposition.

 Is this Hindi or English? If English, I'm aware of such proposals
 from early TG/Generative Semantics in the mid 60s, but not of any
 since then. I'd be very interested to hear if they live on; I had
 thought them forgotten. >>
As I recall, this was also one of the more interesting features of Fillmore's
"case"grammar, probably another forgotten or more likely co-opted byway..  It
had something to do with "Comitative" case-- there was no underlying "be"or
"have" e.g.
    "The children are with her"
    "She has the children (with her)"
It was an appealing approach for those of us involved with Indonesian
languages, which lack a real copula and straightforward ways of expressing
"have"--
    ada uangku, lit. 'there is my money' = I have money
    anaknya tiga, lit. 'his/her children three' = s/he has three children