Re: Mandatory possession

Mathias <Lassailly@...> wrote:

> note also that "my" can be expressed with "i have" :
> ku-kor ku-nupe ku-nukar rusuy
> i-have i-brother i-see want
> i want to see my brother
Question: is Ainu regularly SOV, and does it place subordinate
clauses before their heads, like Japanese? That would account
for 'I have' meaning 'my'; 'my brother' would be 'the brother
that I have'. Except, of course, for the prefix <ku-> also being
on the noun.

Do you know why _rusuy_ isn't prefixed <ku-> too? Is it a real
verb, or something else (like an invariable clitic)?

On a personal note, I really like this 'possessive subordinate'
stuff. I'm using it on a new language right now...


--Pablo Flores
  http://draseleq.conlang.org/pablo-david/