Re: The "owned" noun case is called...?

On Monday 20 January 2003 7:20 pm, Karapcik, Mike wrote:
>         Hello folks.
>         In the conlang I'm (slowly) working on, ownership is marked
> differently for alienable and inalienable possessions.
>         For inalienable possessions, mostly body parts and relatives, there
> is a genitive marker on the end of the "owner" noun.
>         For alienable possession, there is an "owned" marker on the end of
> the "owned" noun. This marker also shows tense, so the item can be "owned
> before", "now mine", and "will be mine".
>         There is also a word order difference; owned objects always
> immediately follow the owner.
>
>         Anyway, these two suffixes can be mixed. For alienable possessions,
> the genitive marker on the owner indicates emphasis, such as, "this is MY
> basket, NOT YOURS." It can also be used by the speaker to make it clear
> that the item will *not* be given up, traded, or sold. It also has a
> slightly aggressive feel, and so is rarely used.
>         Using the alienable suffix on family members indicates great
> hostility, they *were* your family, but you don't acknowledge them now, or
> you may not in the future.
>
>         Now, the question:
>         What is the technical term for the "owned" case?
>         I've been slowly reading "The Cambridge Language Survey of Native
> North America" (oh-so-much linguistic trivia!). It mentioned the obviate
> case, which I've heard used in this context. According to the book, the
> obviate is a way to indicate that the noun is non-topical versus topical,
> and many languages with obviate marking use it on possessed items. However,
> it has other functions.
>         Is there a more precise term than "obviate"?
>
>         Thanks!
>                 Mike

What's wrong with 'posessive'?

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