Re: Standard Average European (was: case system)

On 13.4.2008 Eric Christopherson wrote:
 > I read somewhere that at one time the possessive suffix
 > <'s> was reinterpreted as being a contraction of <his>;
 > some grammarians at that time thus commented that it was
 > illogical to use <'s> for a female possessor, preferring
 > something like "the queen her crown". I think they also
 > sometimes expanded the "contraction", writing things like
 > "the king his castle". I'm not sure how they treated
 > inanimate possessors. In any event, that analysis of <'s>
 > didn't last.
 >

As for inanimate possessors _his_ was originally the
genitive of both _he_ and _(h)it_, so there was no problem.

In fact the spelling _'s_ with an apostrophe goes back to
this false reinterpretation, the apostrophe being originally
intended in its (his! :-) original function as an elision
marker for the supposedly elided _hi_.

/BP 8^)>
--
Benct Philip Jonsson -- melroch atte melroch dotte se
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   "C'est en vain que nos Josués littéraires crient
   à la langue de s'arrêter; les langues ni le soleil
   ne s'arrêtent plus. Le jour où elles se *fixent*,
   c'est qu'elles meurent."           (Victor Hugo)