STRATEGIES OF CLAUSAL POSSESSION
Abstract
Across languages, clauses expressing possession, location, and existencc exhibit many similarities. To capture their evident affinity, it is often claimed that possessives derive -synclironically or diaclironically- from expressions of location/existence. This localist account obscures a basic contrast between two broad classes of possessive constructions, those based on HAVE-type predicates and those based on BE-type predicates. These predicates grammaticize from lexical verbs pertaining to different aspects of embodied experience, resulting in subtle semantic differences reflected in contrasting grammatical constructions for clausal possession. Moreover, both HAVE- and BE-type possessives show interesting cross-linguistic variation which should not be ignored from a typological or a cognitive linguistic perspective. Attention to these structural differences does not preclude a unified account of possessive constructions and their close relationship with locatives. These constructions all manifest our ability to mentally access one entity by invoking another as a conceptual reference point.Downloads
The works published in this journal are subject to the following terms:
1. The Publications Services at the University of Murcia (the publisher) retains the property rights (copyright) of published works, and encourages and enables the reuse of the same under the license specified in item 2.
2. The works are published in the electronic edition of the magazine under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike 4.0.
3.Conditions of self-archiving. Authors are encouraged to disseminate pre-print (draft papers prior to being assessed) and/or post-print versions (those reviewed and accepted for publication) of their papers before publication, because it encourages distribution earlier and thus leads to a possible increase in citations and circulation among the academic community.
RoMEO color: green
