WARLPIRI
SUMMARY
In Warlpiri, possessors internal to an argument NP can be indexed by a clause-level bound pronoun clitic, as if it were an argument of the clause. Meakins and Nordlinger (2017) propose that, when present in the clause, the possessor NP is marked with the dative case, which shows that is a modifier of the NP headed by the possessum (which is obligatory). This possessor is cross-referenced by an object/oblique pronominal clitic. The clitic used is not sensitive to the argument function of the host of the possessor, unlike in other possessor constructions which resemble external possession.
See also Gurindji.
LANGUAGE PROFILE
EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF PIPS
- Since word order is pragmatically determined and contiguity of constituents is variable within the NP, the principle indicator of the internal nature of the possessor in this construction is that it must show case agreement with the head of the NP, like other nominal dependents.
KEY SOURCES
Meakins, Felicity and Rachel Nordlinger. 2017. Possessor dissension: Agreement mismatch in Ngumpin-Yapa possessive constructions. Linguistic Typology 21(1): 143-76.
Simpson, Jane. 1991. Warlpiri morpho-syntax: A lexicalist approach. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
