Typology of adnominal inalienable constructions

The present paper provides a typological research of adnominal possessive inalienable constructions. We constructed a detailed database with the relevant information for 160 languages: locus of marking and details about the possessive adnominal constructions, semantically-based variation, obligatoriness of the possessive marking. Then, we distinguished between various types (loci of marking of inalienable vs alienable adnominal possessive constructions) based on our sample. We also discussed a number of complex cases and decisions we had to make for assignment of types. Notably, a given type of marking contrast may include further subdivision into different constructions (e.g., different series of markers and different degrees of grammaticalization in systems contrasting head-marking constructions). Another interesting result of this paper is related to a typological hierarchy of marking of inalienable and alienable adnominal possessive constructions: Head marking > Zero marking > Dependent marking. If a language has an inalienability split, then the locus of marking of the inalienable construction is higher than or equal to the locus of marking of the alienable construction.