Towards a typology of prominent internal possessors

Abstract

It is generally assumed that properties of the phrasal head determine the properties of a syntactic phrase as a whole. This chapter shows that some possessive constructions present a challenge to these assumptions, since in such constructions internal possessors, standardly analysed as dependents of possessed head nouns, exhibit a number of head-like properties. These properties determine the behaviour of the whole phrase in the larger syntactic domain. Such possessors are referred to as ‘prominent internal possessors’ (PIPs). The chapter provides a typological overview of PIPs based on a survey of approximately sixty languages from different parts of the world. It discusses the role of PIPs in two syntactic processes, namely, indexing on the verb via grammatical agreement or pronominal incorporation and switch-reference, as well as accompanying functional effects. It also addresses the question of how the phenomenon of PIPs can be accounted for in theoretical terms.