Possession in Patani

Abstract This paper provides the first description of the possessive system in Patani, a South Halmahera-West New Guinea language (Austronesian). Possession in Patani involves the interplay of several parameters. Syntactically, there are two broad possessive constructions: direct, and indirect. Morphologically, both constructions make use of pronominal proclitics and possessive suffixes which express the person and number of the possessor. In the direct construction, this possessive marking attaches directly to the noun, whereas the indirect construction makes use of a possessive particle (a relational classifier) on which the possessive marking occurs. Semantically, all nouns which are directly possessed are inalienable nouns expressing kinship, part-of-whole relations, and close association. In the indirect construction, a semantic distinction is made between items related to eating and drinking on the one hand, and general possession on the other. This distinction is signaled through the choice of one of two possessive classifiers. At the same time, there are some idiosyncrasies which are not explained by the main semantic pattern. When both direct and indirect constructions are used together in a sentence, each part maps a different semantic relationship. Typologically, the Patani order is possessor-possessed, as is common in the region. Finally, both the direct and the indirect construction may be used phrasally (‘my house’), or predicatively (‘I have a house’).