genitivepluralism

Genitive pluralism is a term used in linguistics to describe the variation across languages in how genitive plurality is expressed. It concerns the range of strategies languages use to mark possession or relational meaning when the referent is plural, rather than assuming a single universal method.

In typological terms, genitive plural marking can be realized in several ways. Some languages employ inflectional marking on the noun or its determiners, producing a dedicated genitive plural form. Others use analytic constructions, most commonly a preposition or a clausal structure such as an of-phrase, to express possession with a plural noun. Many languages mix these strategies, applying one method in some contexts (for example with definite nouns) and another in different contexts (such as with animate or plural possessor nouns).

Cross-linguistic patterns illustrate the diversity. German, for example, uses an inflected genitive plural on a noun phrase (der Häuser). English often relies on possessive constructions with an explicit plural possessive form (the houses’ roofs) or on of-phrases (the roofs of the houses). Other languages use robust genitive plural endings, while some rely more on prepositional constructions or word order changes. In many languages, definiteness, animacy, and noun class influence which strategy is chosen.

Genitive pluralism is of interest for morphology, syntax, and historical linguistics because it sheds light on how possession and quantity interact, how languages adapt to phonological and syntactic constraints, and how constructions evolve under contact and change.