posesiv

Posesiv is a term used in linguistics to describe a system of possession marking in which the possessed noun bears a dedicated morpho-grammatical element signaling the possessor. In posesiv systems, possession is encoded directly on the noun rather than by a separate possessive determiner or a postposed possessive phrase. The concept appears in typological discussions of how languages and constructed languages encode relationships of ownership and related arguments.

Forms and variation in posesiv marking are diverse. In many proposed instantiations, the possessed noun carries a suffix or clitic that encodes the possessor’s person (for example, first, second, or third). Some variants also encode number or proximity of the possessor. A suffixal posesiv is common, attaching to the noun stem, while other implementations use a clitic that attaches to the noun phrase as a whole or to a surrounding determiner. Posesiv systems may coexist with additional morpho-syntactic markers such as case or agreement, and can interact with word order or noun class in different ways.

Illustrative example: in a hypothetical posesiv language, the noun kato (dog) with a first-person suffix might appear as kato-mo to mean “my dog,” kato-tu for “your dog,” and kato-lo for “his/her dog.” These markers typically follow phonological rules of the language and can affect or be affected by pluralization, diminutives, or other nominal modifiers in the noun phrase.

Significance: posesiv highlights the range of strategies languages and conlangs use to express possession. It is distinct from genitive constructions and independent possessive pronouns, though related in semantic role. The term is primarily used in theoretical discussions and in studies of constructed languages to compare possession systems.