Word order within possessive constructions (Surgut Khanty)

GenPoss: The possessor, whether noun or pronoun, precedes the possessed noun.


(1) ʌājəm

man axe

’the man’s axe’


(2) ma jēj-em

I brother-1sg

’my brother’


In Surgut Khanty, both nominal and pronominal possessors precede the possessed entity. If the possessor is expressed by a noun, the possessive relationship is only marked by the possessor-possessed entity word order (1), while pronominal possessors require the possessed entity to be marked with a Px (2) but the word order remains the same.

Author: 

Márta Csepregi