Marking possession on nouns (Northern Mansi)

Juxta: Possession is expressed through the juxtaposition of the possessor and the possessed noun.

PossSuff: Possession is expressed through the use of a suffix on the possessed noun.


(1) āťa-m witujsow ťēnt
father-1sg beaver_pelt hat
‘my father’s beaver pelt hat’ (S. D.)


(2) āťa-m witujsow ťēnt-e
father-1sg beaver_pelt hat-3sg
‘my father’s beaver pelt hat’ (S. D.)


In Northern Mansi, two constructions can express a possessive relationship. The first one is the bare linguistic juxtaposition of the possessor and the possessed entity (1), while in the other construction the possessed entity takes a personal suffix (2), which indicates the possessor’s number and person, and the number of the possessed entity (Rombandeeva 1973: 64).

Author: 

Szilvia Németh