Universal #1588
Legacy number: 1588
| Number | 1584 |
| Original | Semantic scale of inalienable possession: kin terms and/or body parts > part-whole and/or spatial relations > culturally basic possessed items (e.g. arrows, domestic animals) |
| Standardized | IF culturally basic possessed items are among ‘inalienables’, THEN part-whole and/or spatial relations are included in the ‘inalienable’ class as well. IF part-whole and/or spatial relations are among ‘inalienables’, THEN kin terms and/or body parts are included in the ‘inalienable’ class as well. |
| Formula | kin terms and/or body parts > part-whole and/or spatial relations > culturally basic possessed items |
| Keywords | possession, inalienable, alienable, kinship |
| Domain | inflection, syntax, semantics |
| Type | implicational hierarchy |
| Status | achronic |
| Quality | absolute |
| Basis | every language family and language isolate attested for North America (excluding only those six: Alsea, Beothuk, Cayuse, Kalapuyan, Molala, Yanan), also North Eurasian language families and several Australian languages |
| Source | Nichols 1988: 572 |
Discussion
Counterexamples
In Ewe (Kwa, Niger-Congo) and Mandarin (Sinitic, Sino-Tibetan), spatial orientation terms appear alone at the top of the hierarchy as the most inalienable category (Chappell & McGregor 1995: 8)
Notes
For four languages surveyed by Tsunoda (#1592) body parts (and not kin terms) appear to be the highest on the scale.
Comment
For four languages surveyed by Tsunoda (<a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=1592"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">) body parts (and not kin terms) appear to be the highest on the scale.
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