Sydvästsvensk a-genitiv - en levande relikt
(2009) In Arkiv för nordisk filologi 124. p.187-235- Abstract
- In modern standard Swedish genitive is marked by -s, which, according to the standard analyses, is a phrasal clitic, viz. [mannen på gatan]s åsikt (man on street-s opinion). In dialects in parts of Småland, Halland, and Västergötland a variant on -a or -e, here called a-genitive, is used, primarily on proper names, viz. Erik-a bil (Erik-gen car) ‘Erik’s car’, a form that should be compared to the genitival forms of the type found in Old Swedish. The study shows that a-genitive is preferred for disyllabic masculine names, but for some speakers it can be used for all types of names. For one group of speakers, a-genitive can be used only on head nouns, not on full noun phrases, which indicates that the genitive marker for these speakers is a... (More)
- In modern standard Swedish genitive is marked by -s, which, according to the standard analyses, is a phrasal clitic, viz. [mannen på gatan]s åsikt (man on street-s opinion). In dialects in parts of Småland, Halland, and Västergötland a variant on -a or -e, here called a-genitive, is used, primarily on proper names, viz. Erik-a bil (Erik-gen car) ‘Erik’s car’, a form that should be compared to the genitival forms of the type found in Old Swedish. The study shows that a-genitive is preferred for disyllabic masculine names, but for some speakers it can be used for all types of names. For one group of speakers, a-genitive can be used only on head nouns, not on full noun phrases, which indicates that the genitive marker for these speakers is a true morphological element of the Old Swedish type. For another group of speakers, a-genitive can be used also on full noun phrases, which indicates that -a for these speakers has become a phrasal clitic, i.e. an allomorph to genitival -s.
For possessive/genitival pronouns hans ‘his’ and hennes ‘her’ it is suggested that “a-forms” such as hansa ‘his’ and henna ‘her’, together with a productive use of -a as a linking element, viz. kalv-a+kätte (calf-a+penn) ‘calf’s penn’ make up a macro-paradigm, which helps explaining the fact that a-genitive has been able to continue to exist, despite a paradigmatic pressure from standard Swedish s-genitive.
An analysis of “collectivizing genitive”, viz. Olssons, in the dialects in question Olsson-a-s, meaning ‘Olsson’s, family/house/shop …’ is presented. “Double” marking” (or more) of genitive, such as hans-a-s (his-gen-gen) ’his’ is discussed; the two exponents seem to compete: -s is associated with the standard language and -a, is primarily an exponent of emotional or regional solidarity. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1479249
- author
- Josefsson, Gunlög LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2009
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Arkiv för nordisk filologi
- volume
- 124
- pages
- 187 - 235
- publisher
- ANF
- ISSN
- 0066-7668
- language
- Swedish
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Swedish (015011001)
- id
- 8e2163b5-f05e-47e8-9722-c178c57cdcd0 (old id 1479249)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 14:47:53
- date last changed
- 2018-11-21 20:30:16
@article{8e2163b5-f05e-47e8-9722-c178c57cdcd0,
abstract = {{In modern standard Swedish genitive is marked by -s, which, according to the standard analyses, is a phrasal clitic, viz. [mannen på gatan]s åsikt (man on street-s opinion). In dialects in parts of Småland, Halland, and Västergötland a variant on -a or -e, here called a-genitive, is used, primarily on proper names, viz. Erik-a bil (Erik-gen car) ‘Erik’s car’, a form that should be compared to the genitival forms of the type found in Old Swedish. The study shows that a-genitive is preferred for disyllabic masculine names, but for some speakers it can be used for all types of names. For one group of speakers, a-genitive can be used only on head nouns, not on full noun phrases, which indicates that the genitive marker for these speakers is a true morphological element of the Old Swedish type. For another group of speakers, a-genitive can be used also on full noun phrases, which indicates that -a for these speakers has become a phrasal clitic, i.e. an allomorph to genitival -s. <br/><br>
For possessive/genitival pronouns hans ‘his’ and hennes ‘her’ it is suggested that “a-forms” such as hansa ‘his’ and henna ‘her’, together with a productive use of -a as a linking element, viz. kalv-a+kätte (calf-a+penn) ‘calf’s penn’ make up a macro-paradigm, which helps explaining the fact that a-genitive has been able to continue to exist, despite a paradigmatic pressure from standard Swedish s-genitive. <br/><br>
An analysis of “collectivizing genitive”, viz. Olssons, in the dialects in question Olsson-a-s, meaning ‘Olsson’s, family/house/shop …’ is presented. “Double” marking” (or more) of genitive, such as hans-a-s (his-gen-gen) ’his’ is discussed; the two exponents seem to compete: -s is associated with the standard language and -a, is primarily an exponent of emotional or regional solidarity.}},
author = {{Josefsson, Gunlög}},
issn = {{0066-7668}},
language = {{swe}},
pages = {{187--235}},
publisher = {{ANF}},
series = {{Arkiv för nordisk filologi}},
title = {{Sydvästsvensk a-genitiv - en levande relikt}},
volume = {{124}},
year = {{2009}},
}