Auto-Referential Affective Construction: An Aspect of the Syntax of Inalienable Possessions in Swahili

Abstract

Most previous treatments of the ‘Syntax of Inalienable Possessions’ in the Swahili language have concentrated on two construction types; to a greater extend one in which the possessor and the inalienable possession feature as two separate noun phrases instead of one (i.e respectively the direct and oblique objects) and to a lesser extent one which the possessor and the inalienable possession feature as subject and object respectively. However, a third construction type which we refer to as ‘auto-referential’ which also exhibits a privileged treatment of the inalienable possession is virtually left out. This paper seeks to describe and examine the ‘Auto-Referential Affective Construction’ in Swahili.