Johnson 2004 - CDLI - UCLA

possession. I propose that the *bi-√ prefix is the unmarked member of the rather
elaborate set of dimensional infixes, that it is regularly used with an indefinite bare noun,
and that, for the most part, we can use a transfer of possession model in which BNBV inal
verbs code the transfer of the referent of an indefinite noun from a source to a goal (both
indicated, for the most part, by an *-e postposition): the particular semantics of each
subset within the BNBV inal group resulting in a somewhat different interpretation of
source and goal. In section 1.8, I offer an alternative interpretation of the significance of
the ergative postposition in BNBV inal constructions as inalienable possessor rather than
ergator and draw a comparison to nominative/dative or absolutive/oblique case-marking
subsystems that are used in a variety of languages to code the thematic relations in verbs
of perception and experience.
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