Datapoint Diu Indo-Portuguese/Marking of pronominal possessors

In Diu Indo-Portuguese, pronominal possessors occur before the noun they modify (the possessum).

The first person possessive pronouns are clearly separate words: the 1SG possessive pronoun is mĩ, which is formally equivalent to the oblique form of the 1SG personal pronoun; the 1PL possessive pronoun is nɔs, formally equivalent to the 1PL personal pronoun (which does not have a separate oblique form).

Second and third person pronominal possessors are classified in this study as (preposed) prepositional phrases rather than possessive pronouns, but this is admittedly a matter of interpretation; it is equally possible that the preposition də has fused with the subsequent personal pronouns to the extent that the complexes now form single words - which would then be classified as possessive pronouns. I have opted for the former interpretation in view of the following:

(a) the combination of the preposition də and a personal pronoun as pronominal possessors is entirely expectable given that non-pronominal possessors also take the form of də-PPs;

(b) the preposition də is observed to undergo similar phonetic reduction in combination with other vowel-initial words, such as the demonstratives (e.g. də + ikəl = dikəl) or the numeral/indefinite article ũ (də + ũ = dũ); it is therefore unwarranted to interpret the phonetic integration observed in pronominal possessors as proof of grammaticalization;

(c) although the preposed position of these elements does contrast with the typical order of non-pronominal possessors, there are various examples of (atypical) preposed non-pronominal də-PPs; the constraints against these cases seem to involve heaviness rather than categorial distinctions.

Very rarely, a pronominal possessor may be postposed to the head noun. In such cases, first person possessive pronouns are replaced with a de-PP (the typical non-pronominal possessor manifestation and position).

Values

Adpositional phrase preceding the possessum Frequency: 45.5%

Example 39-7:
Kurəsãw də makak dẽt del mem korp.
Kurəsãw
heart
də
of
makak
monkey
dẽt
inside
də-el
of-3sg
mem
emph
korp.
body
The monkey's heart is inside his own body.

Source: Cardoso 2009: 220

Example 39-78:
Duse kurəsãw ɔn te?
Də-use
of-2
kurəsãw
heart
ɔn
where
te?
be.npst
Where is your heart?

Source: Cardoso 2009: 232

Example 39-79:
Del nom ɛ Flavius.
Də-el
of-3
nom
name
ɛ
cop.npst
Flavius.
Flavius
His name is Flavius.

Source: Cardoso 2004-2008

Example 39-80:
Dɛl kaz fik mĩ jũt.
Də-ɛl
of-3f
kaz
house
fik
stay.npst
mĩ
1sg.obl
jũt.
together
Her house is next to me/mine.

Source: Cardoso 2004-2008

Confidence:
Certain

Preceding word Frequency: 45.5%

Example 39-24:
Mĩ nom ɛ muyt kõprid, nə?
Mĩ
1sg.poss
nom
name
ɛ
cop.npst
muyt
very
kõprid,
long
nə?
req
My name is very long, isn't it?

Source: Cardoso 2009: 178

Example 39-67:
Ikəl ɛ mĩ kaz.
Ikəl
dem
ɛ
cop.npst
mĩ
1sg.poss
kaz.
house
That is my house.
Example 39-77:
Oj ɛ nɔs exam gujərati ku ĩglix.
Oj
today
ɛ
cop.npst
nɔs
1sg.poss
exam
exam
gujərati
Gujarati
ku
com
ĩglix.
English
Today is our Gujarati and English exam.

Source: Cardoso 2009: 223

Confidence:
Very certain

Adpositional phrase following the possessum Frequency: 9.1%

Example 39-81:
kwɔlkɛ piso də mĩ
kwɔlkɛ
some
piso
person
də
of
mĩ
1sg.obl
some person of mine (i.e. 'of my relations')

Source: Cardoso 2004-2008

Confidence:
Certain