As An Example of A Possessive Class System
In general, the alienable-inalienable distinction is an example of a binary possessive class system, i.e., a language in which two kinds of possession are distinguished (alienable and inalienable) instead of just one, as in English. The alienability distinction is the most common kind of binary possessive class system, but it is not the only one. Furthermore, some languages have more than just two different possessive classes: on the more extreme end of the scale, the Anêm language of Papua New Guinea has at least 20.
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Famous quotes containing the words possessive, class and/or system:
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—Erich Fromm (20th century)
“No human being is innocent, but there is a class of innocent human actions called Games.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)
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—George Steiner (b. 1929)