In Zekaisivarsi, a genitive construction (iyakai) is a string of substantives that expresses some type of relationship between the substantives in the construction, such as possession, kinship, companionship, dependency, or other relationship. In any genitive construction, there is a head or governor, the main noun, and a dependent, the noun that modifies the main noun.
Syntax of iyakai[]
In iyakai, the head is typically in the absolutive or ergative case and precedes the dependent which is in the construct form.
ye eipaj: my hand (literally, "I hand") In this phrase, ye is the head, the main noun, and eipaj is the dependent.
This structure conveys that I do something with my hand, and therefore my hand depends on me.
Possession[]
Iyakai is often used to indicate possession, the ownership or control by a person of a thing. Zekaisivarsi differentiates between types of possession, ya-/ei- possession and na possession (and in some lects, aaj possession).
Ya-/ei- possession[]
The prefixes ya- and ei- indicate possession of something that is an inherent characteristic of a person, a body part, size, or a name. It is also used with things that provide sustenance and necessities, such as food, water, and shelter to indicate that those things are being used for such purpose.
Ya- attaches to dependent nouns that possess something, whereas ei- attaches to dependent nouns that are possessed by someone.
Na possession[]
The particle na indicates possession of something that can be controlled, especially something that is produced or used by a person but not actually part of the person.
- uikai na yer: my book, book of me (emphasizes book)
- ye na uikai: my book, book of me (emphasizes owner of book, me)
Aaj possession[]
The particle aaj indicates that someone possesses a thing but does not own it and is often used with creative works or things that one borrows. It is distinguished from na in the sense of true ownership
For dialects without aaj, ya-/ei- indicates possession without ownership, and na indicates ownership with possession.
Kinship[]
Iyakai also indicates familial relations, or kinship. The prefix ya- denotes that one is related to another.
In the above construction, binyah governs the noun yarisi. Yarisi shows that Risi is related to her mother.