Attributive Possession in Soqotri

The study examines the complex system of possession marking in Soqotri, a Modern South Arabian language. Using the extensive ‘Vienna Corpus’ collected by David Heinrich Müller, the research highlights three primary strategies: di-marking, men-marking, and pronominal suffixes. Di-marking is the most versatile, while men-marking is predominantly used in part-whole relations, especially body parts and kinship terms, often as a device for referential clarity. The article contrasts the Vienna Corpus with modern Soqotri, noting both consistencies and significant diachronic or dialectal variations in usage. The findings illuminate the interplay between syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic factors in possession marking and reveal the broader implications for understanding linguistic change in South Arabian languages.