Editing Inalienable possession (section)

====Definite articles====
Subtler cases of syntactic patterns sensitive to alienability are found in many languages. For example, French can use a [[definite article]], rather than the [[possessive (linguistics)|possessive]], for body parts.<ref name=Nakamoto>{{cite journal|last1=Nakamoto|first1=Takeshi|title=Inalienable Possession Constructions in French|journal=Lingua|date=2010|volume=120|issue=1|pages=74–102|doi=10.1016/j.lingua.2009.05.003}}<!--|access-date=31 October 2014--></ref>

{{interlinear |lang=fr |number=(16)
|Il lève   '''les''' mains.
|he raises '''the''' hands
|'He raises '''his''' hands.'
|bottom= (Nakamoto 2010: 75 (2a))
}}

Using the definite article with body parts, as in the example above, creates [[ambiguity#Linguistic forms|ambiguity]]. Thus, the sentence has both an alienable and an inalienable interpretation:
{|
|-
|
 a) he raises his own hands [inalienable]
 b) he raises another pair of hands [alienable]
|}

Such an ambiguity also occurs in English with body-part constructions.<ref name=VZ>{{cite journal|last1=Vergnaud|first1=Jean-Roger|last2=Zubizarreta|first2=Maria Luisa|title=The Definite Determiner and the Inalienable Construction in French and in English|journal=Linguistic Inquiry|volume=23|date=1992|issue=4|pages=595–652}}</ref>

[[Spanish language|Spanish]] also uses a definite article ('''''el''''', '''''los''''', '''''la''''', or '''''las''''') to indicate inalienable possession for body parts.<ref name=Kockelman>{{cite journal|last1=Kockelman|first1=Paul|title=Inalienable Possession as Grammatical Category and Discourse Pattern|journal=Studies in Language|date=2009|volume=33|issue=1|pages=29–30|doi=10.1075/sl.33.1.03koc|s2cid=59504908}}<!--|access-date=31 October 2014--></ref>

{{interlinear |lang=es |number=(17)
|Él se      lava   '''las''' manos.
|he himself washes '''the''' hands
|'He washes '''his''' hands.'
|bottom= (Kockelman 2009: 30)
}}

[[German language|German]] uses a definite article ('''''die''''') for inalienable body parts but a possessive ('''''meine''''') for alienable possession.<ref name=Kockelman/>

{{interlinear |lang=de |number=(18)
|top= '''Inalienable'''
|Er wäscht sich   '''die''' Hände.
|he washes REFL '''the''' hands
|'He is washing '''his''' hands.'
|bottom= (Kockelman 2009: 29)
}}
{{interlinear|number=(19)
|top= '''Alienable'''
|Ich zerriss '''meine''' Hose.
|I   tore   '''my'''    pants
|'I tore '''my''' pants.'
|bottom= (Kockelman 2009: 30)
}}