Editing Inalienable possession (section)

==== Rapa ====
Old [[Rapa language|Rapa]] is the indigenous language of [[Rapa Iti]], an island of [[French Polynesia]] in the Bass Islands archipelago. The language structure of Rapa has two primary possessive particles: a and o. The usage of both particles is dependent on the relation between the possessor and the object. When words are categorized by possessive particles, there is a very close resemblance to the usage of the possessive particle and the object's alienability. However, the relation is better defined by William Wilson in his article ''Proto-Polynesian Possessive Marking''.

Briefly, through his two theories, the Simple Control Theory and Initial Control Theory, Wilson contrasts and thus better defines the usage of the possessive particles. The Simple Control Theory speculates that the determining factor directly correlated to the possessor's control over the object and emphasises a dominant vs. less-dominant relationship. Old Rapa adheres closer to the Initial Control Theory, which speculates that "the possessor's control over the initiation of the possessive relationship is the determining factor." Here, the Initial Control Theory can also be generally expanded to the whole Polynesian language family in terms of better describing the "alienability" of possession.<ref name=":0">WILSON, WILLIAM H. 1982. Proto-Polynesian possessive marking. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.</ref>

In the case of Old Rapa, the possession particle o is used to define a possession relationship that was not initiated on the basis of choice. The possession particle a defines possession relationships that are initiated with the possessor's control. The following list and classifications are literal examples provided by Mary Walworth in her dissertation of Rapa. Words that are marked with the o possessive markers are nouns that are:
* Inalienable (leg, hand, foot)
* A whole of which the possessor is a permanent part (household)
* Kinship (father, mother, brother)
* Higher social or religious status (teacher, pastor, president)
* Vehicles (canoe, car)
* Necessary actions (work)
* Involuntary body functions (heartbeat, stomach, pupils, breathing)
* Words that relate to indigenous identity (language, country)

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+''o-''marked and ''a-''marked<ref name=":0" />
!''o''-marked
!''a-''marked
|-
|house
|terrain
|-
|canoe
|taro-bed
|-
|boat
|children
|-
|parents
|spouse
|-
|brother
|food
|-
|sister
|animals
|-
|country/island
|oven
|-
|god
|grandchildren
|-
|car
|unborn child
|-
|teacher
|a group (sport's team, association)
|-
|preacher
|trip, coming/goings
|-
|friend
|project/plans
|-
|sickness
|
|-
|happiness/smile
|
|-
|town
|
|-
|body and body parts
|
|-
|grandparents
|
|-
|language
|
|-
|chief
|
|-
|life
|
|-
|idea
|
|}

However, Wilson's theory falls short of properly categorizing a few miscellaneous items such as articles of clothing and furniture that his theory would incorrectly predict to be marked with the possessive particle a. The reverse occurs for objects such as food and animals. The synthesis of Wilson's theory and others approach a better understanding of the Rapa language. Svenja Völkel proposed the idea of looking further into the ritualistic beliefs of the community: its mana. That idea has been related to other languages in the Eastern Polynesian language family. It states that objects with less mana than the possessor use the a-possessive particle, and the usage of the o-possessive marker is reserved for the possessor's mana that is not superior.<ref>Vökel, Svenja. 2010. ''Structure, space, and possession in Tongan culture and language: An ethnolinguistic study''. John Benjamins Publishing.</ref>

The same usage of the possessive particles in possessive pronouns can be seen in the contracted portmanteau, the combination of the articles and possessive markers. The results are the prefixes tō and tā in the following possessive pronouns, as can be seen in the table below:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Possessive Pronouns of Old Rapa<ref>Walworth, Mary E. ''The Language of Rapa Iti: Description of a Language In Change''. Diss. U of Hawaii at Manoa, 2015. Honolulu: U of Hawaii at Manoa, 2015. Print.</ref>
!
!
! colspan="2" |Singular
! colspan="2" |Dual
! colspan="2" |Plural
|-
! rowspan="2" |1st Person
!Inclusive
| rowspan="2" |tōku
| rowspan="2" |tāku
|tō māua
|tā māua
|tō mātou
|tā mātou
|-
!Exclusive
|tō tāua
|tā tāua
|tō tātou
|tā tātou
|-
! colspan="2" |2nd Person
|tōkoe
|tākoe
|tō kōrua
|tā kōrua
|tō koutou
|tā koutou
|-
! colspan="2" |3rd Person
|tōna
|tāna
|tō rāua
|tā rāua
|tō rātou
|tā rātou
|}