Editing Polynesian languages (section)

===''a'' and ''o'' possession===
Many Polynesian languages distinguish two [[Possessive pronoun|possessives]]. The a-possessives (as they contain that letter in most cases), also known as subjective possessives, refer to possessions that must be acquired by one's own action ([[alienable possession]]). The o-possessives or objective possessives refer to possessions that are fixed to someone, unchangeable, and do not necessitate any action on one's part but upon which actions can still be performed by others ([[inalienable possession]]). Some words can take either form, often with a difference in meaning. One example is the [[Samoan language|Samoan]] word {{lang|sm|susu}}, which takes the o-possessive in {{lang|sm|lona susu}} (her breast) and the a-possessive in {{lang|sm|lana susu}} (her breastmilk). Compare also the particles used in the names of two of the books of the Māori Bible: {{lang|mi|Te Pukapuka '''a''' Heremaia}} (The Book of Jeremiah) with {{lang|mi|Te Pukapuka '''o''' Hōhua}} (The Book of Joshua); the former belongs to Jeremiah in the sense that he was the author, but the Book of Joshua was written by someone else about Joshua. The distinction between one's birth village and one's current residence village can be made similarly.