Bemerkungen zum 'genetiv' im Agyptischen

Abstract

In Egyptian, two different grammatical constructions are classified as genitive: the so-called direct and indirect genitive. Generally, the two constructions differ in syntax and meaning, but they may occur in free variation as well as in complementary distribution. The differences between them can not be explained by a single principle, they are complementary in many respects. In Later Egyptian, there seem to be two different uses of the indirect genitive: as an expression of belonging or dependence vs. an expression of qualification. It can be shown that these uses already existed in Earlier Egyptian, when they were rendered by two different kinds of nisbe-adjectives: the normal nisbe to express the relationship of belonging or dependence, and the reciprocal nisbe to express qualification.