»Det gör ont i hela kroppen på mig.»: Prepositionen på som possessivmarkör i nominalfraser

This is a study of grammaticalization within the prepositional system of Swedish. While in general terms av is undoubtedly the most grammatically defined preposition in Swedish, the preposition på has become a primarily grammatical tool in the specific case where it serves semantically to link a part or an organ of the human body to its possessor. It is argued that used in this way the preposition på, although spatial in its lexical meaning, conveys no meaning of location but fills the function of a possessive marker. It is shown that the grammatical status of the preposition på in this construction rests essentially on the following three factors: (1) loss of the original meaning of the preposition; (2) extension of its range of application; (3) its obligatory use even when speaking of internal organs of the body. Further, the article does not support the common view of the two nominal units of the noun phrase as standing in a part–whole relation to one another, the reason being that the “whole” in question is not the possessor of the body but the body itself, expressed in the word kropp (‘body’). Evidence is given in favour of analysing the semantic connexion assigned to the preposition på not as partitive, but as strictly possessive. Finally, it is argued that the use of på in this construction applies not only to relations concerning the human body, but extends into the domain of inanimates.