Possessive constructions in language contact settings

This paper surveys data on possessive constructions in a number of languages that have been involved in contact-induced language change. I have structured the material following the three-way division introduced by Thomason and Kaufmann (1988), distinguishing between shift, maintenance, and new creation scenarios. It turns out that the properties of possessive constructions are affected in different ways in these different scenarios. Finally, I try to draw some more general conclusions from the observations made in discussing these different scenarios.