On the syntax of possession in the Balkan languages:the elusive nature of the External Possessive construction

The paper discusses the so-called "external possession" construction as attested in the Balkan languages. Certain aspects of its syntax, semantics and the differences of its realization across the Balkans are investigated, and it is argued that from a typological point of view, Balkan external possession deviates from the European prototype in terms of constitutive properties and distribution of the construction