ABSTRACT
The Genitive case is often referred to as the case of the possessor, though in many languages, like in the Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, it is not solely about ownership or possession. The genitive marker in these languages is polysemous. It is used to mark various semantics, which have been listed and explained in the chapter using the Cognitive Framework. The genitive marker in these languages can also be used to mark a location. The animate Source and the animate Goal are obligatorily marked by the genitive marker in some of these languages. It is also used to mark agents in some of these languages.
The genitive marking differentiates between animate and inanimate objects in Odia but not in the other Eastern Indo-Aryan languages. It was found that the primary function of the genitive marking in these languages is to establish a relation between two nouns in which one is more salient than the other. This is done by either modifying one noun using the other or by using the salient noun as a reference point for the other noun.
