Inalienable Possession

In linguistics, inalienable possession (INAL) is a type of possession in which a noun is obligatorily possessed by its possessor. Nouns or nominal affixes in an inalienable possession relationship cannot exist independently or be alienated from their possessor.

“Although Eastwood is always an overtly masculine actor, his style is understated — his readings are consistently soft; even his most famous Harry Callahan lines are quiet and unhurried. I have absolutely no wish to ridicule or belittle Eastwood in any way, but it seems clear that his acting style has a feminine tinge. After all, he is in a business where straight men are often the biggest divas and some of the most prolific purveyors of ham served with camp.”.

Mark Lynch, Clint Eastwood is a closet feminist, the Wrap 20/4/2009

Nouns or nominal affixes in an inalienable possession relationship cannot exist independently or be "alienated" from their possessor. Inalienable nouns include body parts (such as leg, which is necessarily "someone's leg" even if it is severed from the body), kinship terms (such as mother), and part-whole relations (such as top).

With inalienable possession, the two entities have a permanent association in which the possessed has little control over their possessor. For instance, body parts (under normal circumstances) do not change and cannot be removed from their possessor. The following real-world relationships often fall under inalienable possession:

Alienable possession, on the other hand, has a less permanent association between the two entities. For instance, most objects may or may not be possessed. When such types of objects are possessed, the possession is alienable.

Alienable possession is used generally for tangible items that one might cease to own at some point (such as my money), but inalienable possession generally refers to a perpetual relationship that cannot be readily severed (such as my mother or my arm).