Praseo pronouns - Revision history

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The Praseo pronominal system is of relatively recent provenance. There are no personal pronouns in subject positions which can be reconstructed for [[Common Yivril]], so all pronouns in Praseo reflect recent innovated forms.

= Third person subject pronouns =

Strictly speaking, there are no third-person subject pronouns as such in Praseo. Instead, there are two sets of demonstratives, distinguished by nearness, broadly equivalent to English "this" and "that". The pronouns are formed from the prefixes ''ni-'' for "this" and ''na-'' for "that", combined with common pronominal suffixes.

Pronouns in cases other than the nominative do not use these forms are discussed below.

== Proximal demonstratives ==

The proximal demonstratives are equivalent to "this one," referring to an object which is near in time, space, or discourse. They distinguish masculine animates, feminine animates, and inanimates in singular and plural. All of the proximal demonstratives begin with the prefix ''ni-'', which means "this."

{|
!Gender
!Singular
!Plural
|-
|''masc''
|nila
|nili
|-
|''fem''
|nile
|nila
|-
|''inan''
|nitsu
|nitsi
|}

== Distal demonstratives ==

The distal demonstratives are equivalent to "that one", referring to an object which is distant in time, space, or discourse. The distal demonstratives have the same numbers and genders as the proximal demonstratives.

{|
!Gender
!Singular
!Plural
|-
|''masc''
|nala
|nali
|-
|''fem''
|nale
|nala
|-
|''inan''
|natsu
|natsi
|}

However, there are also variants of these forms which lack the initial ''n-'', eg. ''ala'' "this one (m.sg.)". The forms with and without the initial ''n-'' are used in free variation in the dialect of Prasa, but the forms without ''n-'' are strongly preferred in the upriver dialects.

= First and second person subject pronouns =

The first and second person subject pronouns are formed of compounds between the demonstrative prefixes and pronominal suffixes, similar to the third person demonstratives. However, there is no distinction between proximal and distal in the first and second persons, and there are additional considerations of rank and politeness which affect the choice of pronouns. Second person pronouns are distinguished by gender, but first person pronouns are not.

== Speech between equals ==

When social equals address each other, they used the following pronoun sets:

{|
!Person
!Singular
!Plural
|-
|''1''
|nioa
|ai
|-
|''2masc''
|niśa
|aśi
|-
|''2fem''
|niśe
|aśa
|}

These forms are considered the unmarked forms, and are used in all social situations where differences of rank do not need to be observed. This includes speech between people of similar ages, and interactions between the leaders of ''enna'' regardless of their age.

== Speech between unequals ==

When there is a distinction of rank that must be observed, then the first and second person pronouns are ''reversed'' in the singular---that is, the first person singular pronoun from the chart above is used as the second person pronoun, and vice versa. In this scenario the gender of the first person pronoun is qualified by the gender of the interlocutor. The plural pronouns are unchanged. The following chart illustrates this (perhaps redundantly):

{|
!Person
!Singular
!Plural
|-
|''1'' (masc. interlocutor)
|niśa
|ai
|-
|''1'' (fem. interlocutor)
|niśe
|ai
|-
|''1'' (mpl. interlocutor)
|niśi
|ai
|-
|''1'' (fpl. interlocutor)
|niśa
|ai
|-
|''2masc''
|nioa
|aśi
|-
|''2fem''
|nioa
|aśa
|}

The rationale for this has to do with the cultural use of honorifics and "social ownership". The word ''nioa'' literally means "this one of mine," but the significance of this possession varies according to the social situation. In a conversation between equals, a speaker presents himself as self-owned and self-referential, without any relationship of ownership or deference to the other speakers. Thus the word ''nioa'', "this one of mine," can be used to refer to the self, and ''niśa'', literally "this one of yours," refers to the interlocutor.

However, in a conversation between unequals, both parties will refer to the other with an honorific which indicates their relationship. These honorifics typically are suffixed with a possessive pronoun. The following short dialog will illustrate:

'''Child:''' Ezeioa pazetsyaśoa ka? Grandmother-my call-PERF-me QUESTION? ''My grandmother, did you call for me?''

'''Elder:''' Bandeioa kuyaśu? Grandchild-my where-is-PERF? ''My grandchild, where were you?''

'''Child:''' Niśe satsú yaśu. This-yours beach-LOC is-PERF. ''I was at the beach.''

'''Elder:''' Niśa mantsya ma nioa patsu zitsyatsu. This-yours needs that this-my something carry-it. ''I need you to carry something for me.''

Note, first off, that the child begins by addressing the elder with the honorific ''ezeioa'', "my grandmother," and that the elder in turn begins by addressing the child as ''bandeioa'', "my grandchild." The use of these ranked terms establishes the relative position of the speakers. In the second round of the dialogue, the child refers to himself with the pronoun ''niśe'', "this yours", which is contextually understood to be an abbreviation of ''nibandeiśe'', "this grandchild of yours". (Note, too, that though the child is male he uses the form ''niśe'', with the feminine possessive ending ''-śe'' because he is addressing a female elder and allowing himself to be "socially owned" by the elder.) The grandmother, in like fashion, refers to herself as ''niśa'', literally "this yours (m.sg.)", understood as an abbreviation of "this grandmother of yours"; and she addresses her grandson with ''nioa'' "this mine."

This reversal of first and second person pronouns only occurs in the singular. The first-person plural pronoun ''ai'' is used in conversations between unequals without change, except for one wrinkle: the plural ''ai'' cannot be used with the clusive meaning "me and you" or "we and you" when the speaker and the person addressed are of unequal rank. In cases of unequal rank, the meaning "me and you" must be conveyed by ''niśa ta nioa'', with an explicit conjunction, and "we and you" must be ''ai ta nioa'' or similar.

[Other cases TODO]

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:53, 4 January 2015
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		+	[[Category:Prasa]][[Category:Praseo language]]
		+
	The most prototypical pronouns in Praseo are the object pronoun clitics, which are used to express pronouns in the accusative and genitive cases. All of the other cases of the pronouns, including the nominative, are derived from these clitics.		The most prototypical pronouns in Praseo are the object pronoun clitics, which are used to express pronouns in the accusative and genitive cases. All of the other cases of the pronouns, including the nominative, are derived from these clitics.

@@ Line 338: / Line 338: @@
 |}
-In the second person, the element ''c^i-'' becomes ''ti-''. This is not a morphological irregularity ''per se'', but rather an example of [[Praseo phonology#Coronal place assimilation|coronal place assimilation]] which is reflected in the orthography because the second-person forms themselves are invariant. Also note that the first person plural has a quasi-irregular change of vowel.
+In the second person, the element ''či-'' becomes ''ti-''. This is not a morphological irregularity ''per se'', but rather an example of [[Praseo phonology#Coronal place assimilation|coronal place assimilation]] which is reflected in the orthography because the second-person forms themselves are invariant. Also note that the first person plural has a quasi-irregular change of vowel.
 It would be very rare to use an animate object as an instrument in the strict sense, but the passive construction requires the instrumental case, which is the major circumstance in which instrumental pronouns occur.

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 |-
 |1st
-|-oa
+|oa
-|-(o)i
+|(o)i
 |-
 |2nd masc
-|-śa
+|śa
-|-śi
+|śi
 |-
 |2nd fem
-|-śe
+|śe
-|-śa
+|śa
 |-
 |3rd masc
-|-la
+|la
-|-li
+|li
 |-
 |3rd fem
-|-le
+|le
-|-la
+|la
 |-
 |3rd inan
-|-tsu
+|tsu
-|-tsi
+|tsi
 |}

@@ Line 119: / Line 119: @@
 However, in a conversation between unequals, both parties will refer to the other with an honorific which indicates their relationship. These honorifics typically are suffixed with a possessive pronoun. The following short dialog will illustrate:
-'''Child:''' Ezeioa pazetsyaśoa ka? Grandmother-my call-PERF-me QUESTION? ''My grandmother, did you call for me?''
+<pre>Ezeioa         pazetsyaśoa  ka?
-'''Elder:''' Bandeioa kuyaśu? Grandchild-my where-is-PERF? ''My grandchild, where were you?''
+<pre>Bandeioa      kuyaśu?
-'''Child:''' Niśe satsú yaśu. This-yours beach-LOC is-PERF. ''I was at the beach.''
+<pre>Niśe       satsú     yaśu.
-'''Elder:''' Niśa mantsya ma nioa patsu zitsyatsu. This-yours needs that this-my something carry-it. ''I need you to carry something for me.''
+<pre>Niśa       mantsya ma   nioa    patsu     zitsyatsu.
 Note, first off, that the child begins by addressing the elder with the honorific ''ezeioa'', &quot;my grandmother,&quot; and that the elder in turn begins by addressing the child as ''bandeioa'', &quot;my grandchild.&quot; The use of these ranked terms establishes the relative position of the speakers. In the second round of the dialogue, the child refers to himself with the pronoun ''niśe'', &quot;this yours&quot;, which is contextually understood to be an abbreviation of ''nibandeiśe'', &quot;this grandchild of yours&quot;. (Note, too, that though the child is male he uses the form ''niśe'', with the feminine possessive ending ''-śe'' because he is addressing a female elder and allowing himself to be &quot;socially owned&quot; by the elder.) The grandmother, in like fashion, refers to herself as ''niśa'', literally &quot;this yours (m.sg.)&quot;, understood as an abbreviation of &quot;this grandmother of yours&quot;; and she addresses her grandson with ''nioa'' &quot;this mine.&quot;