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Universal 1445:

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 1445:

Original
In an overwhelming majority of languages, there is a special form to denote the metaperson ‘hearer’ in the singular.
Standardized
In an overwhelming majority of languages, there is a special form to denote the metaperson ‘hearer’ in the singular.
Keywords
personal pronoun, person, 2nd, hearer, number, singular
Domain
inflection, syntax, lexicon
Type
unconditional
Status
achronic
Quality
statistical
Basis
400 world-wide distributed languages, see Sokolovskaja 1980: 98-99; Sokolovskaja surveyed systems of independent personal pronouns only.
Source
Sokolovskaja 1980: 91, U 7
Counterexamples
Khmer (Mon-Khmer, Austroasiatic), Kawi (=Old Javanese), Javanese (both Sundic, W. Malayo-Polynesian), Nimboran (Trans-New Guinea), Thai (Daic, Austroasiatic), Sioux (Siouan), Siyin (Burmic, Sino-Tibetan), Haitian, Martinique (both Creole, French-based), Sranan (Creole, English-based), some Spanish dialects spoken in America, Aleut (Eskimo-Aleut) (Sokolovskaja 1980);Aymara, Jaqaru (Andean), where personal pronominal forms are not specified for number, i.e. the form X can be used referring to ‘hearer(s) + non-participant(s)’, ‘hearer’ in non-singular, as well as to ‘hearer’ in singular. E.g. Aymara YUMA means ‘thou, you’ (for details see Hardman-de-Bautista 1974: 32-3, Hardman 1966) (EF)

One Comment

  1. FP
    FP

    Sokolovskaja recognizes the following metapersons:’speaker’, ‘hearer’, ‘non-participant’, ‘speaker + hearer(s)’, ‘speaker + non-participant(s)’, ‘hearer(s) + non-participant(s)’, and ‘speaker + hearer(s) + non-participant(s).

    1. May 2020

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