In an overwhelming majority of languages, if some form denotes the metaperson ‘hearer’ in the non-singular, it cannot include among its meanings the following metapersons: (a) ‘hearer’ in singular; (b) ‘speaker + hearer(s)’ and/or ‘speaker+non-participant(s)’, (c) ‘speaker + hearer(s) + non-participant(s)’ (cf. ); (d) ‘non-participant’.
Standardized
IF a form denotes the metaperson ‘hearer’ in the non-singular, THEN it cannot include among its meanings the following metapersons: (a) ‘hearer’ in singular; (b) ‘speaker + hearer(s)’ and/or ‘speaker + non-participant(s)’, (c) ‘speaker + hearer(s) + non-participant(s)’ ; (d) ‘non-participant’.
Keywords
personal pronoun, person, 2nd, hearer, number, non-singular, speaker
Domain
inflection, syntax, lexicon
Type
implication
Status
achronic
Quality
statistical
Basis
400 world-wide distributed languages, see Sokolovskaja 1980: 98-99; Sokolovskaja surveyed systems of independent personal pronouns only.
To (a): 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 with the so-called voseo, Russian (Slavic, Indo-European), French (Romance, Indo-European), Hindi, Marathi (both Indic, Indo-European) and other languages, where the form 2Pl is used as a polite form addressing the hearer in the singular. (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’ in singular and non-singular. E.g. Aymara form YUMA means ‘thou, you’ (for details see Hardman-de-Bautista 1974: 32-3, Hardman 1966) (EF); To (b) and (c): Haitian (Creole, French-based), Navajo (Athabaskan), Marathi (Indic, Indo-European);To (d): Marathi (Indic, Indo-European) (Sokolovskaja 1980).
);
1. 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). 2. Cf. #1473.