Pronouns

Pronouns in Qohenje are informationally rich, carrying specifications for speech-level, intergroup relationships and complex number and referent distinctions. Their function is as pragmatic devices not as simple referential tags. Verbal cross-referenceing is carried out by the X-REF markers.

Qohenje distinguishes four persons:

• I (first person): the speaker — I
• II (second person): the addressee — you
• III (third person): a non-addessed but present third party — he/she/it (present)
• IV (fourth person): an absent third party — he/she/it (not here)

Three speech levels are distinguished in pronouns:

• Plain (PL): Unmarked conversational level, used between social equals.
• Deferential (DEF): used when the speaker feels socially inferior to either the addressee (II) or the referent (III/IV).
• Superior (SUP): Used when the speakers feels socially superior to either the addressee (II) or the referent (III/IV).

The singular forms are as follows. Note that the fully case-inflected forms are PL in terms of speech level. More polite or superior speech uses the independant forms, which take normal case marks and are more like nominals.

Note the several irregular spellings, as well as the triple duty of the form (on grey background).

 

 

 

* To directly address a social superior, one most commonly uses their title and / or family name. There is no proform. For direct address of unknown people who are presumed to be superior, one uses either kinship terms, or else noble titles (Lord/Lady).

Note that the speech levels can come into conflict with III and IV person terms if the speaker is speaking for example to a superior regarding an inferior, or vice versa. The choice becomes one of relative positioning with regard to the interlocutor. In the presence of a social superior, asserting one's own superiority over a III/IV person is potentially dangerous, but more respectworthy than subjugating oneeself completely to the interlocutor's superiority. The social variables are too complex to reduce to a simple set of rules.

In the presence of an inferior, a Jihira-Tejlija speaker would only overtly subjugate himself to a III or IV person in order to reinforce the shared inferiority of both the interlocutor and himself with regard to the III/IV person superior. References to the Emperor, or to the Clan Lord are invariably in the DEF form regardless of the relationship between the I and the II in the speech event.

These forms are compounded (in any order) to form distinct dual and trial forms:

 

Forms crossing speech levels are also possible:

 

There is in addition a set of III/IV plural proforms with an augmentative or indefinite sense:

 

 

 

which can be roughly glossed as,

/ : another (present)/ someone (present)
/ : another (absent) / someone (absent)
/ : others both present and absent / some people (both present and absent)
: another / others/ someone / some people

These forms adhere to the other proforms to make plurals: , , or else are used on their own as indefinite pronouns: .

These forms have the particularity of permitting reduplication for plurality: .

The form can also suffix to lexemes to form a very specific kind of plural, with the meaning either (the) other or (the) other kinds of...: