Re: Genitive Relationships again

FFlores wrote:
> I think Japanese has something like this too, though
> not so extensively used.
More extensively, actually, if I understand you correctly.  There are a
lot of pronouns in Japanese, because they are based, partially, on
relative rank, something like Spanish "tu'" and "usted", only more
extensive.  For instance, "boku" can only be used by males, in informal
situations, while "watashi" is a more polite form that can be used by
either gender.  Same in second-person pronouns.  Generally speaking, the
pronouns have evolved "downward" in politeness.  The first and second
person pronouns evolved out of nouns, and were originally humble
pronouns, lowering the speaker and exalting the adressee, but were
"overused", in politeness, used for less noble people then properly
would deserve it, and so new terms had to be invented, eventually the
old ones disappear.

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