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Re: Interesting Pronouns.

From:D Tse <exponent@...>
Date:Tuesday, May 8, 2001, 6:17
True, true, but isn't it a tendency that Japanese people usually skimp on
the pronouns, allowing for context to differentiate person?

Imperative


> > Japanese likes to do that, so much so that whatever its original > pronouns were have been long since forgotten, and for as long as we have > written records, Japanese has repeated created very humble first person > pronouns and very respectful second person pronouns, which have > gradually become more colloquial, until eventually they're lost. For > instance: > 1st person > Boku: Originally meant "servant", now a casual male pronoun > Wata(ku)shi: Meant "private", now a neutral or slightly polite pronoun > Atashi: Female casual pronoun, derived from _watashi_ > 2nd person > Kimi: Originally meant "lord", now a casual pronoun, used especially > when addressing inferiors or children. > 3rd person > Kare: He, lit. "That one"; until about a hundred years ago, it was > non-gender-specific > Kanojo: She, lit. "That woman", invented about a hundred years ago under > Western influence > Sono hito: Lit. "That person" > Sono kata: More formal, lit. "That direction" > > Not sure about origins of other pronouns. > > But Japanese also prefers to use simply names in place of pronouns. > >

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Nik Taylor <fortytwo@...>