Re: Interesting Pronouns.

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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