Re: idea: environment pronoun

--- In conlang@y..., Garrett Jones <alkaline@A...> wrote:
> i have this idea for Minyeva (my conlang) for what i will call an
> "environment pronoun". I am going to describe it here, and i was just
> wondering if anyone's seen anything similar in a natlang or conlang.
>
> In english the equivalent meaning is realized as 'it'. In esperanto, it is
> realized as a null subject.
I have something very similar in my conlang Obrenje.  It's not a
pronoun, but the "zero person" (like 1st person, 2nd person etc...).
Verbs have their special zero person ending, and there's a set of
personal pronouns for it.

Apart from all the instances you mentioned...


Silce.
/Sils=/
rain:0
"Rains-it."
It rains.

Tilaje moc tse coje e.
/ti"la:j mOx tS= "ho:je/
gardener:d be:0 TSE do:PST:3i PER:3:ACC
"The-gardener is-it (did-he it)."
It is the gardener who did it.


...there is also an additional function of the zero person:  that of
the German word "man" (accusative "einen").


Obrenje zince u Contra.
/O"brEnj@ "ZinsM "hOntra/
obrenje:i speak:0 OBL Hontra.
"Obrenje speak-man in Hontra."
One speaks Obrenje in Hontra.

Blize che paw mowa, pentce.
/bli:Z he paw "mo:wa  "pEnts=/
When_REL PER:0:ACC fight:3e bear:i die:0
"When einen attacks bear, dies-man."
When a bear attacks you, you die.


-- Christian Thalmann

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