Re: idea: environment pronoun

> 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
*** env. pronoun versus "man" pronoun ***

My intention for the word was for it to refer only to the environment and
not the generic person pronoun "man". In Minyeva, that would be another
pronoun (i would have both). It would be used for people; the environment
pronoun is for inanimate references. So, in effect, you could say i have
both an inanimate zero person and an animate zero person. And maybe the
animate zero person could have a singular and a plural, thus creating the
analogs of "it", "he/she", and "they" in the zeroth person.

-inanimate zeroth person:

the cases mentioned before. It would only refer to the environment though,
and not to discrete objects in the environment. Here is an example using
both the env. pronoun and animate zeroth person:

"they" say "it" will be bad. ("one" says "the weather" will be bad)

-singular animate zeroth person:

it:sg - is - gardener - who - did.it
"it" is the gardener who did it. ("the person" is the gardener, who did it)

when - bear - attacks - "it:sg", "it:sg" - die.
when a bear attacks "you", "you" die. (when a bear attacks "a person", "that
person" dies)

-plural animate zeroth person:

it:pl - speak - Obrenje - in - Hontra.
"they" speak obrenje in Hontra. ("man" spricht obrenje in hontra.)


*** indefinite pronouns ***

what these zeroth person pronouns seem to be are indefinite pronouns, but
only third person pronouns can have their indefinite versions. This could be
generalized and pronouns could be marked for generalness:

a he = some guy, i am just introducing him
he = male referred to earlier (possibly introduced by "a he")

some they = some group of people, i'm just introducing them
they = a group of people referred to earlier (possibly introduced by "some
they")

is there any such thing as an indefinite pronoun in any languages?