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Re: Old Norse (was Re: New to the list)

From:Roger Mills <romilly@...>
Date:Saturday, June 17, 2000, 16:14
Barry Garcia wrote:
>Something I also dislike is not having an inclusive and exclusive we. >Sometimes it gets annoying to have to tell people "I mean we, as in the >people I was talking about and myself, not including you" to clarify. This >is what I really like about Tagalog, it has an inclusive, and exclusive >we, which I incorporated into Saalangal.>
When speaking Indonesian, I always have to think twice about _kita_(incl.) or _kami_(excl.) and often use kita when I shouldn't. Offhand I can only think of two Indonesian languages that are losing/have lost the distinction-- in both, it's the inclusive form that has survived. (Buginese has an archaic excl. form; the 1-incl. form can also be used for 2-pl. In Kisar-- a small island/language E. of Timor-- "ita" < *kita is the general term, even tho its close relatives retain both incl/excl. forms.