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Is there a masculine/feminine distinction in phonologically independent first person pronouns?
Summary
This feature asks whether the phonologically independent pronoun forms used for first person differ for masculine and feminine referents. This masculine/feminine distinction is a minimal contrast required for the coding of this feature, but other gender categories may also be encoded in a language’s first person pronoun forms. Pronoun systems that encode other grammatical gender/noun class categories in first person forms in the absence of a masculine/feminine distinction are not sufficient to satisfy this criterion. Languages that qualify for a 1 code for this feature will include a distinction between masculine and feminine forms in at least some categories of first person independent pronouns, but possibly not all categories. In many languages this contrast occurs only in the singular pronouns; that is, there is a contrast between masculine and feminine forms for first person singular, but not for first person plural (or dual, or any other non-singular number category). In some languages there is a relevant contrast in multiple number categories, including singular and some non-singular number categories. It is uncommon for a language to have a masculine/feminine contrast in non-singular first person pronouns but not in the singular pronouns. However, such languages also satisfy the criteria for this feature. For more information on the difference between grammatical gender and social, cultural, and biological constructs or traits, see the gender wiki page.
Procedure
- If the language has first person independent pronouns that take a different form depending on whether the referent is masculine or feminine, code 1.
- If the language has first person independent pronouns that do not contrast in gender, code 0.
- If the language has first person independent pronouns that do not encode a masculine/feminine gender contrast, but do encode some other distinctions in gender, code ? and provide a comment about the contrast that is encoded in these pronouns.
Examples
Thai (ISO 639-3: tha, Glottolog: thai1261)
Thai has a complex set of independent personal pronouns. Among the basic pronouns are first person forms that vary by masculine/feminine gender.
First person singular pronouns
| Gender | Form |
|---|---|
| male | phǒm |
| female (informal) | chán |
| female (formal) | dichán |
(Smyth 2002: 39)
The contrast between these independent first person singular pronouns is sufficient to trigger a 1 for this feature in Thai.
Achumawi (ISO 639-3: acv, Glottolog: achu1247)
The independent personal pronouns provided by de Angulo & Freeland (1930) include first person forms that encode a number contrast, but no contrasts in gender.
First person pronouns
| Translation | Form |
|---|---|
| ‘I’ | ìtt |
| ‘we both’ | ìttú |
| ‘we all’ | tó·lól |
(de Angulo & Freeland 1930: 84)
Achumawi has no masculine/feminine contrast in the first person independent pronouns, and is coded 0.
Further reading
Siewierska, Anna. 2005. Gender distinctions in independent personal pronouns. In Matthew S. Dryer & Martin Haspelmath (eds), The world atlas of language structures online. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
References
de Angulo, Jaime & Lucy Shepard Freeland. 1930. The Achumawi language. International Journal of American Linguistics, 6(2). 77–120.
Smyth, David. 2002. Thai: An essential grammar. London: Routledge.
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Patron
Hannah J. Haynie