Cantonese pronouns
Pronouns in Cantonese are less numerous than their Indo-European languages counterparts. Cantonese uses pronouns, which apply the same lexicon to function as both subjective (English: I, he, we) and objective (me, him, us) just like many other Sinitic languages.[1]
Personal pronouns
Person | Singular | Plural* | ||||||
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General | Classic | General | Classic | |||||
First person |
'I/me' |
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'we/us' |
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Second person |
'you' |
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'you (all)' |
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Third person |
'he/she/it' |
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'they/them' |
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- * Personal pronouns are the only items in Cantonese with distinct plural forms. The character to indicate plurality is formed by adding the suffix 哋 (dei), and classic 等 (dang).
There exist many more pronouns in Classical Chinese and in literary works, including 汝 (jyu) or 爾 (ji) for "you", and 吾 (ng) for "I" (see Chinese honorifics) and However, they are not encountered in colloquial speech.
Third person singular (keoi) [3] Although (keoi) is primarily used to refer to animate nouns (people or animals)in higher registers, it can also refer to inanimate objects and abstract entities in some restricted contexts. When (keoi) is being referred to an inanimate item it is primarily found in the object position, rather than the subject position. In colloquial speech, its use is frequently extended to refer to nothing at all.[4]
Example for inanimate objects: ngo soeng tai saai keoi sin waan I want read all it first return 'I want to finish reading it before I return it.' (keoi = the book)[5]
[6] Plural suffix (-dei) One of the few grammatical suffixes in the language, the suffix (-dei) cannot be used to form plural forms of nouns.
Example: (sinsaang-dei) can't be used to mean teachers
Other than the personal pronouns as shown above, its two other uses are:
1. In the form (jan-dei) which is used for indefinite pronouns (people, one, etc.)
Example: jandei tai-zyu lei People are watching you
In this usage, the word (jan) 'person' can also take (dei) to mean 'people'. Despite the suffix (-dei), (jan-dei) may have a singular or plural reference depending on the content.
This form can also be used to refer indirectly to oneself:
Example: A: Léih dímgáai mh chēut sēngga? Why don’t you say anything? B: Yàhndeih mhóuyisi a Maybe I’m embarrassed
2. In contracted forms with names
Example: Paul keoidei → Paul-dei Paul and his family/friends A-Chan keoidei→ A-Chan-dei Chan and his family/company, etc.
The possessive pronoun
To indicate possession 嘅 (ge) is appended to the pronoun.
For serious use, 令 (ling) to replace 你, as in 令尊 (ling zyun) "Your father" as 你老頭 (nei lou dau). In literary style, 其 (kei) is sometimes used for "his" or "her"; e.g., 其父 (kei fu) means "his father" or "her father".
The Omitted Pronoun
In literature,daily phrases (especially ones about family or concepts very close to the owner, or when the subject or object of the sentence is already known, then it may be omitted, e.g. 我老母 (ngo lou mou) or replace possession indicator with classifier, e.g. 我架車 (ngo gaa ce).
Subject and object pronouns may be omitted in Cantonese under either of these two conditions:
1. The omitted subject or object has been the topic of a previous sentence, question or dialogue.
2. The reference is clear from the context. This applies especially to the first and second person subjects, and to third person entities which are present at the time of speaking. [7]
The reflexive pronoun
The singular personal pronouns (for humans) may be made reflexive by appending 自己 (zi gei), "self". The reflexive form (zi gei) is used for all persons: myself, yourself, herself, ourselves, etc.[8] It may be distinguished into two different functions:
1. The true reflexive pronoun
[9] 2.An emphatic function, where it reinforces a pronoun or noun phrase.
Example: Ngo zigei mh wui gam zou (lit. I myself not would so behave) I myself would not behave like that
[10] As a reflexive, (zi gei) is subject-oriented. Another common function is to indicate 'by oneself' or 'alone'.
Example: Ngo zigei maai sung zyu faan (lit. I myself buy groceries cook rice) I’ll buy the groceries and cook by myself
Pronouns in imperial times and self-deprecatory
In imperial times, the pronoun for "I" was commonly omitted when speaking politely or to someone with higher social status. "I" was usually replaced with special pronouns to address specific situations. Examples include 寡人 gwaa jan during early Chinese history and 朕 zam after the Qin dynasty when the Emperor is speaking to his subjects. When the subjects speak to the Emperor, they address themselves as 臣 (shen), or "your official". It is extremely impolite and taboo to address the Emperor as "you" or to address oneself as "I".
In modern times, the practice of self-deprecatory terms is still used. In formal letters, the term 貴 (gwai; lit. important) is used for "you" and "your"; e.g., 貴公司 refers to "your company". 本人 (bun jan; lit. this person) is used to refer to oneself.
The demonstrative pronouns
Singular | Plural | |||||||
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General | Classic | General | Classic | |||||
Proximal |
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Distal |
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Single proximal demonstrative refers to as "this," single distal as "that," plural proximal as "these," and plural distal as "those."
呢 (ni) and 嗰 (go) indicates if the demonstratives are proximal or distal, respectively; whereas 個 (go) and 啲 (di) indicates if the demonstratives are single or plural, respectively.
爾 (ji) and 箇 (go) are the classical forms of 呢 and 嗰, respectively. 尐 (di) and 之 (zi) are the classical forms of 啲.
The interrogative pronouns
What | Which | Who | Where | When | How | Why | ||||||||
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General |
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Classical |
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See also
- Cantonese grammar
- Cantonese language
References
- ↑ Li, Shek Kam Tse, Hui (2011). Early child Cantonese : facts and implications. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. p. 24. ISBN 9783110240047.
- ↑ Li, Shek Kam Tse, Hui (2011). Early child Cantonese : facts and implications. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. p. 175. ISBN 9783110240047.
- ↑ Matthews, Stephen; Yip, Virginia (2011). Cantonese a comprehensive grammar (2nd ed. ed.). London: Routledge. p. 95. ISBN 9780415471312.
- ↑ Yip, Virginia; Matthews, Stephen (2001). Intermediate cantonese: a grammar and workbook (1. publ. ed.). London [u.a.]: Routledge. p. 165. ISBN 0415193877.
- ↑ Matthews, Stephen; Yip, Virginia (2011). Cantonese a comprehensive grammar (2nd ed. ed.). London: Routledge. p. 95. ISBN 9780415471312.
- ↑ Yip, Virginia; Matthews, Stephen (1999). Basic Cantonese a Grammar and Workbook. London: Routledge. p. 17-18. ISBN 0-203-01020-5.
- ↑ Matthews, Stephen; Yip, Virginia (2011). Cantonese a comprehensive grammar (2nd ed. ed.). London: Routledge. p. 97. ISBN 9780415471312.
- ↑ Yip, Virginia; Matthews, Stephen (1999). Basic Cantonese a Grammar and Workbook. London: Routledge. p. 20. ISBN 0-203-01020-5.
- ↑ Yip, Virginia; Matthews, Stephen (1999). Basic Cantonese a Grammar and Workbook. London: Routledge. p. 21. ISBN 0-203-01020-5.
- ↑ Yip, Virginia; Matthews, Stephen (1999). Basic Cantonese a Grammar and Workbook. London: Routledge. p. 21. ISBN 0-203-01020-5.
External links
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For a list of words relating to Cantonese pronouns, see the Cantonese pronouns category of words in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |