The Digital Polyglot - Morphosyntax

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D. The World of Pronouns. The data sets in this section are designed to show how pronouns are marked in our featured languages. For each language, a basic sentence about something being stolen goes through a complete paradigm for the personal pronouns. Students can work through the data sets to do morpheme identification and to make typological comparisons. A set of homework questions is at the end of the pronoun data sets. There are also a few interactive sections where you can test your knowledge. Click on the underlined sentences to hear audio clips.

The Russian World of Pronouns

1sg Ja eto ukrala (ja eto ukra-l-a) I stole it. "it" = eto = "this"

2sg Ti eto ukral (ti eto ukra-l-0) You stole it. (one person, informal)

3sg On eto ukral (on eto ukra-l-0) He stole it.

3sg Ona eto ukrala (ona eto ukra-l-a) She stole it.

3sg Ono eto ukralo (ono eto ukra-l-o) It stole it.

1pl Mi eto ukrali (mi eto ukra-l-i) We stole it.

2pl Vi eto ukrali (vi eto ukra-l-i) You stole it. (two or more people)
(one person, formal)

3pl Oni eto ukrali (oni eto ukra-l-i) They stole it.

Test your knowledge of Russian:

Use the information on these web pages and type your answers in the boxes below (don't forget punctuation). Listen to find out how you did:
khorosho = good
molodtsi = excellent
nepravilno, poprobujte opjat = incorrect, try again

Q1: How would you say: "We opened it" (use a perfective verb)

Q2: How would you say: "They acquired a dog"

The Bemba World of Pronouns

1sg Naacikeeba (n-aaci-ka-iba) I stole it (today). "it" = ka = a small thing

2sg Waacikeeba (u-aaci-ka-iba) You stole it. (one person, informal)

3sg Aacikeeba (a-aaci-ka-iba) He/She stole it.

1pl Twaacikeeba (tu-aaci-ka-iba) We stole it.

2pl Mwaacikeeba (mu-aaci-ka-iba) You stole it. (two or more people)
(one person, formal)

3pl Baacikeeba (ba-aaci-ka-iba) They stole it.

Test your knowledge of Bemba:

Use the information on these web pages and type your answers in the boxes below (don't forget punctuation). Listen to find out how you did:
Mwaacita bwino = You did well!
Mwaalungika = You're right.
Mwabombeeni = Good job!
Bwekesheenipo = Sorry, try again.

Q1: How would you say: "We opened it (today)"

Q2: How would you say: "They want a dog"

The Samoan World of Pronouns

Note: Samoan actually possesses two sets of pronouns, only one of which will be shown below. The set not shown are the independent pronouns, which occur after the verb complex or stand alone, and are utilized to emphasize the subject.

le mea lena = sing art. + thing + that = it
Sa: ... gaoia = Past perfect steal = stole

1sg Sa: 'ou gaoia le mea lena: I stole it.

2sg Sa: 'e gaoia le mea lena: You stole it.

3sg Na na gaoia le mea lena: He/she stole it.

1dual/incl Sa: ta: gaoia le mea lena: We two (including addressee) stole it.

1dual/excl Sa: ma: gaoia le mea lena: We two (excluding addressee) stole it.

2dual Sa: lua gaoia le mea lena: You two stole it.

3dual Sa: la: gaoia le mea lena: They two stole it.

1pl/incl Sa: ta:tou gaoia le mea lena: We all (including addressee) stole it.

1pl/excl Sa: ma:tou gaoia le mea lena: We all (excluding addressee) stole it.

2pl Sa: tou gaoia le mea lena: You all stole it.

3pl Sa: la:tou gaoia le mea lena: They all stole it.

Test your knowledge of Samoan:

Use the information on these web pages and type your answers in the boxes below (don't forget punctuation). Listen to find out how you did:
Sa'o = Right!
Manaia le taumafai. = Very Nice job!
E le sa'o. Taumafai atili. = That's not correct. Try again!

Q1: If "ma:puni" is to slam, then how do you say: "Did you two slam the door?"

Q2: How would you say: "We all (excluding addressee) stole the horse."

The World of Pronouns

Study the data sets for Russian, Samoan, and Bemba in this section and answer the questions below. Use the information from the Morphology pages to help you with morpheme identification.

1 English has 7 basic pronouns (I, you, she, he, it, we, and they). How many basic pronouns are in Russian, Bemba, and Samoan? Write out the basic pronoun forms for each of these languages and indicate if they are free or bound morphemes.

2 When pronouns are used, what is the basic word order (SVO, VSO, etc.) in each of these languages?

3 What are some of the key similarities and differences in how these three languages handle pronouns?

4 Other observations or questions?

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