691
edits
SamSkandinavisk pronouns: Difference between revisions
→Table of Personal pronouns
| Line 73: | Line 73: | ||
| ''sin'' [siːn] / ''sitt'' [sɪtː] / ''sine'' [ˈsiːnə] | | ''sin'' [siːn] / ''sitt'' [sɪtː] / ''sine'' [ˈsiːnə] | ||
|} | |} | ||
Some possessive pronouns (for example 1st singular) are inflected similarly to adjectives, agreeing in gender and number with the item possessed. | |||
The distinction between '''du''' and '''i''' is intended to be purely one of number. '''Du''' is to address a single person and '''i''' to address two or more people. There is no particular level of formality associated with either pronoun. Unlike with German ''du'' or French ''tu'', SamSka '''du''' can be used to address adult strangers of any social rank. | |||
'''Den''' is the equivalent of ''it'' used for common gender nouns. It is used for nouns when the grammatical gender is common and they have no physical gender. This could include inanimate objects, abstract concepts and animals where the physical gender is not known or not relevant. For example a '''bok''' (book) would normally be referred to as '''den'''. But a '''hankatt''' (tomcat) might instead be referred to as '''han''' because it has a physical gender. | |||
'''Den''' may also be used as a gender neutral pronoun to talk about a person when the physical gender is not yet known or not considered relevant. This can be used in non-sexist language to avoid a preference for male or female. | |||