4 Pronouns
Note: Using the pronoun məzəi in this way is a frequent pattern which implies that an object marked by it is familiar to all participants of the conversation. The familiar tone, however, does not apply so much to the object itself as to the shared knowledge about it. Ex. 4: məz-ə-i ňimʁa-f gəɹ gia-kie. Lit.: 1pl.(incl.) fish-ACC. still take-VOL. Let us take the (our) fish too. Note: From a conversation that occurred among several elderly women at the end of a funeral banquet, wondering whether they should take the leftover food home. The utterance was strongly humorous, because the participants in the conversation were aware of a certain inadequacy of what they were about to do, and the use of the pronoun mezei stressed the conspiratorial slant of the sentence. Ex. 5: ər bait məz-ə-t daɹ j-aqů. Lit.: This matter 1pl.(incl.)-DL. relation-NEG. This does not concern us. 2) The 3rd person singular pronoun
Whereas in written Manchu the third person pronouns i ‘he, she’ and ce ‘they’ are present, colloquial Sibe has apparently lost these pronouns and in the paradigm they are replaced by the demonstrative pronouns. This resembles the situation in Mongolian, including the fact that the demonstrative pronouns in this function, especially the singular forms ər ‘this’ and tər ‘that’, are rarely used alone. In most cases they are combined with the word nan ‘person’, which makes the expression more polite. In colloquial Sibe another expression, the addition of the word jaq ‘thing’, has became so widespread, that it has nearly lost its somewhat derogatory tone,2 and is used almost as a regular 3rd person singular pronoun. The constricted forms, əjaq <ər jaq ‘this thing’ and təjaq < tər jaq ‘that thing’, are used in common speech instead of the personal pronouns ‘he’ and ‘she’ for people of the same age or younger. However, when talking about elder people, as well as in any situation that requires a certain degree of politeness, the forms ər/tər nan ‘this/that person’ are used. Ex. 1: ər nan-əi sə ňi mi-maq əm durun. Lit.: This person-GEN. age POSS. 1sg.-IS. one from. He is as old as me. Ex. 2: tər nan śien ba ňi gəɹ bi. Lit.: That person good place POSS. still is. He has strong points too. Ex. 3: əjaq gizun ňi hən laft. Lit.: This thing word POSS. very much. She is too talkative. 2
In Mongolian an analogical expression ene/ter yum ‘this/that thing’, as generally using the word yum ‘thing’ for people, has a pronounced derogatory connotation and is most often used to express slight displeasure.
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4.2 Remarks on the personal pronouns
Ex. 4: təjaq hən yono gizun gizərə-mə čira ňi injə-qů. Lit.: That thing very funny word speak-CI. face POSS. laugh-(NI.)-NEG. He says very funny things without smiling. 3) The use of the genitive with certain forms of personal pronouns
Certain complex expressions using personal pronouns are formed by using the genitive case. These are most often forms expressing number, e.g. ‘the two of us’ in the first- and second-person (a) or in periphrastic expressions which are most often used when characterizing a person or when describing the abilities of a person (b). a) 1. pl. Ex. 1: mo-n ju nan gizər-ɣə gizər-ɣə-də ərin oɴ ů-maq sənda-ʁ əi. Lit.: 1pl.-GEN. two person speak-NP. speak-NP.-DL. time forget-CC. put-PERF. We (the two of us) were talking and talking and forgot about the time. Ex. 2: mo-n yilan jaq dači gum əmbat iv-m. Lit.: 1pl.-GEN. three thing originally all together play-IMP. Formerly the three of us used to play together all the time. b) 2. pl. Ex.: so-n ju nan an inji-maq dut-kəye? Lit.: 2pl.-GEN. two person why laugh-CP. lie down-PERF? Why are you two laughing all the time? c) 1. sg. Ex. 1: mi-n ər nan gizun tači-m mutə-qů ba … Lit.: 1sg.-GEN. this person word learn-CI. be able-NI.- NEG. PROB. I am afraid that I am not able to learn foreign languages … Note: The use of the periphrastic expression implies an external viewpoint, looking “from outside” onto oneself. Ex. 2: mi-n ər ašta paqa zə-či davɹ tarʁůn vaq… Lit.: 1sg.-GEN. this youngster short say-CC. too fat not … I am short but not so fat … Note: From a contemporary song. Ex. 3: mi-n bey da morin yaɹ- m mutə-ků 1sg.-GEN. body ACT. horse ride-CI. can-(NI.)-NEG. I cannot ride horses. 4) The enclitic forms of personal pronouns
Spoken Sibe employs enclitic forms of the possessive pronouns. However, with the exception of the widely used third-person enclitic pronoun ňi they are rarely used in the Chabchal subdialect. The higher frequency of their use in the communities outside Chabchal
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4 Pronouns
is probably due to the influence of the neighbouring Turkic and Western Mongolian languages, and, in the case of Tarbagatai, the influence of Evenki as well. As well as the extremely frequent third-person singular and plural pronoun ňi and the somewhat less frequent secondperson singular form śiňi, I have also encountered a second-person plural form soňi. I have not to date encountered any enclitic forms of the first-person pronouns. a) The third-person enclitic pronoun ňi is an important means in formation of possessive constructions. Apart from that, however, it functions as a particle, which highlights a noun, or separates the subject part of a sentence form the predicate. b) The second-person singular pronoun śiňi is less frequently used. I have noted a high frequency of its use in a family whose members speak the Tarbagatai subdialect. c) The use of the second-person plural form soňi is relatively rare. I have encountered it several times in the conversations of the family mentioned above. a) The third-person pronoun ňi 1) possessive constructions Ex. 1: χaʁ əji-d ňi əm jaq bənšən aqů. Lit.: Son-DL. POSS. one thing ability NEG. His son has absolutely no abilities. Note: Here the enclitic pronoun is used in its original meaning of a third-person possessive pronoun. Ex. 2: təvat əm bəy ňi dən, uju ňi χot nan yila-ʁ əye. Lit.: There one body POSS. high, head POSS. bald person stand-PERF. A tall bald man is standing there. Ex. 3: śi-n foɹʁů ňi mo-n bo-t bi. Lit.: 2sg.-GEN. bag POSS. 1pl.-GEN. house-DL. is. Your bag is at our place. Note: In this case the enclitic pronoun is only a supplement or completion of the possessive phrase with the second-person pronoun. Ex. 4: ji-v ňi həɣə-d ňi bu-ɣə, ər maf morin-dəri uvə-rəŋ da fayiŋə-v ňi ɢ am-maq yav-ʁ əi. Lit.: Child-ACC. POSS. woman-DL. POSS. give-PERF., this forefather horseABL. alight-NP.II ACT. soul-ACC. POSS. take-PERF. He gave his child to his wife, and as he was alighting from the horse, (the ghost woman) took away his soul. Note: From a folktale about a young man who conceived a child with a dead woman. Later he stole the child from her and brought it to his wife. The ghost, however, took revenge by stealing his soul. 2) The pronoun ‘ňi’ functioning as a particle The third-person enclitic pronoun ‘ňi’ also functions as a particle which stresses a noun or topicalizes a subject. It is used as well in a distributive sense (Ex. 1). This particle
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