Open AccessPersonal pronouns in Bua languages
Author(s) -
Pascal Boyeldieu
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
language in africa
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2686-8946
DOI - 10.37892/2686-8946-2020-1-3-292-335
Subject(s) - personal pronoun , possessive , plural , linguistics , subject pronoun , subject (documents) , object pronoun , pronoun , object (grammar) , reflexive pronoun , identity (music) , computer science , psychology , art , philosophy , world wide web , aesthetics
Bua languages in general are poorly documented and many aspects of their morphosyntax are still undescribed. The purpose of this paper is to outline a state of the art concerning the structure and operation of the personal pronoun systems. Largely based on unpublished or restricted documentation, it systematically reviews the systems of eight languages, commenting on both the identity of persons and the types of functional paradigms. Despite numerous shortcomings and uncertainties, interesting observations can be made concerning the 1st person plural ‘exclusive’/‘inclusive’ contrast, the logophoric pronouns, the tonal polarity of Subject and Object pronouns, and different types of personal possessive constructions.