Indirect Object pronouns in Bengali
The data show that IO pronouns have the same form as DO pronouns. The IO pronouns were elicited by having the consultant say:
- ami ____ boy-ta di - I give ____ the book. (for 2nd and 3rd person pronouns)
- tui ____ boy-ta diʃ - You give ____ the book. (for 1st person pronouns)
| Referent | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person | amake | amaderke |
| 2nd person, very informal | toke | toderke |
| 2nd person, informal | tomake | tomaderke |
| 2nd person, formal | apnake | apnaderke |
| 3rd person, informal | take | taderke |
| 3rd person, informal, proximal | eke | ederke |
| 3rd person, informal, distal | oke | oderke |
| 3rd person, formal | take* | (taderke)* |
| 3rd person, formal, proximal | enake | enaderke |
| 3rd person, formal, distal | onake | onaderke |
*Because the 3rd person formal pronouns have the same form as the 3rd person informal pronouns, the forms enake/onake and enaderke/onaderke are preferred when the referent of a 3rd person pronoun is respected.
Pronominal morphology (so far)
We may now make some hypotheses on the morphology of pronouns. The following is a table of the subject pronouns in Bengali, which was originally posted here.
| Referent | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person | ami | amra |
| 2nd person, very informal | tui | tora |
| 2nd person, informal | tumi | tomra |
| 2nd person, formal | apni | apnara |
| 3rd person, informal | ʃe | tara |
| 3rd person, informal, proximal | e | era |
| 3rd person, informal, distal | o | ora |
| 3rd person, formal | tini | tara |
| 3rd person, formal, proximal | ini | enara |
| 3rd person, formal, distal | uni | onara |
We hypothesize that pronouns consist of the following morphemes.
| Referent | Root |
|---|---|
| 1st person | am- |
| 2nd person, very informal | tO- |
| 2nd person, informal | tOm- |
| 2nd person, formal | apn- |
| 3rd person | t-?/suppletive paradigm |
| 3rd person, proximal | E- |
| 3rd person, distal | O- |
- -i --- nominative singular
- -(a)ra --- nominative plural
- -n- --- formality marker on 3rd person
- -(a)ke --- in/direct object, singular
- -(a)derke --- in/direct object, plural
E and O are realized as [i] and [u] respectively if the following syllable contains a high vowel and as [e] and [o] otherwise. Some suffixes start with an /a/. This /a/ is deleted when the pronominal root ends in a vowel.
- Examples
- tO- + -i → tOi → tui
- tO- + -(a)ra → tOra → tora
- E- + -n- + -i → Eni → ini
- E- + -n- + -(a)ra → Enara → enara
This hypothesis is not without its flaws. It does not account for why 'we' and 'you pl. informal' are amra and tomra and not *amara and *tomara. It also does not account for the forms of the 3rd person pronoun non-referential with regards to the distance from the speaker. We hypothesize that this is because the paradigm of this pronominal root is suppletive.
Giving and taking: Ditransitive verbs
| dewa 'give' | |
|---|---|
| ami | di |
| tui | diʃ |
| tumi | dao |
| apni | din |
| ʃe | dæe |
- apni amake boj din - 'You give me books.' or 'Give me books!'
- apni amake boj dæn(!) - 'You habitually/usually give me books.'
- apni amartheke boj nin - 'You take books from me.' or 'Take books from me!'
- apni amartheke boj næn(!) - 'You habitually/usually take books from me.'
The 'habitual' form of the verb only exists for apni. Because the simple present form of the verb can also be read as an imperative, it is possible that speakers avoid the simple present form of a verb when speaking to someone formally.
We also decided to elicit the structure of sentences with 'take', since our consultant brought it up. We used the following template to elicit pronoun forms.
- ami ____ theke boy-ta ni - I take the book from ____.(for 2nd and 3rd person)
- tui ____ theke boy-ta niʃ - You take the book from ____.(for 1st person)
| Referent | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person | amar | amader |
| 2nd person, very informal | tor | toder |
| 2nd person, informal | tomar | tomader |
| 2nd person, formal | apnar | apnader |
| 3rd person, informal | tar | tader |
| 3rd person, informal, proximal | er | ? |
| 3rd person, informal, distal | or | ? |
| 3rd person, formal | enar/onar | enar/onar |
| 3rd person, formal, proximal | enar | enar |
| 3rd person, formal, distal | onar | onar |
The question is whether our earlier hypotheses can account for the new data. Two more morphemes need to be added (We call them "genitive" since they've been used in a genitive-like manner before.):
- -(a)r - genitive(?) singular
- -(a)der - genitive(?) plural
The fact that the 3rd person formal pronouns without reference to the distance from the speaker have the form enar/onar is not an issue (see note after the first table).
Miscellaneous
- theke - from
- ʈheke - when two solid objects (that when brought together make a sound) are very close to each other but not touching
- gari gulo ʈheke raka ache - 'The cars are parked very close to each other.'
- raka - kept
- ami boy tani - 'I pull books' (vs. ami boy-ta ni 'I take the book')
- tui amar theke boy-ta nie jaʃ - 'Come and take the book from me.'
- tui amar theke boy-ta nie niʃ - 'Take the book away from me.'
- jaʃ < jawa 'go'
- aʃa - come
- ʃe amar bari te onek aʃa jawa kore - S/he often visits my house.
- o [McCabe] theke aʃa jawa kore - S/he often comes from McCabe.
- kora - do
- dan - charity
- dan kora - to do charity
- dæn - 'apni habitually give'
- mara - hit (V)
- mɔra - die (V)
- mora - 1pl pronoun, rural dialect(s)
- mora gelam - We went.
- mara jawa - die (V)
- uni mara gælen - That person died.
- ʃe mɔre(!) gælo - S/he died.
- o mara jabe - That person will die.
- pɔʈol tola - euphemism/idiom for death, like 'to kick the bucket'
- pɔʈol - Pointed gourd, scientific name Trichosanthes dioicia. A vegetable, which children tend to dislike, used in many Bengali dishes.
- tola - pick, raise (lift?); verb form unclear
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