The pronoun we is the first person plural subject pronoun of English. Unlike the first person singular I, the specific number of the pronoun we is not clear. It may refer to two individuals or it may refer to more. It is also unclear whether the pronoun refers to the person addressed or not, and also whether or not it refers to men or to women.
In a number of languages, we has an inclusive form and an exclusive form. The inclusive form extends to the person who is addressed, but the exclusive form does not. Languages with both inclusive and exclusive forms include Fijian, Hawaiian, Malayalam and Punjabi.
Though the number expressed by the pronoun we is not specific, certain languages have a dual form. It indicates that the subject consists of two individuals. Languages which use the dual meaning of the pronoun we include Breton, Slovenian and Sorbian.
Spanish has the words nosotros and nosotras. The word nosotros refers to men or to men and women. However, the word nosotras refer to women only.
In English the pronoun we can refer to two or more people, can include or exclude the person addressed, and it can refer solely to men, to men and women and to women only. In other languages, the pronoun has exclusive and inclusive forms, a dual form and in Spanish a form that is exclusively for women. The precise meaning of the pronoun can thus vary from one language to another.
No comments:
Post a Comment