UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Pronouns

Pronouns are words used either to replace nouns, generally to refer to specific individuals or objects in a discussion where identities of those individual(s) or object(s) are already known, and therefore do not need to be explicitly stated or repeated. For example:

Sı̨

I

Nı̨

You

Dǫ gogha hoı̀la hohtsı̨ı̨̀là, eyı nı̀ at'ı̨?

The man who made us suffer, is that him?

In the third sentence above, eyı (‘him/her; that one’) is a pronoun, and refers to ‘the man who made us suffer’. Since this man has already been mentioned earlier in the sentence, it is not necessary to repeat his full description a second time. As such, the next time he is mentioned, eyı is used to refer to him.

The basic pronouns in Tłı̨chǫ are as follows:

sı̨

I, me, myself

nı̨

you, yourself

ededı̨

ededı̨ - he, she, they, him, her, them

goxı̨

us

naxı̨

all of you OR the two of us

eyı

that one

dıı, dııyı̨ı̨̀

this one

In Tłı̨chǫ, there is no gender distinction in pronouns; ededı̨ (‘he, she’) can be used to refer to men or women.

Eyı ts’èko, ededı̨ weghǫnıèhtǫ.

That woman, I love her.

Eyı dǫzhıı̀, ededı̨ weghǫnıèhtǫ.

That man, I love him.

For ededı̨ specifically, there is also no number distinction; ededı̨ can be used to refer to a single person (‘he, she’) or a group of people (‘they’). For example:

Ededı̨ wedaèhteè ne.

It’s his/her bed.

Ededı̨ gıdaèhteè ne.

It’s their bed.

However, unlike in English, there is a distinction in number between nı̨ (‘you’, referring to a single person’) and naxı̨ (‘you, y’all’, referring to a group of people):

Nı̨ jǫ eghàlaı̨da nı̀?

Do you work here?

Naxı̨ jǫ eghàlaahda nı̀?

Do all of you work here?

Naxı̨ can also be used for the first person dual (that is, ‘the two of us’); however, this is not ambiguous, as conjugation on the verb indicates whether naxı̨ refers to the second person plural or first person dual.

Naxı̨ kǫ̀tı̀ wı̀dǫ-le.

The two of us don’t drink alcohol.

Naxı̨ kǫ̀tı̀ ahdǫ-le.

All of you don’t drink alcohol.

In English, verbs almost always need to be accompanied by either a noun or a pronoun in order to indicate who is performing the action. However, in Tłı̨chǫ, this information is already indicated by the verb itself (through the conjunct); as a result, pronouns are much less commonly used in Tłı̨chǫ than they are in English:

Gohde.

I talk.

Goı̨de.

You talk.

When pronouns are used, it is typically either to increase the emphasis on who is performing a verb, or to identify someone without using a verb at all. For example:

Sı̨ gohde.

It’s me who is talking.

Nı̨ goı̨de.

It’s you who is talking.

Ası̨̀ı̨̀ nàèdı̀ k'èèzhǫ nı̨ xàà nets'ǫ̀ goı̨de?

Did the doctor speak to you specifically?

Nı̨ t’aa?

What about you?