Chinese Pronouns

in #language5 months ago

Pronouns in English

Pronouns have changed in English. Words that have come out of use were used in place of "you" according to whether the noun was singular-plural or a subject or object noun. You was a plural subject pronoun but all of these meanings are now covered by just one word "you."

Are we moving to an English which is less precise?

Certainly in the case of "you" we already have. We used to have separate pronouns if we were addressing more than one or one person. Now some people want to be referred to as "they." Now we may see they and he/she it become interchangeable and lose their specific nature.

Pronouns in Chinese

The Chinese pronouns do not distinguish between subject and object. There is a singular-"you" like in archaic "thou/thee" of English. There are two words for "we" and "us." Both of them can be subject or object pronouns. These are 咱们 (zánmen), which includes the listener; and 我们 (wǒmen) which excludes the listener.

It's cool to have 咱们 vs. 我们 for a word like "us" or "we." I like to use precise words when writing or speaking. I think zánmen benefits from using precise words, at least among friends.

@leprechaun ☘️☘️☘️🍀🍀🍀🍀