13_Pronouns in Asaxi

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Grammatical Concept

Pronouns in Asaxi are a closed class of function words used to substitute for a noun phrase. They function identically to nouns within the sentence structure (acting as Subjects or Objects) but carry inherent information regarding Person, Number, and Animacy.

While Asaxi does not possess grammatical gender agreement (adjectives do not change form based on the gender of the pronoun), the language distinguishes between Living Beings (Gendered/Animates) and Entities/Objects (Inanimates) in the selection of the pronoun itself.

Classification by Animacy

• The Gendered Pronouns (Warm Animate): Used exclusively for living beings where biological sex or gender identity is relevant (He, She, Non-Binary They). These are inherently Warm.
• The General Pronoun (Inanimate): Used for objects, concepts, or entities where gender is irrelevant (It).
  • Note on Warmth: While typically Cold (e.g., a book), this pronoun can be Warm if the referent is an inanimate object that radiates heat or energy (e.g., the sun, fire, electricity).

Rules

1. Pluralization (Vowel Shift)

Standard pronoun pluralization involves a morphophonological shift of the final vowel.

• Singular: The singular stems end in -o or -ő.
• Plural: The ending shifts to -a.

Hiatus Avoidance: In cases where this shift would create a difficult pronunciation or glide issue, the vowels may change to -ő or -ă.

2. The Non-Binary Distinction

Asaxi possesses a dedicated singular pronoun for non-binary gender (gő). Unlike English, which utilizes the plural “they” for singular non-binary referents, gő is structurally singular.

Inventory

Person	Singular (Asaxi)	English Gloss	Plural (Asaxi)	English Gloss	Class
1st	wo	I	wa	We	Warm
2nd	no	You	na	You (all)	Warm
3rd (M)	xő	He	xa	They (m)	Warm
3rd (F)	ko	She	ka	They (f)	Warm
3rd (NB)	gő	They (sg)	gja	They (nb)	Warm
3rd (Inan)	jo	It	hja	They (things)	Warm/Cold

Syntactic Structure

Pronouns occupy the Noun Phrase slot.

Subject Position: [to] + [Pronoun] + (Object) + [Verb]

• Example: To ko shěsonů. or simply Ko shěso shěsonů (She reads a book.)

Object Position: [to Subject] + [Pronoun] + [Verb]

• Example: To ko wo ijo. (She sees me.)

3. Pronoun Dropping (Pro-drop)

Asaxi is a Pro-drop (Pronoun Dropping) language. This means that pronouns are omitted by default whenever the referent can be inferred from the context, previous sentences, or the physical situation.

Rules of Omission

1. Universal Scope: Dropping is not limited to the first clause or the Subject position. Any pronoun (Subject, Object, or Oblique) anywhere in the sentence is dropped if it is understood.

   • Example: “I see him.” → Ijo. (Both “I” and “Him” are dropped if context implies I am looking at him).

2. Implied Existence: The absence of a noun/pronoun in a mandatory slot implies that the slot is filled by the context.

3. Emphasis: If a pronoun is spoken when it could have been dropped, it acts as Emphatic.

   • Explicit: To wo aśù. = “It is I who walks.”
   • Default: Aśù. = “(I) walk.”

Examples

Context 1: Talking about oneself (Subject Drop)

• Redundant: To wo apa sùki. (It is I who likes apples).
• Correct: Apa sùki. ((I) like apples).

Context 2: Answering “What is he doing?” (Subject & Object Drop)

• Redundant: To xő shěso shěsonů. (He is reading the book).
• Correct: Shěsonů. ((He) reads (it)).

4. Poetic Prefixing (The Euphonic o-)

In poetry, lyrics, and rhythmic speech, pronouns may take a semantically null prefix to add a syllable or improve the phonetic flow (euphony). This change is purely aesthetic and does not alter the definition or grammatical case of the pronoun.

Rules

1. Base Form (o-): By default, the prefix is o-.
   • Structure: o + [Pronoun]
   • Example: owo (I), ono (You).

Example Comparison

Standard	Poetic / Metric
Wo aśù.	Owo aśù.
John jo ijo.	John ojo ijo.