Английская Википедия:Cantonese pronouns

Материал из Онлайн справочника
Перейти к навигацииПерейти к поиску

Шаблон:Wiktionarycat Шаблон:Cantonese language Pronouns in Cantonese are less numerous than their Indo-European languages counterparts. Cantonese uses pronouns that apply the same meaning to function as both subjective (English: I, he, we) and objective (me, him, us) just like many other Sinitic languages.[1]

Personal pronouns

Cantonese personal pronouns [2]
Person Singular Plural*
General Classic Meaning General Classic Meaning
First person 'I/me' 'we/us'
Second person 'you' 'you (all)'
Third person 'he/she/it' 'they/them'
* Personal pronouns are the only items in Cantonese with distinct plural forms. The character to indicate plurality is formed by adding the suffix 哋 (dei6), and classic 等 (dang2).

There exist many more pronouns in Classical Chinese and in literary works, including Шаблон:Lang (jyu5) or Шаблон:Lang (ji5) for "you", and Шаблон:Lang (ng4) for "I" (see Chinese honorifics). However, they are not used in colloquial speech.

Third person singular (keoi5) [4] Although (keoi5) is primarily used to refer to animate nouns (people or animals)in higher registers, it can also refer to inanimate objects and abstract entities in some restricted contexts. When (keoi5) is being referred to an inanimate item it is primarily found in the object position, rather than the subject position. In colloquial speech, its use is frequently extended to refer to nothing at all.[5]

Шаблон:Fs interlinear

[6] Plural suffix (-dei6) One of the few grammatical suffixes in the language, the suffix (-dei6) cannot be used to form plural forms of nouns.

   Example: (sin1saang1-dei6) can't be used to mean teachers

Other than the personal pronouns as shown above, its two other uses are:

1. In the form (jan4-dei6) which is used for indefinite pronouns (people, one, etc.)

Шаблон:Fs interlinear

In this usage, the word (jan4) 'person' can also take (dei6) to mean 'people'. Despite the suffix (-dei6), (jan4-dei6) may have a singular or plural reference depending on the content.

This form can also be used to refer indirectly to oneself:

   Example: A: Nei5 dim2 gaai2 m4 ceot1 seng1 gaa3?   Why don’t you say anything?
            B: Jan4 dei6 m4 hou2 ji3 si1 aa1 maa3     It's because I’m embarrassed.

2. In contracted forms with names

   Example: Paul keoi5 dei6 → Paul-dei6         Paul and his family/friends
            A-Chan keoi5 dei6→ A-Chan-dei6      Chan and his family/company, etc.

Possessive pronoun

To indicate possession Шаблон:Lang (ge3) is appended to the pronoun.

For serious use, Шаблон:Lang (ling6) to replace Шаблон:Lang, as in Шаблон:Lang (ling6 zyun1) "Your father" as Шаблон:Lang (nei5 lou5 dau4). In literary style, Шаблон:Lang (kei4) is sometimes used for "his" or "her"; e.g., Шаблон:Lang (kei4 fu6) means "his father" or "her father".

Omitted pronoun

In literature, daily phrases (especially ones about family or concepts very close to the owner, or when the subject or object of the sentence is already known, then it may be omitted, e.g. Шаблон:Lang (ngo5 lou5 mou5) or replace possession indicator with classifier, e.g. Шаблон:Lang (ngo5 gaa3 ce1).

Subject and object pronouns may be omitted in Cantonese under either of these two conditions:

  1. The omitted subject or object has been the topic of a previous sentence, question or dialogue.
  2. The reference is clear from the context. This applies especially to the first and second person subjects, and to third person entities which are present at the time of speaking.[7]

Reflexive pronoun

The singular personal pronouns (for humans) may be made reflexive by appending Шаблон:Lang (zi6 gei2), "self". The reflexive form (zi6 gei2) is used for all persons: myself, yourself, herself, ourselves, etc.[8] It may be distinguished into two different functions:

  1. The true reflexive pronoun
  2. An emphatic function, where it reinforces a pronoun or noun phrase.[9]

Шаблон:Fs interlinear

[10] As a reflexive, (zi gei) is subject-oriented. Another common function is to indicate 'by oneself' or 'alone'.

Шаблон:Fs interlinear

Pronouns in imperial times and self-deprecatory

In imperial times, the pronoun for "I" was commonly omitted when speaking politely or to someone with higher social status.Шаблон:Citation needed "I" was usually replaced with special pronouns to address specific situations.Шаблон:Citation needed Examples include Шаблон:Lang gwaa jan during early Chinese history and Шаблон:Lang zam after the Qin dynasty when the Emperor is speaking to his subjects. When the subjects speak to the Emperor, they address themselves as Шаблон:Lang (shen), or "your official". It is extremely impolite and taboo to address the Emperor as "you" or to address oneself as "I".

In modern times, the practice of self-deprecatory terms is still used. In formal letters, the term Шаблон:Lang (gwai; lit. important) is used for "you" and "your"; e.g., Шаблон:Lang refers to "your company". Шаблон:Lang (bun jan; lit. this person) is used to refer to oneself.

Demonstrative pronouns

Cantonese demonstrative pronouns
Singular Plural
General Classic General Classic
Proximal
Distal

Single proximal demonstrative refers to as "this," single distal as "that," plural proximal as "these," and plural distal as "those."

呢 (ni1) and 嗰 (go3*2) indicates if the demonstratives are proximal or distal, respectively; whereas 個 (go3) and 啲 (di1) indicates if the demonstratives are single or plural, respectively.

爾 (ji5) and 箇 (go3) are the classical forms of 呢 and 嗰, respectively. 之 (zi) is the classical forms of 啲.

Interrogative pronouns

Cantonese interrogative pronouns
What Which Who Where When How Why
General
Classical

See also

References

Шаблон:Reflist Шаблон:Language pronouns