Diectic Pronoun

Position 12: Impersonal Subject (deictic) Pronouns  (inflectional)

Impersonal subject pronouns indicate the subject of the verb not actually present in the speech situation (deicetic pronouns).  `He', `they' etc. do not appear as subject pronouns in Position 3 because they are not present from the standpoint of the person talking--they appear here in Position 12.

Tenenbaum also indicates that morphemes in this position can indicate certain objects of verbs and themes.

Position 12 morphemes can be sequenced in the following order  (ch'e-k'e-qe1-qe2-ye)

     Ø    =     he/she, him/her (3rd person singular) is unmarked

      k'e     =     indefinite subject/object

     qe1     =     they, them (3rd person plural)

     qe2     =     space/time/event/abstract entity subject/object

     ye      =     non-human subject

     ch'e     =     we, someone (indeterminate someone