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Article published In: From and Towards Demonstratives: Grammaticalization processes and beyond
Edited by Veronica Orqueda and Berta González Saavedra
[Journal of Historical Linguistics 15:2] 2025
► pp. 204–229

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Crosslinguistic perspectives on the source of first/second person pronouns

With special reference to demonstratives

 | Soka University of America
Published online: 6 January 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/jhl.24009.ish
Abstract
This study investigates demonstratives as the diachronic source of first/second person pronouns and shows that though several languages use them to designate the speaker/addressee, most usage does not conventionalize as first/second person pronouns despite the claim in previous studies. It then presents functional reasons that demonstratives rarely give rise to first/second person pronouns. This study additionally examines nouns and reflexives as the source of first/second person pronouns and shows that while it is relatively common for nouns to develop into first/second person pronouns, the same conclusion as demonstratives can be drawn for reflexives. I argue that the historical development of first/second person pronouns differs from that of third person pronouns due to speech-functional and discourse-pragmatic reasons. The development of the former concerns the speaker-addressee axis, thus more strongly affected than the latter by the tug of war between efficiency in linguistic communication and social success in interpersonal communication.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Approach of this study
  • 3.Demonstratives as the source of first/second person pronouns
  • 4.Other sources of first/second person pronouns
    • 4.1Nouns
    • 4.2Reflexive and emphatic elements
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgment
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
References (57)
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