Feature GB167: Is there a logophoric pronoun?

Patrons: Hannah J. Haynie

Description ⇫

Summary

Logophoric pronouns are used to distinguish reference to an individual whose speech or thought or feeling is being reported, as opposed to other third-person referents. Unsurprisingly, then, logophoric pronouns are found in reported speech contexts. This question concerns the existence of a special pronoun that specifically refers to the speaker/thinker/feeler in a reported speech construction. This special pronominal form occurs commonly in the complement clause of a speech or thought verb to designate the speaker/thinker/feeler (who is often also the subject of the speech/thought verb) as its referent.

Procedure

  1. If there is a third person pronominal form that is used to indicate reference to the individual whose speech/thought is represented in the relevant clause,
  2. And if this pronoun has a different form than the third person personal and reflexive pronouns, then code 1.
  3. If the logophoric pronoun meets the criteria in (1) and (2) above, but is derived from another pronoun, code 1.
  4. If there is no difference in the pro-form used when the referent in a reported speech clause is the individual whose speech is reported vs. a different individual, code 0.

Examples

Ewe (ISO 639-3: ewe, Glottolog: ewee1241)

Ewe is coded 1, because there is a special anaphoric pro-form used to indicate that the speaker (Kofi) who is the subject of the first clause is also the subject of the second clause, as in (a). When Kofi is not the subject of the subordinate clause, a non-logophoric third person pronoun is used, as in (b).

a. Kofi be   yè-dzo
Kofi say  LOG-leave
‘Kofi(i) said he(i) was leaving.’ (Clements 1975: 142)

b. Kofi  be  e-dzo
Kofi  say 3SG-leave
‘Kofi(i) said he/she(j) was leaving.’ (Clements 1975: 142)

English (ISO 639-3: eng, Glottolog: stan1293)

Ewe contrasts with a language like English, where no logophoric pronoun exists, and both of these meanings are expressed with the same form:

John(i) said he(i/j) was leaving.

This can mean that either John was leaving and said so, or that John said that someone else was leaving. English is coded 0.

Further reading

Clements, George N. 1975. The logophoric pronoun in Ewe: Its role in discourse. Journal of West African Languages 2. 141–177.

Hyman, Larry M. & Bernard Comrie. 1981. Logophoric reference in Gokana. Studies in African Linguistics 3. 19–37.

References

Clements, George N. 1975. The logophoric pronoun in Ewe: Its role in discourse. Journal of West African Languages 2. 141–177.


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0 absent 1488
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Name Glottocode Family Macroarea Contributor Value Source Comment