zámen / wŏmen
separate forms for “with you” and “without you”
INDEPENDENT PRONOUNS · A GROUP INSIDE A WORD
Who gets into “we”?
In 68 of the 200 languages in the WALS sample, the pronoun has a separate form when it includes the person being addressed. Of those 68 languages, 63 also have a separate form for the group that leaves the addressee out: 92.6%.
Press YOU to move it.
inclusive meaning exclusive meaning
I
OTHERS
I + you (+ others)
68 of 200 languagesI + others, without you
63 of 200 languagesThe options move the addressee in relation to the group.
THE 200 OBSERVATIONS
Five languages make the difference between the two choices.
The 63 blue marks distinguish both meanings. Another 5 orange marks distinguish only “with you”: 63 + 5 = 68.
The 5 orange marks fade. The 63 languages with separate forms for both meanings remain.
In the “with you” state, WALS categories 4 and 5 are active: 68 languages. In the “without you” state, category 5 remains active: 63 languages.
01 / CHOOSE A LANGUAGE
See what the pronoun has to say.
Choose any of the 200 languages. Its WALS category shows whether the pronoun changes when “YOU” moves outside the group.
The three examples below show forms recorded in the WALS chapter; the field above retains all 200 observations.
ta / in
separate forms for “with you” and “without you”
cu / wa
separate forms for “with you” and “without you”
Three examples with recorded forms:
Eurasia
Mandarin
Mandarin has separate forms for both meanings of “we”.
WITH YOUzámenrecorded form
WITHOUT YOUwŏmenrecorded form
WALS records both forms in Chapter 39.
02 / THE SAME SENTENCE
“We will arrive before sunset.”
English keeps the same form for the group that includes the addressee and the group that leaves them out. Context has to settle the meaning. In category 5 languages, the pronoun makes the distinction by itself.
63 / 68
92.6%
In the 200-language WALS sample, nearly all languages with a separate form for “with you” also have a separate form for “without you”.
03 / HOW TO READ THE FIVE CATEGORIES
Each language appears once.
WALS groups independent pronouns into five categories. This count keeps all 200 languages and uses the published category for each one.
- 2No special form for “we”
- 10“We” and “I” have the same form
- 120One form for both meanings of “we”
- 5Only “we with you” has a separate form
- 63Both meanings have separate forms
SOURCES AND METHOD
The five categories explain every number.
The observations and categories come from WALS Online Feature 39A, “Inclusive/Exclusive Distinction in Independent Pronouns”. The Mandarin, Chamorro and Canela form pairs are recorded in Chapter 39. The values 68, 63 and 92.6% follow directly from the five categories: 5 + 63 = 68, and 63 ÷ 68 = 92.6%.