Part 1 · person & number

basic person markers

1, 2, 3 – 1st, 2nd, 3rd person

These numbers indicate grammatical person and combine with other markers to specify exactly who is involved. They appear as prefixes on verbs and nouns.

on verbs

jə-lɛ̀
1s-go
“I go”

nə-lɛ̀
2s-go
“You (singular) go”

ʔə-lɛ̀
3-go
“He/she/it goes” or “They go” (context determines number)

pə-lɛ̀
1p-go
“We go”

on nouns (possessive)

jə-hîˀ
1sx-house
“my house”

nə-hîˀ
2sx-house
“your house”

ʔə-hîˀ
3x-house
“his/her/its/their house”

pə-hîˀ
1px-house
“our house”

~s – singular

When attached to a person marker (e.g., 1s), this indicates one individual. Singular is the unmarked form in Sgaw Karen but is explicitly distinguished in the pronoun system.

jə-ʔôˀ lə̄ wê-pù
1s-EXIST GNR.P city-inside
“I live in the city.” (one person speaking)

Complete set of singular bound forms:

Person	Bound Form	Example
1s	jə-	jə-lɛ̀ “I go”
2s	nə-	nə-lɛ̀ “you go”
3s	ʔə-	ʔə-lɛ̀ “he/she goes”

~p – plural

Attached to person markers (e.g., 1p) to indicate more than one referent. Sgaw Karen distinguishes singular from plural in first and second persons.

pə-lɛ̀ sʰū mā.kɛ̂ˀ
1p-go ALL.P market
“We (all of us) are going to the market.”

Complete set of plural bound forms:

Person	Bound Form	Example
1p	pə-	pə-lɛ̀ “we go”
2p	(no bound form – uses independent θɨ̄)	θɨ̄ lɛ̀ “you (pl) go”
3p	ʔə- (same as singular)	ʔə-lɛ̀ “they go” (context disambiguates)

pronoun forms and cases

~sx – singular possessive

A bound prefix indicating possession by a singular owner. These attach directly to nouns.

jə-hîˀ “my house”
nə-mô “your mother”
ʔə-pɣè “its price”

Complete set of singular possessive prefixes:

Person	Prefix	Example
1sx	jə-	jə-tʰə̂ˀ “my bag”
2sx	nə-	nə-tʰə̂ˀ “your bag”
3sx	ʔə-	ʔə-tʰə̂ˀ “his/her/its bag”

~px – plural possessive

A bound prefix for plural possessors.

pə-θəwɔ̄ “our village”
pə-tâ-θāˀ.kʰɨ̄ “our happiness”

Complete set of plural possessive prefixes:

Person	Prefix	Example
1px	pə-	pə-hîˀ “our house”
2px	(no bound form)	θɨ̄ hîˀ “your (pl) house”
3px	ʔə- (same as singular)	ʔə-hîˀ “their house”

~i – independent, unbound

Used for pronouns that stand alone rather than attaching as prefixes. These occur as objects, topics, or when the pronoun is separated from the verb.

as object

ʔəwɛ̄ kwâ jà
3 look 1si
“He/she is looking at me.” (Here jà is the object, so it must be the independent form.)

as topic

nà nêˀ nə-tɛ̄ pɣà.kəɲɔ̄ bâˀ ɦā
2si thatTOP 2s-speak Karen be.correct PQ
“(As for) you, can you speak Karen?”

Complete set of independent (unbound) pronouns:

Person	Independent Form
1si	jà
1pi	pɣà
2si	nà
2pi	θɨ̄ / nəθɨ̄
3i	ʔɔ̀ / θā

~e – emphatic

A strengthened form of the pronoun used for contrast or emphasis. Often translated as "I myself" or "as for me."

contrast

nɛ̄ nə-kə-lɛ̀ ɦā | jɛ̄ jə-tə-lɛ̀ lə̀ bâˀ
2se 2s-IRR-go PQ 1se 1s-NEG-go anymore NEG.FP
“Are YOU going? As for ME, I'm not going anymore.”

self-identification

jɛ̄.dâˀ ʔì jə-mê tʰôˀ.lwî-kʰâˀ
1se this 1s-COP dove-be.bitter
“I myself am Bitter Dove.” (character introducing himself)

Complete set of emphatic pronouns:

Person	Emphatic Form	Also with -dâˀ
1se	jɛ̄	jɛ̄.dâˀ
1pe	pəwɛ̄	pəwɛ̄.dâˀ
2se	nɛ̄	nɛ̄.dâˀ
2pe	θɨ̄.wɛ̄	θɨ̄.wɛ̄.dâˀ
3e	ʔəwɛ̄	ʔəwɛ̄.dâˀ
3pe	ʔəwɛ̄.θêˀ	(no -dâˀ form attested)

Note: The subscript numbers in glosses (e.g., thing_NMLZ) indicate grammatical function while lowercase conveys lexical meaning.

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