Rokadong pronouns

Rokadong pronouns are a rather large class of nouns in the Rokadong language, compared to many other languages. Pronouns are often seen as an open class in modern Rokadong, since more pronouns are loaned into or crafted in Rokadong than for any other language on Spectradom.

History of Rokadong pronouns

Having many pronouns is a rather common feature of Nentan languages broadly. However, Rokadong has several characteristics that cause it to have a particularly large range of pronouns.

Firstly, the so-called "Rokaselan pronoun rotation" occurred in late Middle Rokadong, around the end of the Empire of Karan. Between Karlan 242 and Dúrisa 76, there were massive swings in the relative incidence of the pronouns nahata, nata, aya, pacun, zena, arha, lan, and lanil. These generally resulted in one pronoun becoming more popular, while another became less popular. In modern Rokadong, nahata, pacun, arha, and lan are considered archaic, with the last two seeing the least use. A similar pronoun rotation occurred in Kairitelan the preceding century, albeit with ngata supplanting bukak instead of pezhok (Rokadong bokah, pioka). As an example, Kairitelan's own ngahat sees virtually no use in 25th century Kairitelan, while about 1.2% of Rokadong speakers have heard someone use nahata; the reverse is true of lan.

Secondly, Rokadong is currently the most widely-spoken Nentan language. Reflexes of Imperial Karanesa fell off massively after the fall of the Empire of Karan, but they retain some use of pronouns from neighboring languages, and Rokadong has also picked up on a similar trend. In particular, the first-person and second-person familiar pronouns nyu, ryu are loaned pronouns from the native langauges of the Lastile Islands. However, the dialects of Rokadong spoken there are the only ones that regularly use them.

Thirdly, the mid- to late-24th century saw the rise of Debazi communications technology, and the later surge in support for non-normative identities mirrors a similar effect of the Internet in the real world, including in the development of "neopronouns" (Rokadong rasósomya). This is the ultimate reason why pronouns are sometimes described as an open class in Rokadong, as most of Rokadong's loaned pronouns are lumped in as rasósomya.

Table of pronouns

The following table includes all pronouns used in any significant Rokadong dialect around 2430-2450 MK in any context. Most archaic pronouns from the Rokaselan pronoun rotation are still used in storytelling during that time, and so they are included.

Pronoun	Person	Number	Formality	Other classifiers	Notes
Template:Roka-terml	0	singular	neutral		Whenever the agent and object of the verb are the same, ká replaces the second one. Its use has broadened significantly, however, including as an affix for detransitivizing transitive verbs, as well as replacing nata/aya in several situations: When talking to oneself. When relating a story that happened to the speaker; in such case, ká may be used for both its original purpose and this purpose. When used by a collective/system, to refer to the currently active voice; in such case, it contrasts with nata/aya, usually instead of ayazal or ayaci.
 nyu	1	singular	very informal		Used in most Oceanic Rokadong dialects when talking with an intimate partner. Has the genitive clitic Template:Roka-terml.
 aya	1	singular	informal		Standard informal pronoun, though sometimes it's used generically like nata. Has the genitive clitic Template:Roka-terml.
 zahal	1	singular	informal		Standard informal pronoun; literally means "friend". Has the genitive clitic Template:Roka-terml.
Template:Roka-terml	1	singular	informal		Used only in Puram Rokadong and most Continental Rokadong dialects, in which some speakers supplant one or both of aya and zahal with it. Has the genitive clitic Template:Roka-terml.
 nata	1	singular	neutral		Standard semi-formal pronoun. Has mostly supplanted nahata, though most dialects still use nata outside of contexts that would demand formality.
 nahata	1	singular	formal		Older formal pronoun. Has mostly been supplanted by nata.
 pacun	1	singular	very formal		Archaic formal pronoun supplanted by nata and pioka; signified that the addressee was of higher nobility than the speaker. Since 2350 MK, it's almost never used outside of fiction, but depending on the genre of story, it may be used almost universally in place of pioka.
 pioka	1	singular	formal		Standard formal pronoun; literally means "servant". Although it's almost always expected to be used when the speaker is of lower rank than the addressee (such as when a civilian talks to a nobleperson), what "lower rank" means is culturally dependent. In many Rokadong-speaking areas, the staff who are selling wares or handling customer concerns in a market or business meeting situation will use pioka, and in some areas (generally those that don't consider nata to be formal), the host of an event may also use pioka.
 bokah	1	singular	very formal		Definitionally similar to the so-called "royal we", it signifies that the speaker is of higher rank than the addressee. However, it is considered impolite to use bokah unless you are noble, especially if one is in a workplace where the addressee is using pioka.
 kinah	1	plural	neutral	exclusive	Used when the addressee is not included. Sometimes seen as a little informal; it can be used after a formal first person pronoun to make it more formal.
 kayari	1	plural	neutral	inclusive	Used when the addressee is included. Sometimes seen as a little informal; it can be used alongside Template:Roka-terml to make it more formal.
 kayari	2	singular	very informal		Used in most Oceanic Rokadong dialects when talking with an intimate partner. Has the genitive clitic Template:Roka-terml or Template:Roka-terml.
 zena	2	singular	informal		Standard informal pronoun, but seen as too similar to zenaz. While few teachers so far have proscribed zena, it's not as commonly used as either neuter alternative. Has the genitive clitic Template:Roka-terml.
 zeda	2	singular	informal	masculine	Standard informal pronoun formed as zena + . Has the genitive clitic Template:Roka-terml daren.
 zenaz	2	singular	informal	feminine	Standard informal pronoun formed as zena + . Has the genitive clitic Template:Roka-terml nazren.
 zerav	2	singular	informal	neuter animate	Rasósomya first popularized around 2385 MK to replace both zena and zehan, formed as zena + . Has the genitive clitic Template:Roka-terml ravien like its relatives. As of 2439 MK, it's most common among (progressive) middle-aged speakers, but even with them, zehan is still common.
 zehan	2	singular	informal	neuter	Rasósomya first popularized around 2376 MK to replace zena, formed as zena + an. Initially, it fell out of favor compared to zerav as an is inanimate, but if zehan ever had a specified animacy, as of 2439 MK, particularly younger speakers use this pronoun regardless of animacy, supplanting zerav; zehan is also more popular in this demographic than it and zerav combined in older ones. Has the genitive clitic Template:Roka-terml like its relatives.
󴀄 tau	2	singular	formal		Standard semi-formal pronoun. Some see it as slightly less formal than talah since tau is a clipping of it, but this is not universal, and usually either is fine.
 talah	2	singular	formal		Standard semi-formal pronoun. Some see it as slightly more formal than tau since it's a clipping of talah, but this is not universal, and usually either is fine.
 ludi	2	singular	formal	masculine	Technically an honorific, much like English "sir". However, among young speakers it is sometimes, in Lerabtelah, Pahang, and Ahotelah dialects, used in non-vocative contexts.
 lunu	2	singular	formal	feminine	Technically an honorific, much like English "ma(d)am". However, among young speakers it is sometimes, in Lerabtelah, Pahang, and Ahotelah dialects, used in non-vocative contexts.
 luvi	2	singular	formal	neuter	It was coined alongside zerav as its honorific. However, among young speakers it is sometimes, in Lerabtelah, Pahang, and Ahotelah dialects, used in non-vocative contexts, and thus is a rasósomya.
 javital	2	singular	very formal		Irregular formation roughly glossable as javi-2sg.for.gen. It's archaic now, but used in much the same way as pacun.
 kantunya	2	singular	very formal		Literally "my lord", it is used in place of talah or the ludi family in very formal situations when addressing a government official and/or a nobleperson.
<equivalent singular pronoun> +  -yaci	2	singular	informal		Apply to any informal 2nd person singular pronoun to pluralize it. Any such pronoun uses the genitive clitic Template:Roka-terml. Special notes apply when applied to certain pronouns: zena + -yaci merge to make  zenyaci. It can be applied irregularly to tau, making 󴀄 tauyaci. Tauyaci is a rasósomya popularized in the business space as a way to refer to staff that is less "rigid-sounding" than tau tékuha.
<equivalent singular pronoun> +  tékuha	2	singular	formal		Apply to any formal 2nd person singular pronoun to pluralize it. It's deemed a clarification measure, and thus not strictly necessary.
 lanil	3	singular	any		Originally simply Template:Roka-term, lanil is a backformation from lanil razil. It is used for both the epicene and the neuter, much as zehan is in younger speakers.
 an	3	singular	any	inanimate	Only inanimate among older speakers. However, among younger speakers, it's falling out of fashion compared to lanil.
Template:Roka-terml	3	plural	informal		Originally simply Template:Roka-term, the first word was changed to lanil to sound like razil in pseudo-rhyming reduplication.
 kamusha	3	plural	formal		Sometimes paired with 󴀀 ibi.
 ayazal  ayaci	1	singular	neutral	collective	Rasósomya first popularized around 2410 MK, formed as either aya (ta) zahal or aya + -yaci. Used exclusively by spiritspeakers and other such plural people to refer to their entire collective/system rather than just the identity that is speaking. Compare ká.
 zenzal  zenyaci	2	singular	neutral	collective	2nd person equivalent to ayazal, formed as either zena (ta) zahal or zena + -yaci. Like that pronoun, used to refer to the addressee's entire collective/system, rather than just the currently-active identity. Compared to ayaci and lanyaci, zenyaci is slightly rarer since it's homonymous with an existing 2nd person plural pronoun.
 lanizal  lanilyaci	3	singular	neutral	collective	3rd person equivalent to ayazal, formed as either lanil (ta) zahal or lanil + -yaci; the former is occasionally written with the coda l from lanil. Like ayazal, used to refer to the addressee's entire collective/system, rather than just the currently-active identity.