Learn Oneida

Understanding Pronominal Agents

If English is your first language, you may be confused by terms like "they and I", "you and I", etc. Oneida has about 15 potential "agents" which are:
  1. First-person singular (I)
  2. Second-person singular (You)
  3. Male singular (He)
  4. Female singular (She)
  5. Feminine zoic (It, a living being)
  6. First-person inclusive dualic (You and I)
  7. First-person exclusive dualic (Someone and I)
  8. Second-person dualic (You two)
  9. Males, dualic (Two males / one male and one female)
  10. Females, dualic (Two females)
  11. First-person inclusive plural (You all and I)
  12. First-person exclusive plural (They and I)
  13. Second-person plural (All of you)
  14. Males, plural (3+ males / 2+ males and 1+ females / 1 male and 2+ females)
  15. Females, plural (3+ females)
These are often divided into three groups: singular, dualic, and plural. Many languages only have the concept of singular (1) and plural (more than 1), but Oneida and the other Haudenosaunee languages are more intricate when specifying people. The sections below describe how to use the dualic and plural agents using real-life scenarios, as they are tricky to grasp.

First-Person Inclusive Dualic

If you and your friend Bob are listening to a song, and you both like the song, you would say directly to Bob: tninú·wehse̲ʔ (you and I like it).
A diagram indicating that you and Bob like the song.

First-Person Exclusive Dualic

If you, your friend Bob, and another friend Alice are all listening to a song, but only you and Alice like it, you would say directly to Bob: yakninú·wehse̲ʔ (someone and I like it). That "someone" cannot be the person you are speaking to.
A diagram indicating that you and Alice like the song, but not Bob.

Second-Person Dualic

If you, your friend Bob, and Alice are all listening to a song, but Alice and Bob like it and you do not, you would say directly to either Alice or Bob: sninú·wehse̲ʔ (you two like it).
A diagram indicating that Alice and Bob like the song, but not yourself.

Males, dualic

If you and your friends Aaron, Bob, and George are all listening to a song, but only Aaron and George like the song, you would say directly to Bob: latinú·wehse̲ʔ (two males like it).
A diagram indicating that Aaron and George like the song, but not yourself or Bob.
Similarly, if you and your friends Alice, Bob, and George are all listening to a song, but only Alice and George like the song, you would say directly to Bob: ninú·wehse̲ʔ (one male and one female like it).
A diagram indicating that Alice and George like the song, but not yourself or Bob.

Females, dualic

If you and your friends Alice, Bob, and Christine are all listening to a song, but only Alice and Christine like the song, you would say directly to Bob: kninú·wehse̲ʔ (two females like it).
A diagram indicating that Alice and Christine like the song, but not yourself or Bob.

First-person inclusive plural

If you and your friends Alice, Bob, and George are all listening to a song, and all of you like the song, you would say directly to Bob: twanú·wehse̲ʔ (you all and I like it).
A diagram indicating that Alice, Bob, George, and yourself like the song.
You can use the same pronominal if your group only contains three people, as long as that group includes the person you are speaking to, yourself, and one other person.
A diagram indicating that Alice, Bob, and yourself like the song, but not George.

First-person exclusive plural

If you and your friends Alice, Bob, and George are all listening to a song, and everybody likes the song except Bob, you would say directly to Bob: yakwanú·wehse̲ʔ (they and I like it).
A diagram indicating that Alice, George, and yourself like the song, but not Bob.

Second-person plural

If you and your friends Alice, Bob, and George are all listening to a song, and everybody likes the song except yourself, you would say directly to Bob: swanú·wehse̲ʔ (you all like it).
A diagram indicating that Alice, Bob, and George like the song, but not yourself.

Males, plural

If you and your friends Aaron, Alice, Bob, Christine, George, and Richard are all listening to a song, and only Aaron, George, and Richard like the song, you would say directly to Bob: latinú·wehse̲ʔ (they males like it).
A diagram indicating that Aaron, George, and Richard like the song, but not yourself, Alice, Bob, or Christine.
Similarly, if only Alice, George, and Richard like the song, you would say directly to Bob latinú·wehse̲ʔ (they males and females like it).
A diagram indicating that Aaron, Alice, and Richard like the song, but not yourself, Christine, Bob, or George.
Lastly, if only Alice, Christine, and Richard like the song, you would say directly to Bob latinú·wehse̲ʔ (they males and females like it).
A diagram indicating that Alice, Christine, and Richard like the song, but not yourself, Aaron, Bob, or George.
To summarize, as long as there is one male in a group of three or more, and you and the person you are talking to are not included, you use the pronominal that corresponds to "they (males) / they (mix of males and females) like it".

Females, plural

If you and your friends Alice, Bob, Christine, Delores, George, and Richard are all listening to a song, and only Alice, Christine, and Delores like the song, you would say directly to Bob: kutinú·wehse̲ʔ (they females like it).
A diagram indicating that Alice, Christine, and Delores like the song, but not yourself, Bob, George, or Richard.