Glosario / Glossary

pronoun, pronominal: a word which can be used in place of a noun or noun phrase [1]. For instance, "she", "us", and "itself" are pronouns. Some linguists also use the term for verbal affixes that have the same meanings and functions as pronouns, although other linguists prefer to call these pronominal (pronoun-like) affixes.

Normally a pronoun indicates the grammatical person of the designated thing (including humans and other animate beings). Pronouns may also indicate such things as number, gender, grammatical function (subject, object, etc.), or degree of honor, but they usually indicate little if anything else. In Mösiehuali (Tetelcingo Nahuatl) pronouns and pronominal prefixes, for instance, indicate person, number, and degree of honor, but not gender. Thus, "yaja" means 'he', 'she', or 'it' without distinguishing gender, but it does specify a lowered grade of honor, making it appropriate when one is talking about a child, an animal, or an inanimate object. [Spanish: pronombre]