Egyptian

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Etymology

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Loprieno suggests an origin from tj (while) +‎ ṯn (second-person feminine dependent pronoun), with tj from earlier (j)sṯ, from Old Egyptian (j)sk.[1] Stauder argues against this hypothesis and instead proposes a development from ntt (complementizer) +‎ .t (second-person feminine suffix pronoun) with subsequent reanalysis.[2] Regardless of origin, later reinterpreted as an element tw + the suffix pronoun .t.

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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t
W
B1

 f sg 2. proclitic (‘subject form’) pronoun

  1. you [since the 17th Dynasty]

Usage notes

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This form of pronoun is a proclitic that must stand at the beginning of a sentence (generally adverbial) and cannot come after any particles. It always indicates the subject of the sentence.

Inflection

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Old Egyptian personal pronouns
number first person second person third person
masculine feminine masculine feminine
suffix pronouns singular , .j
.k, .kj1
.ṯ, .ṯn
.f, .fj1
.s, .sj1
dual .nj
.ṯnj
.snj
plural .n
.ṯn
.sn
enclitic (‘dependent’) pronouns singular w, wj, wy
kw, k, ṯw,
ṯm, ṯn
sw, s
s
dual
ṯnj
snj
plural n
ṯn
sn
stressed (‘independent’) pronouns singular jnk
ṯwt
ṯmt
swt
stt
dual

ntsnj
plural
ntṯn
ntsn, jntsn
stative (‘pseudoparticiple’) endings singular .kj, .k
.tj, .t
, .j
.tj, .t
dual .tjwn
.wy, .wj
.ty
plural .wn, .nw
, .w, .y, .wy
.tj, .t

1 Only when attached to a dual noun or prospective participle.

Middle Egyptian personal pronouns
number first person second person third person
masculine feminine masculine feminine
suffix pronouns singular , .j
.k, .kj1
.ṯ, .t
.f, .fj1
.s, .sj1
dual2 .nj
.ṯnj, .tnj
.snj
plural .n
.ṯn, .tn
.sn, .w3
enclitic (‘dependent’) pronouns singular wj, w
ṯw, tw
ṯn, tn
sw, st
sj, s, st
plural n
ṯn, tn
sn, st
stressed (‘independent’) pronouns singular jnk
ntk, ṯwt2
ntṯ, ntt, ṯwt2
ntf, swt2
nts, swt2
plural jnn3
ntṯn, nttn
ntsn
stative (‘pseudoparticiple’) endings singular .kw
.tj, .t, .tw3
, .w
.tj, .t, .tw3
plural .wn, .wjn
.tjwn, .tjwnj
, .w, .y
proclitic (‘subject form’) pronouns3 singular tw.j
tw.k
tw.t
sw
sj, st
plural tw.n
tw.tn
st

1 Only when attached to a dual noun or prospective participle.
2 Only in formal texts, especially religious texts.
3 Only in postclassical (Neo-Middle Egyptian) texts.

Late Egyptian personal pronouns
number first person second person third person
masculine feminine masculine feminine
suffix pronouns singular , .j
.k, .kw
.t
.f, .fj
.s, .st, .sw
plural .n
.tn, .twn
.w, .sn1
enclitic (‘dependent’) pronouns1 singular wj
tw, tj
sw, st
plural n, wn
twn
sn, st
stressed (‘independent’) pronouns singular jnk
mntk, mtwk
mntt, mtwy
mntf
mntst, mntjst
plural jnn
mnttn
mntw
stative (‘pseudoparticiple’) endings1 singular .kw, .k
.tj, .tw
, .w, .y
.tj, .tw
plural .nw
.tn
, .w, .y
unmarked2 , .tw
proclitic (‘subject form’) pronouns singular tw.j
tw.k
tw.t
sw
st, sw
plural tw.n
tw.tn
st, sw, swt

1 Only in formal texts, especially religious texts.
2 Later form.

References

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  • James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 116.
  1. ^ Loprieno, Antonio (1995) Ancient Egyptian: A Linguistic Introduction, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN
  2. ^ Stauder, Andréas (2016) “L’origine du pronom sujet néo-égyptien (twꞽ, twk, sw, etc.)” in Revue d’ Egyptologie, volume 67, pages 141–155