German Pronoun Fragment

@cite{adamson-zompi-2025}

Personal pronouns for German, including the polite pronoun SIE.

T/V distinction

German has a T/V distinction:

• Singular: du (familiar T) vs Sie (formal V, 3pl agreement)
• Plural: ihr (familiar) vs Sie (formal V, 3pl agreement)

Unlike Italian LEI (3sg.f) and Spanish USTED (3sg), German SIE uses the 3rd person plural series. SIE triggers 3pl verbal agreement ((45)), binds 3rd person reflexive sich (not 2sg dich or 2pl euch), and can refer to either a singular or plural addressee.

Person hierarchy effects

SIE triggers PCC effects in German's limited PCC environments (Wackernagel clusters, @cite{anagnostopoulou-2008}), patterning with 2nd person ((47)–(48)). In contrast, SIE does NOT trigger the exponence-based person hierarchy effect in assumed-identity copular constructions (@cite{keine-et-al-2019}, @cite{coon-keine-2021}), patterning with 3rd person ((52)–(53)).

def Fragments.German.Pronouns.ich : Typology.PronounEntry

ich — 1sg.

Equations

• Fragments.German.Pronouns.ich = { form := "ich", person := some UD.Person.first, number := some Number.sg }

def Fragments.German.Pronouns.du : Typology.PronounEntry

du — 2sg familiar (T form).

Equations

• Fragments.German.Pronouns.du = { form := "du", person := some UD.Person.second, number := some Number.sg }

def Fragments.German.Pronouns.sie_polite : Typology.PronounEntry

Sie — polite 2nd person (V form, triggers 3pl agreement). Unlike Italian LEI (3sg.f) and Spanish USTED (3sg), German SIE uses the 3pl series. Agreement person is 3rd (plural), interpretable person is 2nd. Can refer to singular or plural addressees. @cite{adamson-zompi-2025}

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Fragments.German.Pronouns.er : Typology.PronounEntry

er — 3sg masculine.

Equations

• Fragments.German.Pronouns.er = { form := "er", person := some UD.Person.third, number := some Number.sg }

def Fragments.German.Pronouns.sie_f : Typology.PronounEntry

sie — 3sg feminine.

Equations

• Fragments.German.Pronouns.sie_f = { form := "sie", person := some UD.Person.third, number := some Number.sg }

def Fragments.German.Pronouns.es : Typology.PronounEntry

es — 3sg neuter.

Equations

• Fragments.German.Pronouns.es = { form := "es", person := some UD.Person.third, number := some Number.sg }

def Fragments.German.Pronouns.wir : Typology.PronounEntry

wir — 1pl.

Equations

• Fragments.German.Pronouns.wir = { form := "wir", person := some UD.Person.first, number := some Number.pl }

def Fragments.German.Pronouns.ihr : Typology.PronounEntry

ihr — 2pl familiar.

Equations

• Fragments.German.Pronouns.ihr = { form := "ihr", person := some UD.Person.second, number := some Number.pl }

def Fragments.German.Pronouns.sie_pl : Typology.PronounEntry

sie — 3pl.

Equations

• Fragments.German.Pronouns.sie_pl = { form := "sie", person := some UD.Person.third, number := some Number.pl }

def Fragments.German.Pronouns.allPronouns : List Typology.PronounEntry

Equations

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theorem Fragments.German.Pronouns.tv_distinction : du.register = Features.Register.Level.informal ∧ sie_polite.register = Features.Register.Level.formal

T/V distinction: du is informal, Sie is formal.

theorem Fragments.German.Pronouns.sie_polite_dual_person : sie_polite.person = some UD.Person.third ∧ sie_polite.referentialPerson = some Features.Prominence.PersonLevel.second

SIE has 3rd person (plural) agreement features but 2nd person interpretable features. @cite{adamson-zompi-2025}

theorem Fragments.German.Pronouns.sie_is_plural : sie_polite.number = some Number.pl

SIE uses 3pl, unlike Italian LEI (3sg) and Spanish USTED (3sg).

theorem Fragments.German.Pronouns.has_all_persons : (allPronouns.any fun (x : Typology.PronounEntry) => x.person == some UD.Person.first) = true ∧ (allPronouns.any fun (x : Typology.PronounEntry) => x.person == some UD.Person.second) = true ∧ (allPronouns.any fun (x : Typology.PronounEntry) => x.person == some UD.Person.third) = true

All three persons are attested.

def Fragments.German.pronounProfile : Typology.PronounProfile

German (Indo-European, Germanic) WALS pronoun typology profile. No incl/excl; gender in 3rd sg only (er/sie/es); binary politeness (du/Sie); mixed indefinite strategy (jemand special, irgendwer interrogative-based); intensifier (selbst) differentiated from reflexive (sich); no person marking on adpositions.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Fragments.German.pronounShapeProfile : Typology.PronounShapeProfile

German pronoun phonological shape (WALS Chs 136–137): paradigmatic M-T (mich/dich); 1SG has /m/; no N-M; no /m/ in 2SG.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.