XPost: alt.usage.english   
   From: peter@pmoylan.org   
      
   On 22/09/24 23:37, Ruud Harmsen wrote:   
   > Sat, 14 Sep 2024 15:57:14 -0000 (UTC): Christian Weisgerber   
   >  scribeva:   
   >   
   >> I'm a bit sensitive to this because Italian and Spanish are   
   >> pro-drop languages, i.e., they omit the subject pronoun, except for   
   >> emphasis or disambiguation.  Spanish in particular does not   
   >> distinguish 1SG and 3SG in the imperfect, conditional, present   
   >> subjunctive, or imperfect subjunctive, and Spanish speakers seem to   
   >> feel little need to inject pronouns for disambiguation, which can   
   >> be disorienting to language learners.   
   >   
   > Portuguese does, digo eu.   
      
   Irish is intermediate in this respect. First person pronouns are rarely   
   needed, because the verb endings are distinctive. In second and third   
   person the verb endings don't help, so pronouns are essential.   
      
   I imagine there was a time long ago when it was a pro-drop language, but   
   then gradually the verb endings were eroded down into a simpler system.   
      
   In the Germanic languages, including English, the erosion has gone a lot   
   further.   
      
   --   
   Peter Moylan       peter@pmoylan.org    http://www.pmoylan.org   
   Newcastle, NSW   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)