Taino Pronouns 101

The Pronoun System

In English, we change the whole word depending on how a pronoun is used (I, me, my, myself). In Taíno, pronouns are divided into three clear categories based on their job in the sentence.

The Core Prefix Pronouns (Subjects & Possession) These are the most important building blocks in the language. They cannot stand alone as separate words; instead, they attach directly to the front of a word.

• If you attach one to a noun, it shows possession (my, your, his).

• If you attach one to a verb, it shows who is doing the action (I, you, he).

• Attached to a noun: tiyawo (friend) --> da-tiyawo (my friend), bu-duho (your stool).

• Attached to a verb: bori (work) + -ka (present tense) --> tu-bori-ka (she works).

The Vowel-Drop Rule (Elision): Taíno prefers smooth, open syllables and avoids awkward vowel collisions at prefix boundaries. Whenever you attach a pronoun prefix to a noun or verb that starts with a vowel, drop the vowel on the pronoun prefix (often marked with an apostrophe in study guides to help you see the boundary).

• da- (my) + anixí (heart) --> d'anixí (my heart)

• wa- (we) + okona (walk) + -ba (past) --> w'okonaba (we walked)

Independent Emphatic Pronouns Because the prefix on the verb already tells you who is doing the action, you don't actually need a separate subject word. However, if you want to emphasize the actor ("I am speaking to you" or "I did it myself") or answer a question with a standalone pronoun, you add the focus suffix -kia to the pronoun root (except for "it", which stays to):

• dakia (I / me / myself)

• bukia (you / yourself)

• likia / nikia (he / himself)

• tukia (she / herself)

• to (it / itself)

• wakia (we / ourselves)

• hukia (you all / yourselves)

• nakia (they / themselves)

When used in a sentence, these go at the very beginning for extra emphasis, right before the regular prefixed verb: wakia w'ahiyaba (We ourselves spoke / WE spoke).

Object Pronouns (Receiving the Action) When a pronoun is on the receiving end of an action (me, you, him, her, us, them), or attached to a directional ending (like "to me" or "with us"), Taíno uses special object forms placed after the verb or attached to a postposition; when attached to a postposition, they must follow the vowel-drop rule: