Had an interesting convo with an art history student researching Cambodian art and French colonialism. He said that in Khmer (language spoken in Cambodia), you traditionally didn’t use the first person pronoun. Instead, you related yourself to the person you were speaking to. You call yourself “your student” when talking to a teacher, “your son” to a parent, and “your nephew/niece” if talking to an older male stranger (who will refer to himself as “your uncle”). The monks represented deity so they call themselves “god,” while the laity call themselves “servant of god.” The first person pronoun that is now commonly used derives etymologically from “servant,” going back to this idea. Really interesting to think about how this linguistic practice shapes the importance of societal roles.
