Does khajiits speak only in 3rd person or both 1st/3rd???

LiteEmUp · June 2021

so i think i might have found one in coldharbour that does not speak in 3rd person... first time i've encountered in eso that says "i" and "me" lol...

not sure if this is a mistake on zos' part or intentional...

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/343545316844371971/849082444337774612/20210531162609_1.jpg

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/343545316844371971/849082444603064330/20210531162328_1.jpg

Fennwitty · June 2021

Some of them were raised among non-khajiits.

ectoplasmicninja · June 2021

Not a mistake. They do sometimes speak in first person, some moreso than others. Khamira from the Elsweyr expansion, for instance, does not use her name or "this one" at all from what I recall. Khajiit who do not display this linguistic quirk are likely better read, well-travelled, or simply more familiar with non-Khajiit culture, or possibly grew up speaking Tamrielic rather than Ta'agra (the native Khajiit language). There is a Khajiit raised by Orcs who speaks in regular first person and uses Orcish expressions in his speech.

LiteEmUp · June 2021

thats cool to know lol...

i guess i haven't spent enough time in wrothgar to notice this lol...

opaj · June 2021

Allow me to share this snippet of dialogue with Centurion Burri in Reaper's March:

You speak Tamrielic like an Imperial, Centurion.
"Hah! Yes, Burri's mother would be very disappointed. Look, I've been a soldier for too long to care about how I talk. You want the proper cadence, go talk to a moon priest."

This implies that speaking in third person is a cultural affectation, and that first person is considered improper among the Khajiit. I don't think this is held to very closely in practice--mainly because it's difficult to write tens of thousands of words of dialogue in third person when you've spent your whole life speaking in first.

phaneub17_ESO · June 2021

There's an Orc raised Khajiit, sounds really weird.

zaria · June 2021

opaj wrote: »

Allow me to share this snippet of dialogue with Centurion Burri in Reaper's March:

You speak Tamrielic like an Imperial, Centurion.
"Hah! Yes, Burri's mother would be very disappointed. Look, I've been a soldier for too long to care about how I talk. You want the proper cadence, go talk to a moon priest."

This implies that speaking in third person is a cultural affectation, and that first person is considered improper among the Khajiit. I don't think this is held to very closely in practice--mainly because it's difficult to write tens of thousands of words of dialogue in third person when you've spent your whole life speaking in first.

Yes, this ones favorite is the enchantment trader in Abah's Landing. who is used to first person but trying to use 3'rd person as its plenty of Khajiit there and both they and other expect Khajiit to use 3'rd person.

As @ectoplasmicninja says it depend if they are native Ta'agra speakers and if they grew up among mostly Khajiit or not.
Now some none Khajiit growing up among Khajiit would use 3'rd person to.
Guess other simply switches depending on who they talk to, like some switch to their native dialect talking to their parrents.

aipex8_ESO · June 2021

Khamira, the secret heir to the thrown in the Elsweyr chapter speaks in 1st person, not 3rd.

jircris11 · June 2021

LiteEmUp wrote: »

so i think i might have found one in coldharbour that does not speak in 3rd person... first time i've encountered in eso that says "i" and "me" lol...

not sure if this is a mistake on zos' part or intentional...

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/343545316844371971/849082444337774612/20210531162609_1.jpg

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/343545316844371971/849082444603064330/20210531162328_1.jpg

First and third alternate depending on what's being said. But some some normally

dlrgames · June 2021

aipex8_ESO wrote: »

Khamira, the secret heir to the thrown in the Elsweyr chapter speaks in 1st person, not 3rd.

Maybe that’s the Khajiti form of the Royal We

_ibexrc · June 2021

Not only it is cultural, it also depends on the cultures involved:

Sometimes I call myself "this one" so customers think I'm a bumpkin. Makes it easier to haggle.
— Dusk Singer, Khajiiti Armorer

MasterWarrior · June 2021

This one is not sure and this one will have a look for you.

Narvuntien · June 2021

I think it depends on how good they are at speaking Imperial. In theory, this game should have people speaking a number of different languages but that would be annoying to play so they sprinkle in a few words for flavour

So basically if they live in cities they probably speak in 1st but the Bandaari and rural Khajiti are more likely to speak in 3rd person since they are usually only around other khajit.

SammyKhajit · June 2021

This one is on a cultural linguistic drive to universalise THIRD KHAJIT SPEAK!

SPEAK ONE THIS ONE SAYS.

[Falls off soapbox from moon sugar OD]

Khenarthi · June 2021

Depends on how/where they were raised. Khajiit speech is cultural, not innate.

FluffWit · June 2021

This one does not know but he Hope's his family are safe in Riverhold.

FluffWit · June 2021

I was just messing around but now that I read it that's an example of a Khajiit using the first and third person in the same sentence. I guess they should have said....

"This one does not now but they hope their family is safe in Riverhold"

ectoplasmicninja · June 2021

FluffWit wrote: »

I was just messing around but now that I read it that's an example of a Khajiit using the first and third person in the same sentence.

"He" and "his" are third person pronouns. "I" would be first person. "They" is also a third person plural - or third person singular of unstated gender. Khajiit use gender-specific third person all the time.