Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/sę

This Proto-Slavic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Slavic

Etymology

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *sen, from Proto-Indo-European *swé; compare Latin sē. Cognate with Old Prussian sien (“oneself”).

Pronoun

*sę

1. oneself: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself (accusative)
2. ourselves, yourselves, themselves (accusative)
3. each other (accusative)

Declension

Proto-Slavic personal pronouns

Singular	1st person	2nd person	Reflexive
Nominative	*jãzъ, *jà	*ty̑	—
Accusative	*mę̑	*tę̑	*sę̑
Genitive	*mȅne	*tȅbe	*sȅbe
Locative	*mьně̀	*tebě̀	*sebě̀
Dative	*mьně̀, *mi	*tebě̀, *ti	*sebě̀, *si
Instrumental	*mъnòjǫ, *mъnojǫ̀	*tobòjǫ, *tobojǫ̀	*sobòjǫ, *sobojǫ̀
Possessive	*mojь	*tvojь	*svojь
Dual	1st person	2nd person	Reflexive
Nominative	*vě̑	*vȃ	—
Accusative	*nȃ	*vȃ	*sę̑
Genitive	*nàju	*vàju	*sȅbe
Locative	*nàju	*vàju	*sebě̀
Dative	*nàma, *na	*vàma, *va	*sebě̀, *si
Instrumental	*nàma	*vàma	*sobòjǫ, *sobojǫ̀
Possessive	*našь	*vašь	*svojь
Plural	1st person	2nd person	Reflexive
Nominative	*my̑	*vy̑	—
Accusative	*ny̑	*vy̑	*sę̑
Genitive	*nàsъ	*vàsъ	*sȅbe
Locative	*nàsъ	*vàsъ	*sebě̀
Dative	*nàmъ, *ny	*vàmъ, *vy	*sebě̀, *si
Instrumental	*nàmi	*vàmi	*sobòjǫ, *sobojǫ̀
Possessive	*našь	*vašь	*svojь

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: сѧ (sę)
    • Old Ruthenian: -сѧ (-sja), сѧ (sja)
      • Belarusian: -ся (-sja) (merges with final "-ць" into "-цца")
      • Ukrainian: -ся (-sja) (before consonants) / -сь (-sʹ) (before vowels, unless after most consonants), ся (sja) (poetic)
    • Russian: -ся (-sja) (after consonants) / -сь (-sʹ) (after vowels)
    • Old Novgorodian: сѧ (sę)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic script: сѧ (sę)

    Glagolitic script: ⱄⱔ (sę)

  • Bulgarian: се (se)
  • Macedonian: се (se)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: се

    Latin script: se

  • Slovene: se (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: sě
    • Czech: se
  • Old Polish: się, siebie, siebie
    • Polish: się
    • Silesian: sie
    • Polish: siebie
    • Silesian: siebie
  • Polabian: să
  • Old Slovak: sa, se
    • Pannonian Rusyn: ше (še)
    • Slovak: sa
  • Pomeranian:
    • Kashubian: sã, sebie
    • Slovincian: sã, sêbjë
  • Sorbian:
    • Lower Sorbian: se
    • Upper Sorbian: so, ?sej

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), “ся”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress