Abstract
The Ge'ez pronoun system, known as Meraḥyan (መራሕያን), is one of the most structurally significant categories in Ethiopic grammar. The term itself, derived from the verb Meraḥa ("to lead"), means "leaders" or "front-runners" — a name that reflects their grammatical function: pronouns govern verb conjugation, indicating person, gender, number, and distance. This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the ten Ge'ez pronouns and their seven distinct grammatical functions, followed by a comparative study with English pronouns. Looking closely at how these pronouns work, we see that they do more than just replace nouns. They form a rich system of relational grammar, where person, distance, and grammatical role all connect to each other — something that sets Ge'ez apart from English and most modern languages.
Keywords: ge'ez, meraḥyan, pronouns, ethiopic grammar, demonstrative pronouns, possessive pronouns, sawasew, comparative linguistics
Introduction — Why the Meraḥyan Are Called Leaders
The Ge'ez word Meraḥyan (መራሕያን) is the plural form derived from the verb Meraḥa (መርሐ), meaning "to lead" or "to go before." The traditional Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo grammarians gave them this name for a reason. Pronouns do more than just replace nouns — they lead the verb, telling it what form to take, and they hold the whole sentence together. Without the Meraḥyan, the Ge'ez verb cannot be conjugated, because the verb's prefix and suffix must agree with the person, gender, and number of the pronoun that leads it.
This article builds on the author's previous studies — Nouns and the Concept of Naming (Seme) in Ge'ez and A Comparative Study of Nouns in Ge'ez and English — by extending the analysis from nouns to pronouns. Where nouns establish identity and ownership, pronouns establish relationship and direction: who is speaking, who is addressed, who is absent, and how each relates to the verb that the Meraḥyan lead.