Person / Viewpoint
Is it I, you, he, she, we, or they?
Maana
The participant's role relative to the speech situation: speaker, listener, third person, inclusive/exclusive we, respect forms.
Jinsi ya kuitambua
Identify who is speaking, who is addressed, and who is being talked about.
Mifano
I|you|he|she|we|they
my book|your idea|we all
We are ready.
Visual guide
Speech scene speaker -> I / we listener -> you others -> he / she / they possession follows view: my book / your idea
Where person can show Pronoun: I / you / they Verb: we are ready Possessive: my/your book Subject may be omitted we may mean: speaker+you / speaker+others Respect may change 'you'
Mtazamo wa lugha
Katika lugha yako ya kwanza
English marks person, number, and case clearly in pronouns and uses viewpoint choices in narration and conversation.
I saw her yesterday.
I/her = person and viewpoint
Katika lugha unayojifunza
Person and viewpoint are encoded by verb agreement and pronouns; subject pronouns are often optional.
Hablo español. Ella habla inglés.
I speak Spanish. She speaks English.
Learners may overuse yo/tú/él because English requires subjects.
Same block, different coding
Both languages use this block strongly, but they signal it differently. Focus on form changes, not only meaning.