The Sacred Vowels in PronounsJoannes Richter

Old coin ("Faustina Senior") depicting the vowel “E” at the entrance in the center between 6 columns of Apollo's temple at Delphi.

IntroductionVowels have been recognized as the sacred symbols in Indo-European and other languages. In her paper “The Mystery of the Seven Vowels” (1991) Joscelyn Godwin correctly describes various religious symbols hidden in the vowels of ancient languages1. The number of vowels may vary between three (I, A, U), five (I, A, U, E, O) or seven (I, A, U, E, AE, O, OO), or even more.

The most important conclusion is the analysis of the divine name, which seems to have been designed as a set of pure vowels. Godwin quotes the most interesting series listed by Godfrey Higgins in the one-vowel name I, the two-vowel name IE / EI on the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, the three-vowel name lAO, the four-vowel name IEVE, in which U and V are equivalent and the multi-vowel name JEHOVA . The "unpronounceable Name - IHVH" was the vowel combination IAOUE. Not pronounced, but breathed. That is uttered without closing the mouth. Its Latinised form of course is IAO - YO-WEH, or Jove.

The Ego-pronounsBy a strange coincidence Joscelyn Godwin ignores the symbolism in the Ego-pronouns, which in analogy to the divine name also consist of pure vowels. Especially the Provencal Ego-pronoun iéu clearly reveals its divine image as a part of the divine name Diéu. In a strange way some languages also apply a one-vowel Ego-pronoun I originally Y (in English), a two-vowel name “je” (in French), a three-vowel pronoun iéu (in Provencal). The correlations between these Ego-pronouns and divine names is quite obvious: I and Y (Yod → God) (in English), je and Dieu (in French) and iéu and Diéu (in Provencal).

The biblical divine commandsAs a remarkable fact Joscelyn Godwin does not identify the biblical divine commands with respect to the important colors red, blue, purple and (maybe) white, which are found in Exodus (25x in the description of the Covenant Tent) and 2. Chronicles (3x in the description of Solomon's Temple).

1 On the Symbolism of the Vowels A-E-I-O-U …

Swadesh-listsAn increased publication of the Swadesh-lists for a great number of languages revealed other languages with one-vowel names such as Albanian, Arberesh, Marchigiano, Ticinese and I decided to categorize the pronouns in several ways for the purpose to identify relationships between languages.

Most of the short pronouns seem to have been derived from a multi-vowel word, which may have been a divine name, probably similar or identical to Jehovah. The longest pronouns consist of three vowels out of the multi-vowel word. These three-vowel pronouns have been found in remote, mountainous areas, in which conservative structures managed to resist abbreviations and other deterioration of the pronouns. This observations suggests to consider the original source as a multi-vowel word such as Jehovah.

The name of God with the seven vowelsIn Anacalypsis the author Godfrey Higgins (1771-1833) quotes Eusebius saying that the Jews expressed the name of God with the seven vowels. And although Jehovah in a strict sense merely consists of 3 vowels (e, o and a) the seven vowel name may also be written as IEhOUAh, now containing the maximum of 5 English vowels (i,e,o,u,a). If we count the eta-vowel (H) as a vowel as well the name IEHOUAH indeed is a seven vowel name. Higgins also quotes scholars who suggest that the Bacchantes' cry "EVOHE!" derived from the very same word. In Hebrew tradition the Tetragrammaton (God’s holiest name, according to Judaism) may have been pronounced by the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) only once a year at the Day of Atonement respectively Yom Kippur. The Tetragrammaton was pronounced three times, once for each confession.

EioudeonFrom numismatic studies Abbe Jean Jacques Barthelemy (1716-95) probably discovered the relation between the seven planets and the seven vowels of the Greek alphabet: Alpha, Epsilon, Eta, Iota, Omicron, Upsilon and Omega. Barthelemy found a parallel to these medals in an inscription in the theater of Miletus (Asia Minor), discovered by English explorers in the seventeenth century. This inscription, though damaged, had evidently had seven columns, each headed by a sequence of seven vowels, followed by a prayer that the city of Miletus and all its inhabitants should be preserved. The inscription is written in Greek: “topos eioudeon ton kai theosebion.” Translation: “Place of the Jews, who are also called God-fearing” (Light from the Ancient East, by Adolf Deissmann, p. 451). 2. 3. Of course the name eioudeon for the Jewish people also contains at least 4 vowels (eiou), which indicates its sacred vowel-structure and relation to the pronouns and divine names.

E engraven over the gate of Apollos temple at DelphiAlthough there is no evidence for the use of E as a pronoun I suggest to include the vowel E engraven over the gate of Apollos temple at Delphi into this overview. Most of the classical quotations to this topic indicate a divine name and a reference to the Ego of the visitors by a famous inscription: γνωθι σεαυτόν (gnōthi seautón = "know thyself").

The overview will start with a few multi-vowel divine names, to be followed by the three-vowel, the two-vowel and one-vowel pronouns.

2 See: Jewish Inscription at Miletus Theater

3 Remark by J.R.: Obviously the name “Jews” does contain a high number of vowels, which may indicate a religious content.

Predecessor Pronouns

Tajik4, Persian, Hindi/Urdu, Kurdish, SanskritTajik is a general designation for a wide range of Persian-speaking peoples of Iranian origin, with traditional homelands in present-day Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and southern Uzbekistan. Smaller numbers also live in Iran and Pakistan; they are mostly refugees from Afghanistan.

According to the Swadesh list the Ego-pronoun is ман (“Man”), which may correlate to the creation legend of (androgynous) “man”, Adam Cadmon. In Romanized Hindi/Urdu the Ego-pronoun is maĩ, in Romanized Kurdish mɪn and in Romanized Sanskrit aham. In western Europe similar pronouns (such as mé, mee, mi, fi, etc.) have been identified, which may belong to a predecessor generation of pronouns. An overview of these pronouns has been documented in The Hieroglyphs in the Ego-Pronoun . A subset will be introduced in the following table:

Language Ego-pronoun Tu-pronoun We-pronoun GodHindi/Urdu म�; (maĩ)

Breton me te Doue Cornish my ty English I, meEstonian mina, ma sina, sa Jummal, Jumal Finnish minä sinä Jumahlto

jumala Irish mé tú Dia, dhia Kurdish mɪn Ladin (Nones) 5 miLuwian, Turkey (a)mu tī Tiwat

(God of the sun) Manx mee oo Jee Old Irish mé tú Persian مَن ( man )

Picard, Belgium mi, fi ti Diu Proto-Celtic *moi *tū Romani , Europe Me (I), Mandi (I,

me), Man (I, me) Devel, Duvvel , Devlesa, Dev

Scottish Gaelic mi thu Dia , God Tajik ман (“Man”)

Venetian mi ti Dio Welsh mi, fi ti Duw

Table 1: Predecessor Pronouns

4 Info from Wikipedia Tajik5 Die bündnerromanischen Idiome im Vergleich

In modern English a similar predecessor Ego-pronoun may be identified. Example:

Me, I am not going anywhere...

This example seems to be an obsolete pronoun as well, which allows us to generally assume these words to be predecessor pronouns.

Abbreviating multi-vowel WordsBy applying the Matres Lectionis we may interpret IHVH as a vowel combination IU. In the spelling of Hebrew and some other Semitic languages, the matres lectionis refer to the use of certain consonants to indicate a vowel.

The letters that do this in Hebrew are א aleph, ה he, ו waw (or vav) and י yod (or yud). The yod and waw in particular are more often vowels than they are consonants. However in other languages the H may be considered as a vowel (Eta) as well.

In the Cabala the Jewish religion practiced the abbreviation of the divine name, which ended in a single letter Yod (and may have been mutated to the divine name God). Similar abbreviations probably have been applied for the pronouns, which ultimately did lead to the one-vowel Ego-pronouns.

From these abbreviations a priority rank may be derived for the vowels. The most important vowel seems to have been the male symbol I, Y or J. A second priority is held by the female symbol U, which has been found in the divine name JU-piter. The third place has been assigned to the letter Eta (H). The fourth, fifth and sixth places are occupied by E, A and O, which are found in Jehovah.

Language Divine NameHebrew IEHOUAHHebrew IEhOUAh

Hebrew, English JehovahHebrew, English IHVH, IHUH, YHVH, YHUH

Hebrew IHV, IHU, YHV, YHURoman IV, IU, YV, YU (→ Jupiter)

Hebrew, English J, Y, I - the letter Yod (→ God)

Table 2: Successive abbreviation of the divine name

A second generation of pronouns may have been generated from these complete or abbreviated divine names.

The correlation between divine names and pronouns probably has been based on the creation legend in which a Creator God did create an androgynous man as his image. The image has been symbolized by applying similar words for God and the corresponding Ego-pronouns.

Especially two-letter combinations (IV, IU, YV, YU) may have been designed as bipolar symbols, whereas singular vowels J, Y, I - the letter Yod (→ God) represent a monolithic symbol for a monotheistic religion.

Three vowel PronounsThree-vowel pronouns have been found in remote, alpine areas, in which conservative structures managed to resist abbreviations and other deterioration of the pronouns. Some of the abbreviations from three vowels (ieu, jou) to two vowels (jo) will be illustrated in this list:

Language Ego-pronoun Tu-pronoun We-pronoun GodIEU-/IAU-/IOU-based

Latin / Greek Ejo (Ego) (Dieus ?)Sursilvaans jeu Dieu Sutsilvaans jou Dieu

(Diou-piter)Aromanian6 iou , ioVillar-St-Pancrace7 iòu më

m’ iòuDiòu

Lengadocian ieu , jo Tu D ieu Provencal-Occitan iéu Tu DiéuRomanschThe Jauer8 Dialect

jau, eau Ti Dieu

Walloon , Belgium dji; mi 9 vos Diu

Sardu Logudorese10 deo tue ( familiar) Deus (?), Zessu11

Sardu Campidanese dèu tui ( familiar) Deu

Table 3: Three vowel PronounsMost of these three-vowel pronouns have been designed to match a core in the corresponding divine name, e.g. the Provencal Ego-pronoun iéu has been included in the divine name Diéu12. Corresponding cores will be highlighted yellow. Green colors highlight the predecessor pronouns.

The inhabitants of the small village Villar-St-Pancrace in the West Alpes between Grenoble and Torino near Briançon are using a strange Ego-pronoun iòu më, respectively m’ iòu 13. Simultaneously they are using a Creator God's name Diòu14.

6 See for details T-V-Distinction in the PIE-Concept 7 Details: The Hieroglyphs in the Ego-Pronoun 8 Quelle: Das Jauer 9 For pronouns, the first one given is for the one doing the action (eg: dji magne = I eat), the second, for the one target

of the action (eg: avou mi = with me). 10 Details: The Hieroglyphs in the Ego-Pronoun 11 Translated as “My God”12 See for details and specification of the Swadesh-lists: Hieroglyphs in Indo-European Languages

13Patois of Villar-St-Pancrace : Personal pronouns: Cas sujet Cas régime atone tonique direct indirect Sg. 1°p a (l’) iòu më, m’ iòu 2°p tü, t’ të, t’ tü 3°p M u(l), al ei(l) së lu ei F eilo la eilo N o, ul, la - lu - Pl. 1°p nû* nû* 2°p òû* vû* vû* 3°p M î(z) së lû* iè F eilâ (eilaz) lâ* eilâ 14 See the dialect's lexicon : Lexique de mots en patois

Of course më from Villar-St-Pancrace as well as mi in Walloon (Belgium) dialect may refer to the predecessor pronouns, which have been preserved in remote and/or inaccessible alpine regions.

Comparing the Lengadocian Ego-pronoun ieu, jo to the Greek/Roman "Ego"-pronoun we should consider a transposition from Ejo (Ego) -> ieu , jo.Sardu logudorese, or Logudorese, is a standardised dialect of Sardinian, often considered the most conservative of all Romance languages. The name refers to the area of Logudoro (literally "golden place") in which it is spoken, mainly a northern subregion of the island of Sardinia. The language derives from Latin, and has been influenced by Catalan and Spanish due to the dominion of the Aragon and later the Spanish Empire over the island. As a remarkable result the Ego-pronoun dèu in the Campidanese dialect is identical to the divine name Deu! In the Logudorese dialect the Ego-pronoun deo suggests a similar divine name of Deus in addition to Zessu, which in fact is “My God”.

Some Slavic pronouns seem to be related to the jau, eau-pronouns and will be added in a separate table. Other Slavic languages use a two-vowel sound “ja”which has been compressed in a singular letter я (ja):

Language Ego-pronoun

Tu-pronoun We-pronoun God

JE/JA-basedDanish jeg du, De (formal) Gud Norwegian (bokmål) jeg du Swedish jag du Macedonian јас (jas) ти (ti) ние (nie) Бог Slovene jaz ti mi BogSerbian (Cyrillic / Latin) ја / ja ти / ti ми / mi BogPolish ja ty Bog Croatian ja ti mi Slovak ja ty BohCzech já ty Bůh

я (ja)-based pronounsUkrainian я (ja) ти Bog Russian я (ya) ты Бог

Table 4: Two-vowel je-/ja(s)-Pronouns, which may have been derived from the Latin / Greek pronoun Ejo (Ego)

Two vowel PronounsIn analogy to the two-vowel pronouns most of these two-vowel pronouns have been designed to match a core in the corresponding divine name, e.g. the Portuguese Ego-pronoun eu which has been included in the divine name Deus. These mechanisms suggest that the progressive abbreviations may have occurred in the pronouns and in the divine names simulataneously. The two-vowel pronouns are concentrating amongst the borders of the Mediterranean Sea.

Comparing the "Vallatese" Ego-pronoun eje to the Greek/Roman "Ego"-pronoun we should consider a original transposition from Ejo (Ego) -> eje and in Napulitano-version: je.

Language Ego-pronoun Tu-pronoun We-pronoun GodPortuguese eu D eu s Romanian eu tu noi Z eu ,

Dumnez eu Galician eu tu, tí D eu s Sicilian iu Tu nuàutri Diu

(Iu-piter)Interlingua io tu Gascon (Occitan) jo Neapolitan "Vallatese" - Irpinian Napulitano

io eje je

tu to tu

nuje nuje

Dió

Spanish yo tú, usted nosotros D io s Aragonese yo Catalan jo tu Deus, Déu Italian ió Tu DióVulgar Latin eo DeusSardinian eo Déu French je Tu nous DieuLadin (Gherdëina) ie

Table 5: Two vowel PronounsIn order to demonstrate the graphical correspondence of the two-vowel pronouns and the divine name in Arabian scripture the relevant words will be listed in a separate table:

Language Ego-pronoun Tu-pronoun We-pronoun GodArabian أنت أنا ا

Table 6: The pronouns and the divine name in Arabian scripture

One vowel Pronouns

The pronouns based on IIn Bavarian, English and Marchigiano the Ego-pronoun has developed to a one-vowel pronoun “i”. In Neapolitan (Western Southern Romance) some variants of doubled vowels “j” have been reported.

Language Ego-pronoun Tu-pronoun We-pronoun GodMarchigiano, a Central Italian dialect

I Tu nu

English IY15

Thou (singular)You (plural)

we God,Dis

Bavarian (Bairisch) i Du wir GottOld-German Ih Thu Thui, TuiscoAppulo - barese 16 j'j teu Abruzzese adriatico - pescarese

j'j tu

Molisano ìj tu

Table 7: The pronouns based on I

Basically the English pronoun end the Bavarian pronoun “i” may also be corresponding to the divine name Dis Pater, which had been documented by Julius Caesar in De Bello Gallico, Book VI- chapter1817.

This Ego-pronoun may easily be identified as equivalent to the Portuguese Ego-pronoun eu as a core embedded in the divine name Deus.

Dante Alighieri (1303-1321) Dante Alighieri in his De vulgari eloquentia suggests that the name El was the first sound emitted by Adam: While the first utterance of humans after birth is a cry of pain, Dante assumed that Adam could only have made an exclamation of joy, which at the same time was addressing his Creator.

This of course is a pure nonsensical statement as Adam never experienced birth and any pains related to the birth. Created as a full matured adult he may rather have uttered the Ego-pronoun “I” which for an image of God may have been equivalent to God's name.

In the Divina commedia, however, Dante contradicts his previous statement by saying that God was called I in the language of Adam, and only named El in later Hebrew, but before the confusion of tongues (Paradiso, 26.134)18.

These statements reveal a remarkable medieval correlation between the divine name and the Ego-pronoun. It may be compared to the Wycliffe Bible, which referred to a pronoun Y or I which in the language of Adam may have been known as the name of God. Of course it may as well have been the first sound emitted by Adam.

15 As defined in Wycliffe's Bible (1382 to 1395)16 In Omegawiki this Swadesh list for Neapolitan (Western Southern Romance) is a draft17 in het jaar 53 BC18 E - of the Word Ei Engraven Over the Gate of Apollos Temple at Delphi

In this case the Ego-pronoun I must have been considered as one of the prime words in the language of Adam.

Divina commedia - Paradiso, Canto XXVI19

This is Dante's text, in which he applies “I” and “El” in Italian text:

La lingua ch'io parlai fu tutta spenta 124 'The tongue I spoke was utterly extinct innanzi che a l'ovra inconsummabile 125 before the followers of Nimrod turned their mindsfosse la gente di Nembròt attenta: 126 to their unattainable ambition. ché nullo effetto mai razïonabile, 127 'For nothing ever produced by reason --per lo piacere uman che rinovella 128 since human tastes reflect the motionseguendo il cielo, sempre fu durabile. 129 of the moving stars -- can last forever. Opera naturale è ch'uom favella; 130 'It is the work of nature man should speakma così o così, natura lascia 131 but, if in this way or in that, nature leaves to you,poi fare a voi secondo che v'abbella. 132 allowing you to choose at your own pleasure. Pria ch'i' scendessi a l'infernale ambascia, 133 'Before I descended to anguish of Hell, I s'appellava in terra il sommo bene 134 I was the name on earth of the Sovereign Good, onde vien la letizia che mi fascia; 135 whose joyous rays envelop and surround me. e El si chiamò poi: e ciò convene, 136 'Later El became His name, and that is as it should be,ché l'uso d'i mortali è come fronda 137 for mortal custom is like a leaf upon a branch, in ramo, che sen va e altra vene. 138 which goes and then another comes.

The pronouns based on UAlbanian uses an Ego-pronoun unë, but according to Vladimir Orel Old Albanian unë basically consists of a one-vowel pronoun “u” followed by the particle -në.

A similar construct has been used in ti and the (dialectal) tinë20. Another proof for the one-vowel pronoun “u” may be found in Arberesh – language (Italy, especially Calabria ), which also uses a one-vowel Ego-pronoun “u”.

Language Ego-pronoun Tu-pronoun We-pronoun GodAlbanian unë ti, ju ne Zot21 and

Bukuri e qiellit 22

Old Albanian u 23

Arberesh (Italy, especially Calabria )

u ti na, ne Zot

Table 8: The pronouns based on U

19 Source : Divina commedia - Paradiso, Canto XXVI

20 From: unë - Wiktionary

21 Zot refers to Soter (translated: Saviour) – source: Is Zeus An Albanian God22 Albanian name for the Christian God. From: The Albanian Gods 23 From: unë - Wiktionary

The pronouns based on AIn Slavic language a two-vowel sound “ja”may be compressed in a singular letter я (ja):

Language Ego-pronoun Tu-pronoun We-pronoun GodA-based

Ticinese - Lombard a ta JA-based

Ukrainian я (ja) ти Bog Russian я (ya) ты Бог

Table 9: The pronouns based on ASome pronouns do not refer to the core but to the externsion of the divine name:

Language Ego-pronoun

Tu-pronoun We-pronoun God

Extension AS-basedLithuanian (Samogit) aš Diewas, DievasPrussian asLatvian (Lettish) es Deewes, Dieves

Deews, Dievs

Table 10: Extension-related AS-pronouns

The pronouns based on EPlutarch documented the word Ei or the vowel E engraven over the gate of Apollos temple at Delphi. Plutarch's description is not the only evidence of the E-inscription. Old coins (e.g. with Faustina Senior24), depict the “E” at the entrance in the center between 6 columns of Apollo's temple at Delphi.

Supposedly carved into the temple were three phrases and a singular vowel of gold, brass or wood:

• γνωθι σεαυτόν (gnōthi seautón = "know thyself") and • μηδέν άγαν (mēdén ágan = "nothing in excess"), and • Εγγύα πάρα δ'ατη (engýa pára d'atē = "make a pledge and mischief is nigh"25),• as well as a large letter E, named the ei of the Sages.

Plutarch is explained the E-concept as monotheism like this:

Thus ought those who worship to salute and invocate this Eternal Being, or else indeed, as some of the ancients have done, with this expression Εἶ ἕν, Thou art one. For the Divinity is not many, as every one of us is made of ten thousand differences in affections, being a confused heap, filled with all diversities. But that which is must be one, as one must have a being.

24 died A.D. 141 - the wife of Antoninus Pius.

25 "Pledge, and then you'll meet misfortune" as explained by Geoffrey Owen Miller. This third statement is the most complicated, but is the key to the whole. Essentially, once one asserts that they have achieved perfect self-knowledge and proportionality, then one has reduced the meaning of life to dogma.

Εἶ ἕν, Thou art one may be compared to I Am that I Am26 - a common English translation of the response God used in the Hebrew Bible when Moses asked for His name (Exodus 3:14).

For this reason E may be considered as an abbreviated pronoun (from: the Greek pronoun Ego?) and/or multi-vowel divine name (IEHOUAH).

Language Ego-pronoun Tu-pronoun We-pronoun GodGreek (Delphi) E Ei27

The pronouns based on O or HUp to now no O- or H-concepts have been identified.

ContentsIntroduction..........................................................................................................................................1

The Ego-pronouns............................................................................................................................1The biblical divine commands.........................................................................................................1Swadesh-lists...................................................................................................................................2The name of God with the seven vowels.........................................................................................2Eioudeon..........................................................................................................................................2E engraven over the gate of Apollos temple at Delphi....................................................................2Predecessor Pronouns......................................................................................................................3

Tajik, Persian, Hindi/Urdu, Kurdish, Sanskrit..........................................................................3Abbreviating multi-vowel Words.........................................................................................................4Three vowel Pronouns..........................................................................................................................5Two vowel Pronouns............................................................................................................................7One vowel Pronouns.............................................................................................................................8

The pronouns based on I..................................................................................................................8Dante Alighieri (1303-1321) ......................................................................................................8

Divina commedia - Paradiso, Canto XXVI............................................................................9The pronouns based on U................................................................................................................9The pronouns based on A...............................................................................................................10The pronouns based on E...............................................................................................................10The pronouns based on O or H......................................................................................................11

26 Source: I Am that I Am

27 E - of the Word Ei Engraven Over the Gate of Apollos Temple at Delphi