The Sacred Vowels in Pronouns

Joannes Richter

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

Introduction
Vowels 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 languages 1. 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-pronouns
By 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 iu clearly reveals its divine image as a part of the divine name Diu. 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 iu (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 iu and Diu (in Provencal).

The biblical divine commands

As 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-lists
An 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 multivowel word such as Jehovah.

The name of God with the seven vowels

In 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 (Gods 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.

Eioudeon
From 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 Delphi

Although 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: (gnthi seautn = "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, Sanskrit

Tajik 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 (Man), which may correlate to the creation legend of (androgynous) man, Adam Cadmon. In Romanized Hindi/Urdu the Egopronoun is ma, in Romanized Kurdish mn and in Romanized Sanskrit aham. In western Europe similar pronouns (such as m, 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 Hindi/Urdu Breton Cornish English Estonian Finnish Irish Kurdish Ladin (Nones) 5 Luwian, Turkey Manx Old Irish Persian Picard, Belgium Proto-Celtic Romani , Europe Scottish Gaelic Tajik Venetian Welsh Ego-pronoun ; (ma) me my I, me mina, ma min m mn mi (a)mu mee m ( man ) mi, fi *moi Me (I), Mandi (I, me), Man (I, me) mi (Man) mi mi, fi ti ti Table 1: Predecessor Pronouns
4 Info from Wikipedia Tajik 5 Die bndnerromanischen Idiome im Vergleich

Tu-pronoun

We-pronoun

God

te ty sina, sa sin t

Doue

Jummal, Jumal Jumahlto jumala Dia, dhia

t oo t

Tiwat (God of the sun) Jee

ti *t

Diu Devel, Duvvel , Devlesa, Dev

thu

Dia , God

Dio Duw

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 Words

By 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 aleph, he, waw (or vav) and 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 Egopronouns. 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 Hebrew Hebrew Hebrew, English Hebrew, English Hebrew Roman Hebrew, English Divine Name IEHOUAH IEhOUAh Jehovah IHVH, IHUH, YHVH, YHUH IHV, IHU, YHV, YHU IV, IU, YV, YU ( Jupiter) 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 Pronouns

Three-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 IEU-/IAU-/IOU-based Latin / Greek Sursilvaans Sutsilvaans Aromanian6 Villar-St-Pancrace7 Lengadocian Provencal-Occitan Romansch The Jauer8 Dialect Walloon , Belgium Sardu Logudorese10 Sardu Campidanese Ejo (Ego) jeu jou iou , io iu m m iu ieu , jo iu jau, eau dji; mi 9 deo du Tu Tu Ti vos tue ( familiar) tui ( familiar) Table 3: Three vowel Pronouns Most of these three-vowel pronouns have been designed to match a core in the corresponding divine name, e.g. the Provencal Ego-pronoun iu has been included in the divine name Diu12. 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 Brianon are using a strange Ego-pronoun iu m, respectively m iu 13. Simultaneously they are using a Creator God's name Diu14. Diu Dieu Diu Dieu Diu Deus (?), Zessu11 Deu (Dieus ?) Dieu Dieu (Diou-piter) Ego-pronoun Tu-pronoun We-pronoun God

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 rgime atone tonique direct indirect
Sg. 1p a (l) iu m, m iu 2p t, t t, t t 3p M u(l), al ei(l) s lu ei F eilo la eilo N o, ul, la - lu - Pl. 1p n* n* 2p * v* v* 3p M (z) s l* i F eil (eilaz) l* eil 14 See the dialect's lexicon : Lexique de mots en patois

Of course m 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 du in the Campidanese dialect is identical to the divine name Deu! In the Logudorese dialect the Egopronoun 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 jawhich has been compressed in a singular letter (ja): Language JE/JA-based Danish Norwegian (bokml) Swedish Macedonian Slovene Serbian (Cyrillic / Latin) Polish Croatian Slovak Czech (ja)-based pronouns Ukrainian Russian (ja) (ya) Bog jeg jeg jag (jas) jaz / ja ja ja ja j du, De (formal) du du (ti) ti / ti ty ti ty ty mi Boh Bh (nie) mi / mi Bog Bog Bog Gud Egopronoun Tu-pronoun We-pronoun God

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

Two vowel Pronouns

In 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 Portuguese Romanian Galician Sicilian Interlingua Gascon (Occitan) Ego-pronoun eu eu eu iu io jo tu to tu t, usted tu Tu nuje nuje nosotros Di tu tu, t Tu tu nuutri noi Tu-pronoun We-pronoun Deus Zeu, Dumnezeu Deus Diu (Iu-piter) God

Neapolitan io "Vallatese" - Irpinian eje Napulitano je Spanish Aragonese Catalan Italian Vulgar Latin Sardinian French Ladin (Gherdina) yo yo jo i eo eo je ie

Dios Deus, Du Di Deus Du

Tu

nous

Dieu

Table 5: Two vowel Pronouns In 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 Arabian Ego-pronoun Tu-pronoun We-pronoun God

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

One vowel Pronouns

The pronouns based on I
In 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 Thou (singular) You (plural) Du Thu teu tu 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 VIchapter1817. This Ego-pronoun may easily be identified as equivalent to the Portuguese Ego-pronoun eu as a core embedded in the divine name Deus. Tu-pronoun nu we wir God, Dis Gott Thui, Tuisco We-pronoun God Marchigiano, a I Central Italian dialect English Bavarian (Bairisch) Old-German Appulo - barese 16 I Y15 i Ih j'j

Abruzzese adriatico - j'j pescarese Molisano j

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 Egopronoun. 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 draft 17 in het jaar 53 BC

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

The pronouns based on U

Albanian uses an Ego-pronoun un, but according to Vladimir Orel Old Albanian un basically consists of a one-vowel pronoun u followed by the particle -n. A similar construct has been used in ti and the (dialectal) tin 20. 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 Albanian Old Albanian Ego-pronoun un u 23 ti na, ne Zot Tu-pronoun ti, ju ne We-pronoun God Zot21 and Bukuri e qiellit 22

Arberesh (Italy, u especially Calabria )

Table 8: The pronouns based on U

19 Source : Divina commedia - Paradiso, Canto XXVI 20 From: un - Wiktionary 21 Zot refers to Soter (translated: Saviour) source: Is Zeus An Albanian God
22 Albanian name for the Christian God. From: The Albanian Gods 23 From: un - Wiktionary

The pronouns based on A

In Slavic language a two-vowel sound jamay be compressed in a singular letter (ja): Language A-based Ticinese - Lombard JA-based Ukrainian Russian (ja) (ya) Table 9: The pronouns based on A Some pronouns do not refer to the core but to the externsion of the divine name: Language Extension AS-based Lithuanian (Samogit) Prussian Latvian (Lettish) a as es Table 10: Extension-related AS-pronouns Deewes, Dieves Deews, Dievs Diewas, Dievas Egopronoun Tu-pronoun We-pronoun God Bog a ta Ego-pronoun Tu-pronoun We-pronoun God

The pronouns based on E

Plutarch 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: (gnthi seautn = "know thyself") and (mdn gan = "nothing in excess"), and ' (enga pra d'at = "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 , 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.

 , Thou art one may be compared to I Am that I Am 26 - 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 Greek (Delphi) Ego-pronoun E Tu-pronoun We-pronoun God Ei27

The pronouns based on O or H

Up to now no O- or H-concepts have been identified.

Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................................1 The Ego-pronouns............................................................................................................................1 The biblical divine commands.........................................................................................................1 Swadesh-lists...................................................................................................................................2 The name of God with the seven vowels.........................................................................................2 Eioudeon..........................................................................................................................................2 E engraven over the gate of Apollos temple at Delphi....................................................................2 Predecessor Pronouns......................................................................................................................3 Tajik, Persian, Hindi/Urdu, Kurdish, Sanskrit..........................................................................3 Abbreviating multi-vowel Words.........................................................................................................4 Three vowel Pronouns..........................................................................................................................5 Two vowel Pronouns............................................................................................................................7 One vowel Pronouns.............................................................................................................................8 The pronouns based on I..................................................................................................................8 Dante Alighieri (1303-1321) ......................................................................................................8 Divina commedia - Paradiso, Canto XXVI............................................................................9 The pronouns based on U................................................................................................................9 The pronouns based on A...............................................................................................................10 The pronouns based on E...............................................................................................................10 The 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