The Hieroglyphs in the Ego-Pronoun

Joannes Richter

Villar-St-Pancrace
Hidden in the Alpine valleys a treasure is waiting to be discovered, containing hieroglyphs stored in
the words of the Indo-European population. These words have been stored for 6000 years and have
been sleeping here in the quietness of the rural environment. The miraculous storage is to be
identified in the Ego-pronoun1 (I) and will be documented in this manuscript. A Google maps will
display the relevant locations at the European map “The Ego-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 2.
Simultaneously they are using a Creator God's name Diòu3. Please note the remarkable inclusion of
the Ego-pronoun iòu inside the Creator God's name Diòu. The local dialect of the 1500 villagers,
who name themselves Viarans or Vialan, however cannot be considered as an etymological island
and must be seen as a special varaint of the Occitan, French or just any other Indo-European
language.
A great number of words do contain a special iòu-core. The local river and torrent is named riou –
riu, which may refer to the importance of a water supplier in these Alpine environments. According
to the etymologist Morris Swadesh the pronoun of the first person singular however is to be
considered as the most important word in any language and the usage of a common iòu-core in this
pronoun and in the divine name Diòu indicates a special religious symbolism, which needs to be
analyzed. Considering the neighborhood to Italy I may consider to relate the pronoun „jou“ to the
Latin deity*IOU -piter or Jupiter.

The Occitan Language

Occitan usually applies the Ego-pronoun ieu, respectively iu along with the Creator God Dieu, Diu,
or Deu. In these cases we will as well note the remarkable inclusion of the Ego-pronoun ieu inside
the Creator God's name Dieu, respectively the inclusion of the Ego-pronoun iu inside the Creator
God's name Diu. One of the most marvelous applications of these words are to be found in Frédéric
Mistral 's Occitan epic Mirèio (1859).
Occitan is a Romance language spoken in Southern France, the Occitan Valleys of Italy, Monaco,
and in Val d'Aran in Catalonia, Spain, the regions sometimes known informally as Occitania. It is
also spoken in the linguistic enclave of Guardia Piemontese (Calabria, Italy). It is an official
language in Catalonia (known as Aranese in Val d'Aran). Modern Occitan is the closest relative of
Catalan. Since September 2010, the parliament of Catalonia has considered Aranese Occitan to be
the officially preferred language for use in the Val d'Aran. The languages, as spoken in early
medieval times, might be considered variant forms of the same language. The term Provencal is
often used to refer to Occitan.
The dialect at Villar-St-Pancrace merely seems to be a fine example of Occitan / Provencal dialect.

1 The Ego-Pronoun will be defined as the personal pronoun of the 1st person singular (In English: I)
2Patois 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
3 See the dialect's lexicon : Lexique de mots en patois
The French Language
Although the Ego-pronoun has been shortened by skipping a “u” the French language applies an
equivalent inclusion of the Ego-pronoun je inside the Creator God's name Dieu. In French-spoken
areas a simple law may be used to generate a divine name: The divine name is to be generated by
adding up “D” and the Ego-pronoun.

The Italian and Spanish Languages

In fact Italian and Spanish languages apply the same rules between the Ego-pronouns and the
according divine names, e.g. in Italian Dio = „D“ + „io“, respectively in Spanish: Dios = „D“ +
„yo“ + „s“, in which we will need a trailing character “s”. In Sicilian the Ego-pronoun „iu“ has been
included in the divine name „Diu“.

The Portuguese and Galician Languages

In Portuguese and Galician Languages the the Ego-pronoun „eu“ has been included in the divine
name „Deus“, in which we will need a trailing character “s” as well. The divine name is to be
generated by adding up “D”, the Ego-pronoun and eventually a trailer character “s”.

The Romansh language in Switzerland's Graubünden4

Romansh (also spelled Romansch, Rumants(c)h, or Romanche; Romansh:
rumantsch/rumauntsch/romontsch; German: Rätoromanisch; Italian: Romancio) is one of the four
national languages of Switzerland, along with German, Italian and French. It is one of the Rhaeto-
Romance languages, believed to have descended from the Vulgar Latin variety spoken by Roman
era occupiers of the region, and, as such, is closely related to French, Occitan and Lombard, as well
as other Romance languages to a lesser extent.
As of the 2000 Swiss Census, it is spoken by 35,095 residents of the canton of Graubünden
(Grisons) as the language of "best command", and 61,815 in the "best command" plus "most
spoken" categories. Spoken now by around 0.9% of Switzerland's 7.7 million inhabitants, it is
Switzerland's least-used national language in terms of number of speakers.
Romansh is an umbrella term covering a group of closely related dialects, spoken in southern
Switzerland and all belonging to the Rhaeto-Romance language family. The other members of this
language family are spoken in northern Italy. Ladin, to which Romansh is more closely related, is
spoken by some 22,550 in the Dolomite mountains of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, and Friulian is
spoken by between 550,000 and 595,000 people in northeastern Italy.
The five largest dialects in the Romansh family are:
• The Rhine Dialects
• Sursilvan — a group of dialects of the Romansh language spoken in the Surselva, on
the western bank of the Rhine. The region belongs to Vorderrhein (Rain anteriur),
including Lumnezia, Foppa, Cadi (Surselva) . The population uses the Ego-Pronoun
„jeu“ and a divine name „Deus“.
• Sutsilvan — spoken on the eastern bank of the Rhine. The region belongs to the
Hinterrhein (Rain posteriur), including Plaun, Tumliasco, Schons (Sutselva). The
population uses the Ego-Pronoun „jou“ and a divine name „Deus“. The Ego-Pronoun
„jou“ may also relate to the Latin deity*IOU -piter or Jupiter.
• Surmiran — spoken in Surmeira and in the Albula Valley in Switzerland, in the Julia
and Albula valleys, including Surses, Sutses (Surmeira) . The Ego-Pronoun is „ja“.
4 Info from Romansh
 • The Engadine or Ladin Dialects
• Puter — the upper Engadine valley (Engiadin' Ota). The population uses the Ego-
Pronoun „eau“ and a divine name „Dieu“.
• Vallader — the lower Engadine valley (Engiadina Bassa) and the Val Müstair. The
population uses the Ego-Pronoun „eu“ and a divine name „Deus“. In Jauer dialect
the population uses the Ego-Pronoun „jau“

Puter and Vallader are sometimes referred to as one specific variety known as ladin, as they have
retained this word to mean Romansh. However, ladin is primarily associated with the closely related
language in Italy's Dolomite mountains also known as Ladin.
Romansh is spoken in the Swiss canton of Grisons or Graubünden, "the Grey League", which
preserves the name of the self-defense organization of Romance speakers set up in the 15th century.
It became part of Switzerland in 1803. Germans once called this language Chur-Wälsch, "foreign
speech of Chur" (the English word "Welsh" had the same origin), for Chur was once the center of
Romansh. This is cited as one possible explanation of the origin of the modern term
"Kauderwelsch" meaning gibberish. However, most of Grisons, including Chur and even its cross-
river suburb of Welschdörfli ("little foreign-language-speaking village"), now speak German;
Romansh survives only in the upper valleys of the Rhine and the Inn. Romansh speakers nowadays
almost always are multilingual, being able to speak standard German and Italian as well as the local
Graubünden dialect of Swiss German.

The Jauer5 Dialect

Jauer is a dialect of Romansh that is spoken in the Val Müstair. Jauer is usually not written; the
written standard in Val Müstair is Rumantsch Grischun (Vallader until 2008). The name "ils jauers"
(The jau-saying people) has been derived from “using the Ego-pronoun jau”, which is a special
feature for the Munstertal and the village Zernez6 in lower Engadin. The other regions in the
Engadin-area are using the Ego-pronouns «eu» respectively «eau».

The Sardinian Dialects

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.
English God I You ( familiar)

Logudorese Deus (?) deo tue

Zessu7

Campidanese Deu dèu tui

Tabelle 1: Sardinian Dialects

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”.

5 Quelle: Das Jauer

6 In Zernez the dialect uses the Ego-pronoun «jo»
7 Translated as “My God”
The Friulan Language
Friulan or affectionately marilenghe in Friulan, friulano in Italian) (also Eastern Ladin), is a
Romance language belonging to the Rhaetian family, spoken in the Friuli region of northeastern
Italy. The Ego-pronoun is “jo”, the personal pronoun for the second person singular is “tu” and the
divine name is Diu, Idiu.

The Celtic-German and English Languages

In Celtic-German and English languages dialect the population uses the Ego-Pronoun „I“, which
does not fit to the modern divine name God. Instead the ancient divine name Dis-pater, which had
been identified by Julius Caesar in Commentarii de Bello Gallico (English: Commentaries on the
Gallic War).
Dis Pater, or Dispater (cf. Skt. Dyaus Pitar), was a Roman god of the underworld, later subsumed
by Pluto or Hades. Originally a chthonic god of riches, fertile agricultural land, and underground
mineral wealth, he was later commonly equated with the Roman deities Pluto and Orcus, becoming
an underworld deity.
Dis Pater was commonly shortened to simply Dis (much like how Dyaus Pitar was also simply
called Dyaus). This name has since become an alternate name for the underworld or a part of the
underworld, such as the Dis of The Divine Comedy.
The English Ego-pronoun „I“ is a variant of the Ego-pronoun in ancient German, respectively
southern German dialect. The original divine name in ancient Celtic German and English e..g. Dis-
Pater is to be generated by adding up “D”, the Ego-pronoun (“I”) and a trailer character “s”.

The Romanian and Greek Languages

Romanian language applies the Ego-pronoun „eu“ and in analogy to Greek Zeus a divine name
Zeu, respectively the variants Duninezeu, oder Dumnedelu. In Greek a relation between the
Ego-Pronoun εγώ (ego) and the Creator God θεός (theos) may be derived.

The Lithuanian and the Latvian (Lettish) Languages

In Lithuanian (Samogit) language the Ego-pronoun is aš, which is included in the divine name
Diewas, respectively Dievas. In Latvian (Lettish) language the Ego-pronoun is es, which in a
similar way has been included in the divine name Deewes respectively Dieves, which now have
been abbreviated to Deews respectively Dievs.

Tajik8, 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 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.

8 Info from Wikipedia Tajik

The creation legend and the Ego-pronoun
The symbolism in the Ego-pronoun may be found in the androgynous religion coded in the divine
IU-names, such as Dyaus, Djḗus Patḗr , IU-piter, IHVH, etc. The common usage of the characters I
and U indicate the idea of an androgynous being and the analogy to Plato's Symposium, in which a
god creates an androgynous being in order to split this singular Adam Cadmon in two individual
male and female human beings. The correlation between the Ego-pronouns and the corresponding
divine names suggests to accept the idea of creation the first androgynous being as an image of the
(equally androgynous) creator god9. In Indo-Iranian languages the Ego-pronoun describes “Man10”,
which in analogy to the European languages refers to the first created human being, Adam-Cadmon.

Buenas dias
The Spanish greetings Buenas dias may be considered as equivalent to the German greetings
“Gruss Gott” - “Greetings to God”.
But why do the Spanish people greet in plural?
Probably the divine Being had been defined as the day. The divine Being had been considered as
androgynous – and plural, just like Elohim IHVH is a plural concept.
That's why the Spanish people are greeting in plural.

Summary
Most European languages and dialects (French, Iberian, Italian, Celtic (southern German and
English) and Rumanian reveal a simple relation between the Ego-pronoun (I) and the divine name.
The divine name may be generated by adding up “D”, the Ego-pronoun and eventually a trailer
character “s”. The original divine name in ancient Celtic German and English e.g. is to be generated
by adding up “D”, the Ego-pronoun (“I”) and a trailer character “s”.
The inhabitants of the small village Villar-St-Pancrace in the West Alpes near Briançon are using a
strange Ego-pronoun iòu më, respectively m’ iòu 11. Simultaneously they are using a Creator God's
name Diòu aufweist12. The symbolism of the applied characters has been identified as androgynous
symbols and the corresponding creation legend for this religious symbolism may be found in Plato's
Symposium. From the correspondence between the Ego-pronoun and the divine name we must
consider the idea of a creation legend in which a Creator God creates an androgynous being (Adam
Cadmon) as an image of Himself.
In Indo-Iranian languages the Ego-pronoun describes “Man”, which in analogy to the European
languages refers to the first created human being, Adam-Cadmon. Originally probably all Indo-
European languages applied an Ego-pronoun, which referred to Adam Cadmon.

9 See: The Hermetic Codex - including a History of PIE-Religion and The Sky-God Dyaeus
10 In archaic German religion “Mannus” has been considered as the first human being (Tacitus, Germania)
11 Patois 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
12 See the dialect's lexicon : Lexique de mots en patois
Appendix: Swadesh lists for Language families and Branches

• Swadesh -Lists to derive the Ego-Pronouns (Status of evaluation 23.11.2010):

Afro-Asiatic – Algonquian – Altaic – Araucanian – Austro-Asiatic – Australian –
Austronesian – Baltic-Finnic – Celtic – Dené-Yeniseian – Dravidian – Finno-Ugric –
Germanic – Hokan – Iberian – Italian – Indo-Iranian – Indo-Iranian (extended) – Mayan –
Muskogean – Niger-Congo – Oto-Manguean – Mayan – Paleosiberian – Penutian –
Romance – Sino-Tibetan – Slavic – Siouan – Tai-Kadai – Tibeto-Burman – Tupi-Guarani –
Turkic – Uto-Aztecan

• Source for the derivation of the divine names: Lesarten des Wortes Gott in anderen Sprachen

Family Language God Ego-Pronoun 2nd Person (Du) 0

Indo- Hindi/Urdu म; (maĩ) 1
Iranian
languages
Finnish Jumahlto minä sinä 1
jumala
Indo- Kurdish mɪn 1
Iranian
languages
Indo- Persian ‫ ( ﻣَﻦ‬man ) 1
Iranian
languages
Romani , Europe Devel, Duvvel , Me (I), Mandi 1
Devlesa, Dev (I, me), Man (I,
me)
Indo- Tajik ман (“Man”) 1
Iranian
languages
Germanic English God I Thou (Singular) 2
(Celtic) Dis-Pater13
French Dieu je tu, vous (formal) 2
Iberian Galician Deus eu ti 2
Germanic German Gott ich du 2
Old-German Dis-Pater Ih Thu
Greek θεός (theos) εγώ 2
Italian Dio, Iddio Io tu 2
Germanic Kölsch Jott ish Do (unfamiliar), 2
Dis-pater De (respectful),
Ühr (formal)
Latgalian Diws Es 2

13 Documented in Gallic Wars, Julius Caesar

 Latvian (Lettish) Dievs, Deews es tu; jūs 2
Romance Lengadocian Occitan Dieu , Diu, Deu Ieu , iu tu 2
Lithuanian Diews (Diewas, aš 14 2
(Samogit) Dievas )
Romansh Münstertalisch (Jauer) Deis Jau 2
Romance Occitan Dieu ieu, jo tu 2
Romance Patois of Villar-St- Diòu iòu më, m’ iòu 15 tü, t’ të, t’ tü 2
Pancrace (Alpes)
Romance Portuguese Deus eu tu, você 2
Provencal Dieu ieu 2
Romance Romanian Zeu eu tu 2
Romansh Duninezeu, cp.
Dumnedelu
Romance Romansh Dieu jau 16 ti 2
Grischun
Sardinian Deus Eo Tue 2
Sardinian Deu dèu tui (familiar) 2
(Campidanese)
Sardinian (Logudorese Deus deo tue = you 2
) Zessu 17 (singular,
familiar)
Italian Sicilian Diu iu tu 2
Iberian Spanish Dios yo tú 2
Romansh Surmeirisch Deus ja 2
(Surmiran)
Romansh Surselvisch Deus jeu 2
(Sursilvan)
Romansh Sutselvisch Ggf. Jupiter bzw. jou 2
(Sutsilvan) *IOU-piter
Unter Engadin Deis Eu, jau (jo) 2
Romansh Unterengadin (Ort: Deus oder Dios (?) jo 2
Zernez )

Romansh Unterengadinisch Deus eu 2

(Vallader)
Romansh Upper Engadine Dieu eau 2
(Puter)

14 Source: Swadesh list for English, Lithuanian, Dingwa, Sambahsa, Prussian

15 Patois 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
16 „Jauer“ in Münstertaland in Zernez im Unterengadin (for «jo»)
17 Translated as “My God”
 Walloon , Belgium Diu dji; mi 18 vos 2
Germanic Afrikaans God ek jy (informal), u 3
(formal)
Albanian Zot 3
Iberian Aragonese yo tu 3
Armenisch Astwatz jes du 3
Iberian Asturian yo tu 3
Baltisch Dievas 3
Basque Jainkoak 3
Jaungoico-ac
Jin-couac
Batua (unified Jinko19 (?) ni hi, zu 3
Basque)
Béarnais Diu (diw) 3

Slavic Belarusian БОГ я ты 3

Slavic Bosnian ja ti 3
Celtic Breton Doue me te 3
Slavic Bulgarian Бог (Bog) аз ти 3
Iberian Catalan Déu jo tu 3
Celtic Cornish my ty 3
Corsican Dio 3
Slavic Croatian Bog ja ti 3
Slavic Czech Bůh já ty 3
Germanic Danish Gud jeg du, De (formal) 3
Germanic Deutsch Gott Ich Du 3
Dis-Pater
Germanic Dutch God ik jij, je (informal), 3
Dis-Pater u (formal), gij
(very formal)
Estonian Jummal, Jumal mina, ma sina, sa 3
Germanic Faroese Gud eg, jeg tú 3
(Suðuroy)
Germanic Frisian God ik do (dû), jo 3
Dis-Pater
Romance Friulan Diu, Idiu jo tu 3
Gaelic Dia 3
Gallisch Dispater 3

18 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).
19 OED finds an etymology from Basque Jainko ("God") through Gascon possible but not proven.
Romance Gascon Occitan jo tu 3
Germanisch Tiwaz Ih Thu 3
(ON Tyr,
OHG Ziu)
Gothic Lat. Deews 3
Hittite Sius Uga, ūk zīk 3
Germanic Icelandic guð ég þú 3
Romance Interlingua io tu 3
Celtic Irish Dia, dhia mé tú 3
Italian Irpinian "Vallatese" eje to 3
Ladin (Nones) 20 mi 3
Ladin ie 3
(Gherdëina)
Iberian Latin Deus ego tu 3
Germanic Limburgs ich doe (informal), 3
geer (formal)
Livonian Jumahlto 3
Germanic Low Saxon ik du 3
Luwian, Turkey Tiwat (a)mu tī 3
(God of the sun)
Germanic Luxembourgish ech du 3
Slavic Macedonian Dumnedelu, cp. јас ти 3
Dumnelau
Italian Maceratese io tu 3
Celtic Manx Jee mee oo 3
Italian Neapolitan Dio je tu 3
Neapolitan Irpinian eje to 3
Germanic Norwegian (bokmål) jeg du 3
Norwegian Lapp Ibmell, cp. Jupmel 3
Slavic Old Church Slavonic азъ тꙑ 3
Old French Deo 3
Celtic Old Irish mé tú 3
Picard, Belgium Diu mi, fi ti 3
PIE Djḗus Patḗr egō 3
Piedmontese Iddiou 3
Slavic Polish Bog ja ty 3
Celtic Proto-Celtic *moi *tū 3
Prussian as 3

20 Die bündnerromanischen Idiome im Vergleich

Slavic Russian Бог я (ya) ты 3
Sanskrit Dyaus/Dyaus Pita अहम (ahám) त म (tvám) 3

Celtic Scottish Gaelic Dia , God mi thu 3

Slavic Serbian Cyrillic Бог (bog) ја (ja) ти (ti ) 3
Slavic Slovak Boh ja ty 3
Slavic Slovene Bog jaz ti 3
Germanic Swedish Gud jag du 3
Italian Ticinese Lombard a ta 3
Turkish Tanrı, Allah 3
Slavic Ukrainian Bog я ти 3
Vaudois Diou 3
Italian Venetian Dio mi ti 3
Celtic Welsh Duw mi, fi ti 3