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 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 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 multi-
vowel 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 (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.

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: 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, 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. 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 God
Hindi/Urdu म; (maĩ)
Breton me te Doue
Cornish my ty
English I, me
Estonian mina, ma sina, sa Jummal, Jumal
Finnish minä sinä Jumahlto
jumala
Irish mé tú Dia, dhia
Kurdish mɪn
Ladin (Nones) 5 mi
Luwian, Turkey (a)mu tī Tiwat
(God of the sun)
Manx mee oo Jee
Old Irish mé tú
Persian ‫ ( ﻣَﻦ‬man )
Picard, Belgium mi, fi ti Diu
Proto-Celtic *moi *tū
Romani , Europe Me (I), Mandi (I, Devel, Duvvel , Devlesa,
me), Man (I, me) 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 Tajik

5 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 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 ‫ א‬aleph, ‫ ה‬he, ‫ ו‬waw (or vav) and ‫ י‬yod (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 Name

Hebrew IEHOUAH
Hebrew IEhOUAh
Hebrew, English Jehovah
Hebrew, English IHVH, IHUH, YHVH, YHUH
Hebrew IHV, IHU, YHV, YHU
Roman 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 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 Ego-pronoun Tu-pronoun We-pronoun God
IEU-/IAU-/IOU-based
Latin / Greek Ejo (Ego) (Dieus ?)
Sursilvaans jeu Dieu
Sutsilvaans jou Dieu
(Diou-piter)
Aromanian6 iou , io
Villar-St-Pancrace7 iòu më Diòu
m’ iòu
Lengadocian ieu , jo Tu Dieu
Provencal-Occitan iéu Tu Diéu
Romansch jau, eau Ti Dieu
The Jauer8 Dialect
Walloon , Belgium dji; mi 9 vos Diu

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

Sardu Campidanese dèu tui ( familiar) Deu
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 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- Tu-pronoun We-pronoun God
pronoun
JE/JA-based
Danish jeg du, De (formal) Gud
Norwegian (bokmål) jeg du
Swedish jag du
Macedonian јас (jas) ти (ti) ние (nie) Бог
Slovene jaz ti mi Bog
Serbian (Cyrillic / Latin) ја / ja ти / ti ми / mi Bog
Polish ja ty Bog
Croatian ja ti mi
Slovak ja ty Boh
Czech já ty Bůh
я (ja)-based pronouns
Ukrainian 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 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 Ego-pronoun Tu-pronoun We-pronoun God
Portuguese eu Deus
Romanian eu tu noi Zeu,
Dumnezeu
Galician eu tu, tí Deus
Sicilian iu Tu nuàutri Diu
(Iu-piter)
Interlingua io tu
Gascon (Occitan) jo
Neapolitan io tu nuje Dió
"Vallatese" - Irpinian eje to nuje
Napulitano je tu
Spanish yo tú, usted nosotros Dios
Aragonese yo
Catalan jo tu Deus, Déu
Italian ió Tu Dió
Vulgar Latin eo Deus
Sardinian eo Déu
French je Tu nous Dieu
Ladin (Gherdëina) ie

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 Ego-pronoun Tu-pronoun We-pronoun God

Arabian ‫أنا‬ ‫أنت‬ ‫ا‬

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-pronoun We-pronoun God
Marchigiano, a I Tu nu
Central Italian dialect
English I Thou (singular) we God,
Y15 You (plural) Dis
Bavarian (Bairisch) i Du wir Gott
Old-German Ih Thu Thui, Tuisco
Appulo - barese 16 j'j teu
Abruzzese adriatico - j'j tu
pescarese
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 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 Nembròt attenta:
ché nullo effetto mai razïonabile,
per lo piacere uman che rinovella
seguendo il cielo, sempre fu durabile.
Opera naturale è ch'uom favella;
ma così o così, 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 chiamò poi: e ciò convene,
be,
ché l'uso d'i mortali è 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 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) tinë 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 Ego-pronoun Tu-pronoun We-pronoun God

Albanian unë ti, ju ne Zot21 and
Bukuri e qiellit 22
Old Albanian u 23
Arberesh (Italy, u ti na, ne Zot
especially Calabria )
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 God
22 Albanian name for the Christian God. From: The Albanian Gods
23 From: unë - Wiktionary
The pronouns based on A
In Slavic language a two-vowel sound “ja”may be compressed in a singular letter я (ja):
Language Ego-pronoun Tu-pronoun We-pronoun God
A-based
Ticinese - Lombard a ta
JA-based
Ukrainian я (ja) ти Bog
Russian я (ya) ты Бог
Table 9: The pronouns based on A
Some pronouns do not refer to the core but to the externsion of the divine name:

Language Ego- Tu-pronoun We-pronoun God

pronoun
Extension AS-based
Lithuanian (Samogit) aš Diewas, Dievas
Prussian as
Latvian (Lettish) es Deewes, Dieves
Deews, Dievs
Table 10: Extension-related AS-pronouns

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:
• 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 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 Ego-pronoun Tu-pronoun We-pronoun God

Greek (Delphi) E 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