👀 !!
“Okay, maybe we can leave the name for later. What about…” Ianto peered down at the next item on his list, “pronouns?”
I do not understand, thought the whale.
“Oh” said Ianto. “It’s, um. A thing that we have in our language. You refer to a… person, or being, according to pronouns. Usually they go with gender...”
Why?
Ianto frowned. “I don’t really know why” he admitted. “But um… do you mind me asking what gender you are?”
No, but I am not sure I can answer in a way you will understand, said the whale.
“Alright then, that’s fair” said Ianto, fiddling with his pen lid. “Do you want to be referred to as her, or him, or them, or… something else?” He felt the telepathically projected sense of confusion ripple through the air. “Um, for example, I’m Ianto Jones. That’s my name, but people say he or him for me.”
What’s the difference between he and him?
“They’re for different circumstances, in the language” said Ianto, struggling to think back to primary school grammar lessons, “if I was the subject of the sentence, you’d use he to refer to me. If I’m the object of the sentence, you’d use him.”
And this is true for all objects?
“No, mostly just… people, and sentient beings” said Ianto. “Otherwise you’d usually use it. Um. In English, at least. Which is what I’m speaking currently.”
Thank you for ascribing me sentience, in your English, thought the whale. The people in that place did not. He felt a ripple of hurt radiate out of it, seeping into his bones. He was beginning to get used to the telepathic ebb and flow of emotions, but it was still rather overwhelming.
“You’re… you’re welcome” he said, wiping an incipient tear off his face.
