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    Reflexives formed with the suffix -sels self
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    The forms which are used as inherent reflexives may have the suffix -sels self attached to them. This creates reflexives which can turn any verb into a reflexive predicate. An example is given below:

    1
    Peer Gynt siket himsels yn dreamen en yn dieden
    Peer Gynt looks.for himself in dreams and in deeds
    Peer Gynt tries to find himself in dreams and in deeds
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    An example of the complete paradigm of sels reflexives is given below, alongside the paradigm of inherent reflexives:

    Table 1
    Gloss Inherent reflexive jin fersinne to be mistaken -selsreflexive jinsels sykje to try to find oneself
    1SG Ik fersin my Ik sykje mysels
    2SG Do fersinst dy Do sikest dysels
    3SG.MSC (NT) Hy fersint him Hy siket himsels
    3SG.F Hja fersint har Hja siket harsels
    3SG.NT It fersint him It siket himsels
    1PL Wy fersinne ús Wy sykje ússels
    2PL Jim fersinne jim Jim sykje jimsels
    3PL Hja fersinne har Hja sykje harsels
    2SG formal Jo fersinne jo / je Jo sykje josels / jesels
    3SG arbitrary Men fersint jin Men siket jinsels
    The antecedent of a reflexive must occupy a position that outranks the position of the reflexive in some sense. This notion of relative outranking is formalised within generative theory as c-command: an antecedent must c-command a reflexive. The following rules of thumb roughly describe which constituent outranks which constituent:
    • Subject > Indirect object > Direct object
    • Noun Phrase (NP) > Adposition Phrase (PP)
    • A human argument > another argument
    In addition, antecedents must occur relatively close to their reflexives. This notion of relative closeness has been formalised in generative theory as locality. A verbal projection such as a clause is often the local domain in which a reflexive must find its antecedent. The subject is highest in the clause. Hence the antecedent of a reflexive is usually, but not always, the subject. Some examples are given below. The first example involves a reflexive functioning as a direct object:

    2
    Dan moatte wy ús taal, ús kultuer, ús namme, ja ússels ôfskaffe
    then must we our language our culture our name yes ourselves abolish
    Then we must do away with our language, our culture, our name, yes, ourselves

    The example below involves a reflexive functioning as a prepositional object:

    3
    Soe men net razend wurde op jinsels?
    would one not red.hot become at oneself
    Wouldn't one become furious with oneself?

    The example below involves a reflexive functioning as a benefactive indirect object:

    4
    Wy koenen ússels ek wol ien tameitsje
    we could ourselves DcP DcP one prepare
    We could prepare one for ourselves as well, could not we?

    The reflexive jinsels behaves like a logophor, in the sense that it can take other pronouns as its antecedent, provided the antecedent occurs in a different clause. In the following example, jinsels oneself takes se she for its antecedent, though the antecedent is not in the same clause:

    5
    Letter … hie se har faak yntocht, hoe't it oars kind hie, in spultsje en wat foar jinsels
    later had she her often imagined how it differently could have a small.farm and what for oneself
    Later she had often imagined how things could have turned out differently, a small farm and something for oneself

    In the following example, there is no overt antecedent for jinsels. The understood antecedent is presumably the silent subject of the nominalised verb pielen hobbying:

    6
    Oh sa'n bulte aardichheid oan it pielen foar jinsels, mar net sa om der wat op oer to buorkjen
    o such.a heap pleasure at the hobbying for oneself but not so for it.R what on over to farm
    Taking so much pleasure in it as a hobby, but not for making a profit out of it
    References
      About this article
      Author(s): Eric Hoekstra
      Category: Frisian Syntax
      Keywords: paradigm-sels 'self'locality
      Version: 1.0, December 2015
      Version history:
      version editor(s) date remarks
      1.0 Eric Hoekstra December 2015
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