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relatively little influence of Spanish postulates, however.
A few exceptions are noted below. A section on optional
marking of plural in Aymara is included after a discussion

of the postulates.
8-2.1 Four-person system

The four-person system is manifested in personal
pronouns and possessive suffixes (5-2.3 and 5-3.24) and in
verbal inflectional suffixes (6-3). It is intimately bound
up with the distinction of human/nonhuman (8-2.2) and with
the expression of courtesy in Aymara. The fourth person
is often used in the context of eating or drinking. For
example, polite ways to tell someone that dinner is ready

would be

Mang'a.si.fiani. ‘Let's eat, you and I.' (La Paz)
eat 4+3
F/I
Almus.t'a.wa.tana. ‘Let's eat lunch.' (Calacoa)
junch 4+3
F/I

Similarly, if one wishes to ask for a drink of water one
must use the fourth person, including the addressee even

if he or she is being asked to provide the water.