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Are there any examples of languages which avoid the use of objective me, possessive my, possessive pronoun mine, reflexive myself, etc., and somehow combine some concept/word in addition to using some abstract third-person-like word like "self" (or stating their name directly, i.e. using an abstract identifier)?

john go-PAST to store - I (john) went to the store
john favorite thing is running - My (john) favorite thing is running
self(noun) possess(verb) favorite thing is running - My (john) favorite thing is running
that is john possession - That is mine (john's possession)
that is self(noun) possession(noun)

Just making these up, but wondering if this sort of meaning can be constructed out of less, well, abstract concepts like "pronouns" and such, basically using only the concepts of nouns and verbs and adjectives (and maybe particles).

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    Do you mean less abstract 'than' pronouns?
    – Gaston Ümlaut
    Commented Jul 28, 2022 at 0:34
  • I think any is a singular adjective, as opposed to "some", so you should write "does any language".
    – Michael16
    Commented Jul 31, 2022 at 16:15

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Malay/Indonesian is like that, and I guess other neighboring Austronesian languages also have this feature. Malay can use and quite usually does use nouns designating a person as pronouns. It has no nominal cases, so there is no subject vs. object form distinction, and possession is expressed by mere juxtaposition of the possessor's designation right after the name of the item possessed. For example:

surat nenda (lit. “letter [of] grandparent”) “my letter”

is how a grandma will write in a letter to her grandchildren, the word for ‘I’ she will use will be nenda which is actually a noun meaning ‘grandparent’.

Also, have a look at a rather similar question and my answer there: Are there languages with no first person?

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    Yes, pronouns are an open category in Malay -- all pronouns. Any noun denoting persons can be used for first and second person, and often for third person human. And zero is the most common pronoun in all persons, so you hafta use context a lot to figure out conversation (which is much less formal than printed sources).
    – jlawler
    Commented Jul 28, 2022 at 2:06
  • It would be peculiar indeed, since Malay speakers are usually Muslim. In Malaysia, that's the definition of a Malay -- someone who accepts Islam and habitually speaks Bahasa.
    – jlawler
    Commented Jul 28, 2022 at 16:06

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