Summary: number in personal pronouns

[Bertinetto]

Relating to the recent message by:

>From: Henning Kloeter <h.kloeter at let.leidenuniv.nl>
>Subject: Re: summary

specifically where it says:

>M. Daniel notes parallels in Russian, mentioning that "when you speak to
>your wife, saying 'my son' or 'your.sg sun' sounds either funny or
>offending. When talking to another possessor of the same item you
>obligatorily have to mention the same possessive relation connects the
>addressee to the possessed item, so that possession becomes obligatorily
>first person plural."

Isn't it a general feature? This is certainly true in Italian.
If I said "my" (referring to something that is common property) while
talking to another owner of the same object, I would definitely sound
arrogant. This obviously extends to human beings, such as children. One
could say "my son" speaking to her/his mother (although this is not the
usual way to refer to him within the family), but certainly not while
speaking to her husband or his wife.
I always took it for granted that the same happens in any language. Was I
wrong?
Best

Pier Marco Bertinetto
Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa