T–V distinction
The T–V distinction exists in some languages, and serves to convey formality or familiarity. Its name comes from the Latin pronouns tu and vos. The distinction takes a number of forms, and indicates varying levels of politeness, familiarity, courtesy, age or even insult toward the addressee. The field that studies and describes this phenomenon is sociolinguistics.
Many languages lack this type of distinction, instead relying on other morphological or discourse features to convey formality. Modern English no longer has a T–V distinction, with the exception of a few dialects. One of these used the pronouns thou and you, with the familiar thou disappearing from Early Modern English. Additionally, British commoners historically spoke to nobility and royalty using the third person rather than the second person, a practice which has since fallen out of use. English speakers today often employ semantic analogues to convey the mentioned attitudes towards the addressee, such as whether to address someone by given name or surname, or whether to use sir or ma'am. Under a broader classification, T and V forms are examples of honorifics.
The T–V distinction is expressed in a variety of forms. Two particularly common means are:
- Addressing a single individual using the second-person plural forms in the language, instead of the singular (e.g. in French).
- Addressing individuals with another pronoun with its own verb conjugations (e.g. in Spanish).
History and usage
The terms T and V, based on the Latin pronouns tu and vos, were first used in a paper by the social psychologist Roger Brown and the Shakespearean scholar Albert Gilman.[1] This was a historical and contemporary survey of the uses of pronouns of address, seen as semantic markers of social relationships between individuals. The study considered mainly French, Italian, Spanish and German. The paper was highly influential[2] and, with few exceptions, the terms T and V have been used in subsequent studies.
Origin
In Latin, tu was originally the singular, and vos the plural, with no distinction for honorific or familiar. According to Brown and Gilman, usage of the plural to the Roman emperor began in the 4th century AD. They mention the possibility that this was because there were two emperors at that time (in Constantinople and Rome), but also mention that "plurality is a very old and ubiquitous metaphor for power". This usage was extended to other powerful figures, such as Pope Gregory I (590–604). However, Brown and Gilman note that it was only between the 12th and 14th centuries that the norms for the use of T- and V-forms crystallised. Less commonly, the use of the plural may be extended to other persons, such as the "royal we" (majestic plural) in English.
Brown and Gilman argued that the choice of form is governed by either relationships of "power" or "solidarity", depending on the culture of the speakers, showing that "power" had been the dominant predictor of form in Europe until the 20th century. Thus, it was quite normal for a powerful person to use a T-form but expect a V-form in return. However, in the 20th century the dynamic shifted in favour of solidarity, so that people would use T-forms with those they knew, and V-forms in service encounters, with reciprocal usage being the norm in both cases.
Early history: the power semantic
In the Early Middle Ages (the 5th century to the 10th century), the pronoun vos was used to address the most exalted figures, emperors and popes, who would use the pronoun tu to address a subject. This use was progressively extended to other states and societies, and down the social hierarchy as a mark of respect to individuals of higher rank, religious authority, greater wealth, or seniority within a family. The development was slow and erratic, but a consistent pattern of use is estimated to have been reached in different European societies by the period 1100 to 1500. Use of V spread to upper-class individuals of equal rank, but not to lower class individuals.[3] This may be represented in Brown and Gilman's notation:
Unequal power Equal power Emperor Father High-class friend Low-class friend T↓ ↑V T↓ ↑V ↓↑V T↓↑ Subject Son High-class friend Low-class friend
Modification: the solidarity semantic
Speakers developed greater flexibility of pronoun use by redefining relationships between individuals. Instead of defining the father–son relationship as one of power, it could be seen as a shared family relationship. Brown and Gilman term this the semantics of solidarity. Thus a speaker might have a choice of pronoun, depending on how they perceived the relationship with the person addressed. Thus a speaker with superior power might choose V to express fellow feeling with a subordinate. For example, a restaurant customer might use V to their favourite waiter. Similarly a subordinate with a friendly relationship of long standing might use T. For example, a child might use T to express affection for their parent.[4]
This may be represented as:
Superior has choice Subordinate has choice Customer Officer Employer Parent Master Elder sibling T↓V ↑V T↓V ↑V T↓V ↑V T↓ T↑V T↓ T↑V T↓ T↑V Waiter Soldier Employee Child Faithful servant Younger sibling
These choices were available not only to reflect permanent relationships, but to express momentary changes of attitude. This allowed playwrights such as Jean Racine, Molière, Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe and Shakespeare to express a character's inner changes of mood through outward changes of pronoun.[5][6]
For centuries, it was the more powerful individual who chose to address a subordinate either with T or with V, or to allow the subordinate to choose. For this reason, the pronouns were traditionally defined as the "pronoun of either condescension or intimacy" (T) and "the pronoun of reverence or formality" (V). Brown and Gilman argue that modern usage no longer supports these definitions.[7]
Modern history
Developments from the 19th century have seen the solidarity semantic applied more consistently. It has become less acceptable for a more powerful individual to exercise the choice of pronoun. Officers in most armies are not permitted to address a soldier as T. Most European parents cannot oblige their children to use V. The relationships illustrated above have changed in the direction of the following norms:[8]
Superior choice removed Subordinate choice removed Customer Officer Employer Parent Master Elder sibling ↑↓V ↑↓V ↑↓V T↑↓ T↑↓ T↑↓ Waiter Soldier Employee Child Faithful servant Younger sibling
The tendency to promote the solidarity semantic may lead to the abolition of any choice of address pronoun. During the French Revolution, attempts were made to abolish V. In 17th century England, the Society of Friends obliged its members to use only T to everyone, and some continue to use T (thee) to one another.[9] In most Modern English dialects, the choice of T no longer exists outside of poetry.
Changes in progress
It was reported in 2012 that use of the French vous and the Spanish usted are in decline in social media.[10] An explanation offered was that such online communications support the philosophy of social equality, regardless of usual formal distinctions. Similar tendencies were observed in German, Persian, Chinese, Italian and Estonian.[10][11]
History of use in individual languages
English
The Old English and Early Middle English second person pronouns thou and ye (with variants) were used for singular and plural reference respectively with no T–V distinction. The earliest entry in the Oxford English Dictionary for ye as a V pronoun in place of the singular thou exists in a Middle English text of 1225 composed in 1200.[12] The usage may have started among the Norman French nobility in imitation of French. It made noticeable advances during the second half of the 13th century. During the 16th century, the distinction between the subject form ye and the object form you was largely lost, leaving you as the usual V pronoun (and plural pronoun). After 1600, the use of ye in standard English was confined to literary and religious contexts or as a consciously archaic usage.[13]
David Crystal summarises Early Modern English usage thus:
V would normally be used
- by people of lower social status to those above them
- by the upper classes when talking to each other, even if they were closely related
- as a sign of a change (contrasting with thou) in the emotional temperature of an interaction
T would normally be used
- by people of higher social status to those below them
- by the lower classes when talking to each other
- in addressing God or Jesus
- in talking to ghosts, witches, and other supernatural beings
- in an imaginary address to someone who was absent
- as a sign of a change (contrasting with you) in the emotional temperature of an interaction[14]
The T–V distinction was still well preserved when Shakespeare began writing at the end of the 16th century. However, other playwrights of the time made less use of T–V contrasts than Shakespeare. The infrequent use of T in popular writing earlier in the century such as the Paston Letters suggest that the distinction was already disappearing from gentry speech. In the first half of the 17th century, thou disappeared from Standard English, although the T–V distinction was preserved in many regional dialects. When the Quakers began using thou again in the middle of the century, many people were still aware of the old T–V distinction and responded with derision and physical violence.
In the 19th century, one aspect of the T–V distinction was restored to some English dialects in the form of a pronoun that expressed friendly solidarity, written as y'all. Unlike earlier thou, it was used primarily for plural address, and in some dialects for singular address as well.[15] The pronoun was first observed in the southern states of the US among African-American speakers, although its precise origin is obscure. The pronoun spread rapidly to White speakers in those southern states, and (to a lesser extent) other regions of the US and beyond. This pronoun is not universally accepted, and may be regarded as either nonstandard or a regionalism.[16]
Yous(e) (pron. /juːz/, /jəz/) as a plural is found mainly in (Northern) England, Scotland, parts of Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, northern Nova Scotia and parts of Ontario in Canada and parts of the northeastern United States (especially areas where there was historically Irish or Italian immigration), including in Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and scattered throughout working class Italian-American communities in the American Rust Belt. It also occurs in Scouse (the regional dialect of the Liverpool area).
French
In Old French texts, the pronouns tu and vous are often used interchangeably to address an individual, sometimes in the same sentence. However, some emerging pattern of use has been detected by recent scholars.[17] Between characters equal in age or rank, vous was more common than tu as a singular address. However, tu was sometimes used to put a young man in his place, or to express temporary anger. There may also have been variation between Parisian use and that of other regions.
In the Middle French period, a relatively stable T–V distinction emerged. Vous was the V form used by upper-class speakers to address one another, while tu was the T form used among lower class speakers. Upper-class speakers could choose to use either T or V when addressing an inferior. Inferiors would normally use V to a superior. However, there was much variation; in 1596, Étienne Pasquier observed in his comprehensive survey Recherches de la France that the French sometimes used vous to inferiors as well as to superiors "selon la facilité de nos naturels" ("according to our natural tendencies"). In poetry, tu was often used to address kings or to speak to God.[18]
German
In German, du is only used as an informal pronoun. It is only addressed to persons that one knows well, like family members and friends. It is also most commonly used among peers as a sign of equality, especially among young people. In formal situations with strangers and acquaintances, Sie is used instead.
Scandinavian languages
In Swedish, du is nowadays used on both informal and formal occasions due to reform in the 1970s. This means one can address anyone including nobility and politicians with du. However, it is rarely used when addressing a member of the Swedish royal family. Du is also used in Danish and Norwegian. In Icelandic, the equivalent pronoun for the nominative second person singular is þú.
Hindi/Urdu
Both use the plural forms (āp and tum, plural of tū [singular you]), as deferential and unfamiliar pronoun and familiar but respectful pronoun when addressing a singular second person. Āp and tum utilize plural forms of verbs with them.
Use of names
The boundaries between formal and informal language differ from language to language, as well as within social groups of the speakers of a given language. In some circumstances, it is not unusual to call other people by first name and the respectful form, or last name and familiar form. For example, German teachers used to use the former construct with upper-secondary students, while Italian teachers typically use the latter (switching to a full V-form with university students). This can lead to constructions denoting an intermediate level of formality in T–V-distinct languages that sound awkward to English-speakers. In Italian, (Signor) Vincenzo Rossi can be addressed with the tu (familiar) form or the Lei (formal) one, but complete addresses range from Tu, Vincenzo (peer to peer or family) and Tu, Rossi (teacher or fellow student to high-school student, as stated above) to Lei, signor Vincenzo (live-in servant to master or master's son) and Lei, Rossi (senior staff member to junior) and Lei, signor Rossi (among peers).
Singular, plural and other ways of distinction
In many languages, the respectful singular pronoun derives from a plural form. Some Romance languages have familiar forms derived from the Latin singular tu and respectful forms derived from Latin plural vos, sometimes via a circuitous route. Sometimes, singular V-form derives from a third-person pronoun; in German and some Nordic languages, it is the third-person plural. Some languages have separate T and V forms for both singular and plural, others have the same form and others have a T–V distinction only in the singular.
Different languages distinguish pronoun uses in different ways. Even within languages, there are differences between groups (older people and people of higher status tending both to use and to expect more respectful language) and between various aspects of one language. For example, in Dutch, V form u is slowly falling into disuse in the plural and so one could sometimes address a group as T form jullie, which clearly expresses the plural when one would address each member individually as u, which has the disadvantage of being ambiguous. In Latin American Spanish, the opposite change has occurred—having lost the T form vosotros, Latin Americans address all groups as ustedes, even if the group is composed of friends whom they would call tú or vos (both T forms). In Standard Peninsular Spanish, however, vosotros (literally "you others") is still regularly used in informal conversation. In some cases, the V-form is likely to be capitalised when it is written.
Table
The following is a table of the nominative case of the singular and plural second person in many languages, including their respectful variants (if any):
| Language | second-person singular familiar | second-person singular respectful | second-person plural familiar | second-person plural respectful |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afrikaans | jy jou |
u[19] | julle | u[19] |
| Albanian | ti | ju | ju | ju |
| Amharic | አንተ (antä, m) አንቺ (anči, f) |
እስዎ (ɨsswo) or እርስዎ (ɨrswo) |
እናንተ (ɨnnantä) | እስዎ (ɨsswo) or እርስዎ (ɨrswo) |
| Arabic | أنتَ (anta, m) أنتِ (anti, f) |
antum others[20] |
antum (m) antunna (f) |
antum (m) antunna (f) others[21] |
| Aragonese | tu | vusté vos (Ansó dialect) |
vusatros vusaltros (regional) vusotros (regional) |
vustés vos (Ansó dialect) |
| Armenian | դու (du, east) դուն (tun, west) |
դուք (duk, east) դուք (tuk, west) |
դուք (duk, east) դուք (tuk, west) |
դուք (duk, east) դուք (tuk, west) |
| Assamese | তই (toi; informal) তুমি (tumi; familiar) |
আপুনি (apuni) | তহঁত (tohõt; informal) তোমালোক (tümalük; familiar) |
আপোনালোক (apünalük) |
| Azerbaijani (Azeri) | sən | siz | siz | siz sizlər[22] |
| Basque | hi (intimate) zu (standard) |
zu (standard) berori (very respectful) |
zuek | zuek |
| Belarusian | ты (ty) | Bы (Vy) | вы (vy) | вы (vy) |
| Bengali | তুই (tui; very informal) তুমি (tumi) |
আপনি (apni) | তোরা (tora; very informal) তোমরা (tomra) |
আপনারা (apnara) |
| Bodo | नों (nwng) | नोंथां (nwngtang) | नोंसोर (nwngswr) | नोंथांसोर (nwngtangswr) |
| Breton | te | c'hwi | c'hwi | c'hwi |
| Bulgarian | ти (ti) | Вие (Vie) | вие (vie) | вие (vie) |
| Catalan | tu | vostè (formal) vós (respectful) |
vosaltres | vostès (formal) vosaltres |
| Mandarin Chinese (Modern) | 你 (nǐ) | 您 (nín)[23] | s 你们 nǐmen t 你們 |
various[24] |
| Czech | ty | Vy | vy | Vy |
| Danish | du | De (increasingly uncommon, very rarely used) | I | De (increasingly uncommon) |
| Dutch | jij je |
u | jullie je[25] |
u |
| Early Modern English | thou (nom) thee (obj) |
ye[26] (nom) you (obj) |
ye[26] (nom) you (obj) |
ye[26] (nom) you (obj) |
| Modern English | you | you | you | you |
| Esperanto | ci (uncommon) | vi | vi | vi |
| Estonian | sina sa |
teie te |
teie te |
teie te |
| Faroese | tú | tygum[27] | tit | tit |
| Filipino | ka | kayo | kayo | sila |
| Finnish | sinä | Te[28] | te | Te |
| French | tu | vous il/elle (show deference) |
vous | vous ils/elles (show deference) |
| Frisian (west) | dû | jo[19] | jimme | jimme |
| Scottish Gaelic | thu / thusa (emphatic) | sibh / sibhse (emphatic) | sibh / sibhse (emphatic) | sibh / sibhse (emphatic) |
| Galician | ti (tu, eastern dialect) | vostede | vós (vosoutros, northeastern dialect) | vostedes |
| Georgian | შენ (shen) | თქვენ (tkven) | თქვენ (tkven) | თქვენ (tkven) |
| German | du | Sie[29] Ihr (arch or dial) Er/Sie/Es[30] (arch or dial) |
ihr | Sie[29] Ihr (arch or dial) |
| Modern Greek | εσύ (esí) | εσείς (esís) | εσείς (esís) | εσείς (esís) |
| Gujarati | તું (tu) | તમે (tame) | તમે લોકો (tame loko) | તમે લોકો (tame loko) |
| Hindi | तू (tū, very informal) तुम (tum) |
आप (āp) | तुम लोग (tum log) | आप लोग (āp log) |
| Hungarian | te | maga (rural and a bit old-fashioned) ön (formal and official) |
ti | maguk (rural and a bit old-fashioned) önök (formal and official) |
| Icelandic | þú | þér (very uncommon) | þið | þér (very uncommon) |
| Ido | tu | vu | vi | vi |
| Indonesian | kamu (more familiar) kau |
Anda | kalian | Anda Anda sekalian (less common) |
| Interlingua | tu | vos | vos | vos |
| Italian | tu | Lei Voi (arch or dial) |
voi | voi Loro (uncommon) |
| Japanese | various | various | various | various |
| Javanese | ꦏꦺꦴꦮꦺ (kowé) ꦲꦮꦏ꧀ꦩꦸ (awakmu) |
ꦥꦚ꧀ꦗꦼꦤꦼꦔꦤ꧀ (panjenengan) ꦱꦩ꧀ꦥꦺꦪꦤ꧀ (sampéyan) |
ꦏꦺꦴꦮꦺꦏꦧꦺꦃ (kowé kabèh) | ꦥꦚ꧀ꦗꦼꦤꦼꦔꦤ꧀ꦰꦼꦢꦤ꧀ꦠꦼꦤ꧀ (panjenengan sedanten) |
| Kannada | ನೀನು (niinnu) | ನೀವು (niivu) | ನೀವು (niivu) | ನೀವು (niivu) |
| Kazakh | сен (sen) | сіз (siz) | сендер (sender) | сіздер (sizder) |
| Korean | 너 (neo) | – (directly addressing a person); 당신 (dangsin)(addressing anonymous readers) |
너희 (neohui) | – (여러분 yeoreobun) |
| Ekoka !Kung | a | i!a | i!a | i!a |
| Kurmanji (N. Kurdish) |
تو (tu) | هون (hûn) هنگۆ (hingo) تو (tu) |
هون (hûn) هنگۆ (hingo) |
هون (hûn) هنگۆ (hingo) |
| Sorani (S. Kurdish) |
تۆ (to) | ێوه (êwe) تۆ (to) |
ێوه (êwe) | ێوه (êwe) |
| Kyrgyz | сен (sen) | сиз (siz) | силер (siler) | сиздер (sizder) |
| Ladino | tú | vos | vozótros | vozótros |
| Latvian | tu[31] | jūs[31] | jūs | jūs |
| Lithuanian | tu | jūs | jūs | jūs |
| Lombard | ti | vü lüü (m) lée (f) |
viòltar | viòltar vü lur |
| Malay | kamu (standard), awak (regional Malay; common spoken short form is engkau informal), hang (northern dialect, but understood and accepted across Peninsular Malaysia), kau (is impolite in all contexts except in very close relationships, e.g. friends [but not acquaintances]) | anda (polite/friendly formal; found in formal documents and in all formal contexts, e.g. advertisements. Anda is almost never encountered in spoken Malay; instead, most Malaysians would address a respected person by their title and/or name), kamu (unfriendly formal; also found in formal documents and in all formal contexts, where the intention is to convey a forceful tone in writing—often seen in lawsuits and summonses). | kamu semua (polite/friendly formal), kau orang (when pronounced as ko'rang [used in very close relationships, equivalent to "you all" in parts of the U.S.] is slang and more informal), hangpa (northern dialect), kalian (archaic) | anda, kalian (archaic) |
| Malayalam | nee | thaankal | ningal | ningal |
| Macedonian | ти (ti) | Вие (Vie) | вие (vie) | вие (vie) |
| Maltese | int, inti | int, inti | intom | intom |
| Marathi | तू tū | तुम्ही tumhī (formal), आपण āpaṇ (official) |
तुम्ही tumhī | तुम्ही tumhī (formal), आपण āpaṇ (official) |
| Mongolian | чи (chi, ᠴᠢ) | та (ta, ᠲᠠ) | та нар (ta nar, ᠲᠠ ᠨᠠᠷ) | та нар (ta nar, ᠲᠠ ᠨᠠᠷ) |
| Nepali | तँ, तिमी (tã, timi) | तपाईं (tapāī̃) | तिमी(-हरू) (timi[-harū]) | तपाईं(-हरू) (tapāī̃[-harū]) |
| Norwegian (Bokmål) | du/deg | De/Dem (archaic) | dere/dere | De/Dem (archaic) |
| Norwegian (Nynorsk) | De/Dykk (archaic) | de/dykk | De/Dykk (archaic) | |
| Odia | ତୁ tu ତୁମେ tumē |
ଆପଣ āpaṇa | ତୁମେମାନେ tumemane | ଆପଣମାନେ apōṇōmane |
| Persian | تو to | شما šomā | شما šomā | شما/شماها šomā/šomâ-hâ |
| Polish | ty | pani (to a woman) pan (to a man) (verbs following any of the above addresses are in the 3rd person singular form) In the early period of the communist rule, a practice of using the second-person plural form wy (lit. you) as a formal way of addressing a single person was introduced (a calque from Russian) but it did not catch on. |
wy | państwo (general) panie (to women) panowie (to men) (verbs following any of the above addresses are in the 3rd person plural form, although in many cases for państwo (general) the 2nd person plural form is also possible). |
| Portuguese in Portugal, Africa, and Asia-Pacific | tu (te; ti) | você; o senhor/a senhora, dona; vossa excelência (o / a; lhe; si; se; lo/la) (Vós / O Senhor / A Senhora when addressing a deity, Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary) |
vocês vós (dialects of northern Portugal) |
os senhores/as senhoras; vossas excelências |
| Portuguese in northern, southeastern and central-western Brazil. | você (and te, oblique form of tu, combined with você for a more familiar tone), sometimes tu | você (equalizing, less polite) o senhor/a senhora; seu (from sr)/dona; vossa excelência (oblique o / a; lhe; se; si, clitic lo/la) (Vós / O Senhor / A Senhora when addressing a deity, Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary) |
vocês | os senhores/as senhoras; vossas excelências |
| Portuguese in southern and northeastern Brazil, some sociolects of coastal São Paulo (mainly Greater Santos), colloquial carioca sociolect (mainly among the youths of Greater Rio de Janeiro) and in Uruguay. | tu (but almost always conjugated in the third-person singular like você), sometimes você | você (equalizing, less polite) o senhor, a senhora (to a superior, more polite) |
vocês | os senhores/as senhoras |
| Punjabi (Punjab) | ਤੂੰ / تو tū̃ |
ਤੁਸੀਂ / تسی tusī̃ |
ਤੁਸੀਂ / تسی tusī̃ |
ਤੁਸੀਂ / تسی tusī̃ |
| Quenya (Tolkien's High Elvish) | tyë | lyë | lë | lë |
| Romanian | tu | dumneata (less formal) dumneavoastră (most formal) |
voi | dumneavoastră / domniile voastre (archaic) |
| Russian | ты (ty) narrowly reserved intimates (or for insults) | вы (vy) the unmarked norm the capitalised spelling Вы is used in formal correspondence |
вы (vy) not capitalised |
вы (vy) not capitalised |
| Rusyn | ты (tŷ) | Bы (Vŷ) | вы (vŷ) | вы (vŷ) |
| Sanskrit | त्वम् (tvam) त्वा (tva, acc) and ते (te, dat and gen) also used in poetry/verse |
भवान् (bhavān, addressing a man, root भवत्) भवती (bhavatī, addressing a woman) |
युवाम् (dual, yuvām) यूयम् (plural, yūyam) (वाम् (vam, dual) and वः (vaḥ, plural) for accusative, dative and genitive also used in poetry) |
भवन्तौ (dual, bhavantau, addressing men) भवत्यौ (dual, bhavatyau, addressing women) भवन्तः (plural, bhavantaḥ, addressing men) भवत्यः (plural, bhavatyaḥ, addressing women) |
| Scots | thoo, mostly replaced by ye [ðuː], Southern [ðʌu], Shetland [duː] |
ye, you | ye, you | ye, you |
| Serbo-Croatian | ти / ti | Ви / Vi | ви / vi | ви / vi |
| Slovak | ty | Vy | vy | vy |
| Slovene | ti | vi Vi (protocolar) |
vidva (dual) vidve or vedve (dual – when addressing two women); vi (plural) ve (plural – when addressing only women) |
vi (dual and plural) |
| Sorbian (lower) | ty | Wy | wej (dual), wy (plural) | wy |
| Sorbian (upper) | ty | Wy | wój (dual), wy (plural) | wy |
| Somali | adi | adiga | idinka | idinka |
| Spanish | tú (most common)
vos (in parts of the Americas, mainly in the Southern Cone and Central America) usted (el otro usted: for informal, horizontal communication in Costa Rica and parts of Colombia) |
usted (most common)
tú (in Cuba) vos, usía and vuecencia/vuecelencia (literary use) |
ustedes (the Americas)
vosotros masc. and vosotras fem. (Spain, Equatorial Guinea, Phillippines)[32] |
ustedes
vosotros, vosotras (literary) |
| Swedish | du/dig | Ni/Er (rarely used since the Du-reformen) | ni/er | Ni/Er (rarely used) |
| Tagalog | ikáw ka (postpositive only) |
kayó | kayó | kayó |
| Tajik | ту (tu) | Шумо (Şumo) | шумо (şumo) | шумо (şumo) or шумоён (şumojon; the latter is used in spoken Tajik only) |
| Tamil | நீ (née) | நீங்கள் (neengal) | நீங்கள் (neengal) | நீங்கள் (neengal) |
| Telugu | నువ్వు (nuvvu) | మీరు (meeru) | మీరు (meeru) | మీరు (meeru) |
| Turkish | sen | siz | siz | siz, sizler |
| Ubykh | wæghʷa | sʸæghʷaalha | sʸæghʷaalha | sʸæghʷaalha |
| Ukrainian | ти (ty) | ви (vy) / Ви (Vy, addressing officials in letters etc.) | ви (vy) | ви (vy) |
| Urdu | تو (tū, very informal) تم (tum) |
آپ (āp) | تم لوگ (tum log) | آپ لوگ (āp log) |
| Uyghur | سەن sen | سىز siz or سىلى sili | سىلەر siler | سىزلەر sizler |
| Uzbek | sen | siz | senlar | sizlar |
| Welsh | ti or chdi | chi or chwi | chi or chwi | chi or chwi |
| Yiddish | דו (du) | איר (ir) | איר (ir) עץ (ets, regional) |
איר (ir) |
In specific languages
Related verbs, nouns and pronouns
Some languages have a verb to describe the fact of using either a T or a V form. Some also have a related noun or pronoun. The English words are used to refer only to English usage in the past, not to usage in other languages. The analogous distinction may be expressed as "to use first names" or "to be on familiar terms (with someone)".
| Language | T verb | V verb | T noun | V noun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assamese | তই-তইকৈ মাত (toi-toikoi mat) (very informal), তোমা-তুমিকৈ মাত (tüma-tumikoi mat) (familiar) | আপোনা-আপুনিকৈ মাত (apüna-apunikoi mat) | তই-তই কৰা (toi-toi kora) (very informal), তোমা-তুমি কৰা (tüma-tumi kora) (familiar) | আপোনা-আপুনি কৰা (apüna-apuni kora) |
| Basque | hika (aritu / hitz egin) (very close) | zuka (aritu / hitz egin) (neuter / formal) berorika (aritu / hitz egin) (very formal) |
||
| Bengali | তুইতোকারি করা (tuitokāri kôrā) (very informal) | আপনি-আজ্ঞে করা (āpni-āgge kôrā) | তুইতোকারি (very informal) | |
| Breton | teal / mont dre te / komz dre te | c'hwial / mont dre c'hwi / komz dre c'hwi | ||
| Bulgarian | (говоря / съм) на "ти" (govorya / sam) na "ti" | (говоря / съм) на "Вие" (govorya / sam) na "Vie" | на "ти" na "ti" (more like adverb) | на "Вие" na "Vie" (more like adverb) |
| Catalan | tutejar / tractar de tu / vós | tractar de vostè | tuteig, tutejament | |
| Chinese | 稱(呼)"你" (chēng(hū) nǐ) / 說"你" (shuō nǐ) | 稱(呼)"您" (chēng(hū) nín) / 說"您" (shuō nín) | ||
| Czech | tykat | vykat | tykání | vykání |
| Danish | at være dus | at være Des | ||
| Dutch | tutoyeren; jijen, jouen, jijjouwen (used very rarely) | vouvoyeren | tutoyeren | vouvoyeren |
| English | to thou (referring to historical usage) | to you (referring to historical usage) | thouing | youing |
| Esperanto | cidiri | vidiri | cidiro | vidiro |
| Estonian | sinatama | teietama | sinatamine | teietamine |
| Faroese | at túa, at siga tú | at siga tygum | ||
| Finnish | sinutella | teititellä | sinuttelu | teitittely |
| French | tutoyer | vouvoyer; very rarely vousoyer / voussoyer | tutoiement | vouvoiement; very rarely vousoiement / voussoiement |
| Frisian (West) | dookje | jookje | dookjen | jookjen |
| German | duzen | siezen | Duzen | Siezen |
| Swiss German | Duzis machen | Siezis machen | Duzis | Siezis |
| Greek | Μιλώ στον ενικό | Μιλώ στον πληθυντικό | Πληθυντικός ευγενείας | |
| Hungarian | tegez | magáz | tegezés | magázás |
| Icelandic | þúa | þéra | þúun | þérun |
| Interlingua | tutear | vosear | tuteamento | voseamento |
| Italian | dare del tu (intransitive) / tuteggiare (transitive, archaic) | dare del Lei / dare del Voi | ||
| Indonesian | mengamukan (transitive); berkamu (intransitive); menggunakan kamu | mengandakan (transitive); beranda (intransitive); menggunakan Anda | pengamuan; penggunaan kamu | pengandaan; penggunaan Anda |
| Korean | 말을 놓다 (mareul notta); 반말하다 (banmalhada) | 말을 높이다 (mareul nophida); 존댓말하다 (jondaemmalhada); | 반말 (banmal) | 높임말 (nopphim mal); 존댓말 (jondaemmal) |
| Lithuanian | tujinti | tujinimas | ||
| Norwegian | å være dus | å være dis | ||
| Occitan | tutejar | vosejar | tutejament | vosejament |
| Polish | mówić per ty tykać (humorous) |
mówić per pan / pani | mówienie per ty | mówienie per pan / pani |
| Portuguese | tratar por tu, você; chamar de tu, você | tratar por senhor / senhora / senhorita; chamar de senhor / senhora / senhorita | – | o senhor / a senhora |
| Romanian | a tutui | a domni | tutuire | plural de politeţe |
| Russian | обращаться на "ты" быть на "ты" тыкать (tykat') (colloquial) |
обращаться на "вы" быть на "вы" выкать (vykat') (colloquial) |
тыканье (tykan'ye) | выканье (vykan'ye) |
| Serbian | не персирати (ne persirati), бити на ти (biti na ti), тикати (tikati) |
персирати (persirati), бити на ви (biti na vi), викати (vikati) |
неперсирање (nepersiranje), тикање (tikanje) |
персирање (persiranje), викање (vikanje) |
| Slovak | tykať | vykať | tykanie | vykanie |
| Slovene | tikati | vikati | tikanje | vikanje |
| Upper Sorbian | ty prajić, tykać | wy rěkać / prajić, wykać | tykanje | wykanje |
| Lower Sorbian | ty groniś, tykaś (se) {lit.} | wy groniś, wykaś {lit.} | ty gronjenje, tykanje | wy gronjenje, wykanje |
| Spanish | tutear, vosear | ustedear; tratar de usted | tuteo, voseo | ustedeo |
| Swedish | dua | nia | duande | niande |
| Turkish | senli benli olmak / konuşmak | sizli bizli olmak / konuşmak | senli benli olmak / konuşmak | sizli bizli olma / konuşmak |
| Ukrainian | тикати (tykaty), звертатися на "ти" (zvertatysia na "ty") |
викати (vykaty), звертатися на "ви" (zvertatysia na "vy") |
тикання (tykannia), звертання на ти (zvertannia na ty) |
викання (vykannia), звертання на ви (zvertannia na vy) |
| Welsh | tydïo | galw chi ar X | tydïo | galw chi ar X |
| Yiddish | דוצן (dutsn) זײַן אױף דו (zayn af du) זײַן פּער דו (zayn per du) |
אירצן (irtsn) זײַן אױף איר (zayn af ir) |
דוצן (dutsn) אַריבערגיין אױף דו (aribergeyn af du) |
אירצן (irtsn) |
See also
- Honorific
- Honorifics (linguistics)
- Hypocorism
- Pluractionality, another plural device used for politeness
- Style (form of address)
Notes
- The Pronouns of Power and Solidarity published in T.A Seboek (ed) (1960). Republished in Giglioli (1972). The page numbers cited below are from Giglioli.
- Giglioli p. 217
- Brown & Gilman pp. 254–255
- Brown & Gilman pp. 257–258
- Brown & Gilman pp. 278–280
- Crystal, David & Ben (2002) pp. 450–451. Reproduced at David Crystal's Explore Shakespeare's Works site
- Brown & Gilman p. 258
- Brown & Gilman pp. 269–261
- Brown & Gilman pp. 266–268
- Lawn, Rebecca (7 September 2012). "Tu and Twitter: Is it the end for 'vous' in French?". BBC News Magazine. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
- Põhjala, Priit (12 April 2013). Kas teietada või sinatada?, Eesti Päevaleht.
- "ye, pron. and n.". Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
a1225 (▸c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 31 (MED): Hwo is þat us muȝen sceawin ða gode ðe ȝe us behoteð?
- "Interlude 12 : Choosing thou or you" David Crystal (2004) pp. 307–310
- Crystal (2004) p. 308
- Schneider, Edgar W. (2005). "The English dialect heritage of the southern United States". In Hickey, Raymond (ed.). Legacies of Colonial English. p. 284.
- "Interlude 17, Tracking a change: the case of y'all" Crystal (2004) pp. 449–452
- Summarised in Fagyal et al (2006) pp. 267–268
- Fagyal et al p. 268
- As with many instances in English, the pronoun is capitalized when talking to God, as in prayer.
- In some spoken varieties of Arabic such as Egyptian, terms such as حضرتك (ḥaḍretak) ("your grace") or سيادتك (siyadtak) ("your lordship") are used
- In some spoken varieties of Arabic such as Egyptian, terms such as ḥaḍretkum ("your graces") or siyadetkum ("your lordships") are used
- Technically a "double plural", sometimes employed for a small group of people.
- Only commonly employed in northern dialects like Pekingese, which is from 你们 nǐmen. Wang Li states that 您 is derived from the fusion of the syllables of 你们, making its origin analogous to v- pronouns in several European language families in being derived from the second person plural. In support of this hypothesis, the expression 您们 for the formal second person plural is traditionally regarded as wrong and remains rare in Mainland China (although it is more commonly used in Taiwan).
- Including 大家 (dàjiā) and 各位 (gèwèi). In the past, 您们 (nínmen) is considered incorrect, but is now used more frequently, especially in Taiwan.
- From obsolete jelui = jij + lui = "you people"
- As grammatical case largely disappeared during the transition from Late Middle English to Early Modern English, ye was often replaced with you from the 15th century on.
- Only common in official documents.
- Necessitates compound verb forms with participle in singular.
- Even as a 2nd-person pronoun, Sie employs 3rd-person (plural) verb conjugations.
- employs 3rd-person singular verb conjugations. Derisive.
- Capitalized in correspondence.
- Lipski, John. "The Spanish Language of Equatorial Guinea". Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies. 8: 120–123. JSTOR 20641705.
Works cited
- Balbo, Sophie (23 June 2005). "Dites-moi tu". L'Hebdo (in French).
- Blume, Mary (19 February 2000). "Mastering the Unmasterable: A French Puzzle". International Herald Tribune.
- Brown, Roger; Gilman, Albert (1960). "The pronouns of power and solidarity". In T. A. Sebeok (ed.). Style in Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. pp. 253–276.
- Crystal, David (2004). The Stories of English. Overlook Press.
- Crystal, David; Crystal, Ben (2002). Shakespeare's Words: A Glossary and Language Companion. Penguin Books.
- Fagyal, Zsuzsanna; Kibbee, Douglas; Jenkins, Frederic (28 September 2006). French: A Linguistic Introduction. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-45956-3.
- Giglioli, Per Paolo (1972). Language and Social Context: Selected Readings. Penguin Books.
- Helmbrecht, Johannes (2005). "Politeness distinctions in pronouns". In Martin Haspelmath; et al. (eds.). The World Atlas of Language Structures. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 186–190.
- Taavitsainen, Irma; Jucker, Andreas H. (2003). Diachronic Perspectives on Address Term Systems. John Benjamins. ISBN 1-58811-310-8.
- Kleinman, Scott (2009). "About Middle English Grammar" (PDF). Retrieved 16 June 2014.
- The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. New York: Oxford University Press. 1971.
External links
