Feature GB415: Is there a politeness distinction in 2nd person forms?

Patrons: Hannah J. Haynie

Description ⇫

Summary

This feature asks whether there are different second person pronoun forms that are used based on the level of respect accorded by the speaker to the addressee. In some cases polite pronouns are used to indicate a level of formality or unfamiliarity between speaker and addressee. In other cases politeness distinctions are used according to very specific social relationships between speaker and addressee, such as relative age, social status, or kinship. If multiple second person pronoun forms exist in a single number category, and their use is patterned according to the level of intimacy or hierarchy of social relationship between speaker and addressee, this will suffice for a 1 code. The contrastive forms may or may not have other uses (e.g. in French the form tu is used only for second person singular informal, while vous is used for both second person singular polite and second person plural); a politeness distinction triggers a 1 for this feature regardless of whether the relevant forms have other functions/meanings.

Procedure

  1. If there exist, for any number category, multiple second person pronoun forms,
  2. And if the contrast between those pronoun forms is used to indicate respect or intimacy, or if the pronouns differ according to social relationships between the speaker and the addressee, code 1.
  3. If multiple second person pronoun forms exist for any number category but their usage does not reflect social relationships, intimacy or respect, then code 0.
  4. If there are not multiple second person pronoun forms for any number category, code 0.
  5. If there are multiple pronominal forms that are used for second person meanings that express a distinction in politeness, and these forms are also used to express other distinctions in the pronoun paradigm, this is sufficient to code 1.

Examples

Czech (ISO 639-3: ces, Glottolog: czec1258)

There are two series of second person pronouns in Czech. One (ty in nominative case) is used for informal address in only the singular, as when addressing someone you are on familiar terms with or a child. The other (vy in nominative case) is used for a more formal register in the singular, for example when addressing a stranger or someone more senior. vy is also used to express the second person plural, regardless of the level of formality (Naughton 2005: 74).

a. (Spoken by teacher to child)  
Ty       jsi         student  
2SG.NOM  be.2SG.PRS  student  
‘You are a student.’ (Naughton 2005: 74)

b. (Spoken by child to teacher)  
Vy       jste        učitel
2SG.NOM  be.2SG.PRS  teacher  
‘You are a teacher.’ (Naughton 2005: 74)

Although the pronominal forms used for formal second person singular are identical to the second person plural forms, and no formality contrast exists in the plural, the formality contrast in the second person singular pronouns is sufficient to trigger a 1.

Further reading

Brown, Penelope & Stephen C. Levinson. 1987. Politeness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Brown, Roger & Albert Gilman. 1960. The pronouns of power and solidarity. In Thomas A. Sebeok (ed.), Style in language. 253–276. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

References

Naughton, James. 2005. Czech: An essential grammar. London: London: Routledge.


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Name Glottocode Family Macroarea Contributor Value Source Comment