This article possibly contains
original research. (February 2019) |
The T窶天 distinction is the contextual use of different pronouns that 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. English historically contained the distinction, using the pronouns thou and you, but the familiar thou largely disappeared from the era of Early Modern English onward, with the exception of a few dialects. Additionally, British commoners historically spoke to nobility and royalty using the third person rather than the second person, a practice that has fallen out of favour. 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 madam. Under a broader classification, T and V forms are examples of honorifics.
The T窶天 distinction is expressed in a variety of forms. Two particularly common means are:
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.
The status of the single second-person pronoun you in English is controversial among linguistic scholars. [3] For some, the English you keeps everybody at a distance, although not to the same extent as V pronouns in other languages. [4] For others, you is a default neutral pronoun that fulfils the functions of both T and V without being the equivalent of either, [5] so an N-V-T framework is needed, where N indicates neutrality. [6]
The examples and perspective in this section may not represent a
worldwide view of the subject. (November 2021) |
In classical Latin, tu was originally the singular, and vos the plural, with no distinction for honorific or familiar. According to Brown and Gilman, the Roman emperors began to be addressed as vos 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窶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 crystallized. Less commonly, the use of the plural may be extended to other grammatical 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.
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. [7] This may be represented in Brown and Gilman's notation:
Unequal power | Equal power | ||
---|---|---|---|
Emperor | Father | High-class friend | Low-class friend |
T竊 竊膳 | T竊 竊膳 | 竊凪膳 | T竊凪 |
Subject | Son | High-class friend | Low-class friend |
Speakers developed greater flexibility of pronoun use by redefining relationships between individuals. Instead of defining the father窶都on 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. [8]
This may be represented as:
Superior has choice | Subordinate has choice | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Customer | Officer | Employer | Parent | Elder sibling |
T竊天 竊膳 | T竊天 竊膳 | T竊天 竊膳 | T竊 T竊膳 | T竊 T竊膳 |
Waiter | Soldier | Employee | Child | Younger sibling |
These choices were available not only to reflect permanent relationships, but to express momentary changes of attitude. This allowed playwrights such as Racine, Moliティre, Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare to express a character's inner changes of mood through outward changes of pronoun. [9] [10]
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. [11]
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: [12]
Superior choice removed | Subordinate choice removed | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Customer | Officer | Employer | Parent | Elder sibling |
竊鯛天 | 竊鯛天 | 竊鯛天 | T竊鯛 | T竊鯛 |
Waiter | Soldier | Employee | Child | 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. [13] In most Modern English dialects, the use of T is archaic and no longer exists outside of poetry or dialect.
It was reported in 2012 that use of the French vous and the Spanish usted are in decline in social media. [14] An explanation offered was that such online communications favour the philosophy of social equality, regardless of usual formal distinctions. Similar tendencies were observed in German, Persian, Chinese, Italian and Estonian. [14] [15]
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窶天 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. [16] The usage may have started among the Norman French nobility in imitation of Old 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. [17]
David Crystal summarises Early Modern English usage thus:
V would normally be used
T would normally be used
The T窶天 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窶天 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窶天 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窶天 distinction and responded with derision and physical violence.[ citation needed]
In the 19th century, one aspect of the T窶天 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. [19] 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. [20]
Yous(e) (pron. /juヒz/, /jノz/) 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.
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. [21] 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窶天 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, テ液ienne 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 facilitテゥ de nos naturels" ("according to our natural tendencies"). In poetry, tu was often used to address kings or to speak to God. [22]
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. "Ihr" was also used in formal situations; this was once the abundant usage, but it has completely fallen out of use. In the plural form, "ihr" is used as the "T" pronoun and "Sie" is used as the "V" pronoun; "Ihr" and "Sie" are capitalized when they are used as the "V" pronoun.
A T窶天 distinction was once widespread in the North Germanic languages but its use began rapidly declining in the second half of the 20th century, [23] [24] coinciding with the 1960s youth rebellion. [24] The V variant has in practice completely disappeared from regular speech in Swedish[ citation needed], Norwegian and Icelandic. [23] In Faroese, however, it is still occasionally used.
The use of the V variant in Danish has declined dramatically, but as of 2023 not completely disappeared. [24] In Danish the T variant is "du" and the V variant is a capitalized "De". [24]
Swedish both had a V-variant of "you" and an even more formal manner of addressing people, which was to address them in the third person ("Could I ask Mr. Johnson to..."). [23]
Hindi- Urdu ( Hindustani) have three levels of formality distinction. The pronoun 爨、爭 リェル (tナォ) is the informal (intimate) pronoun, 爨、爭≒、ョ リェル (tum) is the familiar pronoun and 爨爨ェ リ「ルセ (ト}) is the formal pronoun. Tナォ is only used in certain contexts in Urdu, as in normal conversation, the use of tナォ is considered very rude. The pronoun 爨、爭 リェル (tナォ) is grammatically singular while the pronouns 爨、爭≒、ョ リェル (tum) and 爨爨ェ リ「ルセ (ト}) are grammatically plural. However, the plural pronouns are more commonly used as singular pronouns and to explicitly mark the plurality, words such as 爨イ爭金、 ルル移ッ (log) [people], 爨ク爨ャ リウリィ (sab) [all], 爨ヲ爭金、ィ爭金、 リッル異ル移コ (donテオ) [both], 爨、爭爨ィ爭金、 リェロ雇ル移コ (tトォnテオ) [all three] etc. are added after the plural pronouns. [25]
In the Western Hindi dialects, a fourth level of formality (semi-formal), which is intermediate between 爨爨ェ リ「ルセ (ト}) and 爨、爭≒、ョ リェル (tum), is created when the pronoun 爨爨ェ リ「ルセ (ト}) is used with the conjugations of 爨、爭≒、ョ リェル (tum). However, this form is strictly dialectal and is not used in standard versions of Urdu and Hindi.
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窶天-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 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 and to seniors).[ citation needed]
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, a 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窶天 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, the 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窶派aving lost the T form vosotros, Latin Americans address all groups as ustedes, even if the group is composed of friends whom they would call tテコ or vos (both T forms).[ citation needed] 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 capitalized when it is written.
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 [26] | julle | u [26] |
Albanian | ti | ju | ju | ju |
Amharic |
瘧瘧甫臆 (antテ、, m) 瘧瘧甫下 (anト絞, f) |
瘧・瘉オ瘠 (ノィsswo) or[ why?] 瘧・瘉ュ瘉オ瘠 (ノィrswo) |
瘧・瘧乍兜瘟ー (ノィnnantテ、) |
瘧・瘉オ瘠 (ノィsswo) or[ why?] 瘧・瘉ュ瘉オ瘠 (ノィrswo) |
Arabic |
リ」ルリェル (anta, m) リ」ルリェル (anti, f) |
antum[
citation needed] others [27] |
antum (m) antunna (f) |
antum (m) antunna (f) others [28] |
Aragonese | tu |
vustテゥ vos ( Ansテウ dialect) |
vusatros vusaltros (regional) vusotros (regional) |
vustテゥs vos (Ansテウ dialect) |
Armenian |
ユ、ユクヨ (du, east) ユ、ユクヨぷカ (tun, west) |
ユ、ユクヨへ (duk, east) ユ、ユクヨへ (tuk, west) |
ユ、ユクヨへ (duk, east) ユ、ユクヨへ (tuk, west) |
ユ、ユクヨへ (duk, east) ユ、ユクヨへ (tuk, west) |
Assamese |
爬、爬 (toi; informal) 爬、爰≒ヲョ爬ソ (tumi; familiar) |
爬爬ェ爰≒ヲィ爬ソ (apuni) |
爬、爬ケ爬≒ヲ、 (tohテオt; informal) 爬、爰金ヲョ爬セ爬イ爰金ヲ (tテシmalテシk; familiar) |
爬爬ェ爰金ヲィ爬セ爬イ爰金ヲ (apテシnalテシk) |
Azerbaijani (Azeri) | sノ冢 | siz | siz |
siz sizlノ决 [29] |
Basque |
hi (intimate) zu (standard) |
zu (standard) berori (very respectful) |
zuek | zuek |
Belarusian | ムび (ty) | Bム (Vy) | ミイム (vy) | ミイム (vy) |
Bengali |
爬、爰≒ヲ (tui; very informal) 爬、爰≒ヲョ爬ソ (tumi) |
爬爬ェ爬ィ爬ソ (apni) |
爬、爰金ヲー爬セ (tora; very informal) 爬、爰金ヲョ爬ー爬セ (tomra) |
爬爬ェ爬ィ爬セ爬ー爬セ (apnara) |
Bodo | 爨ィ爭金、 (nwng) | 爨ィ爭金、も、・爨セ爨 (nwngtang) | 爨ィ爭金、も、ク爭金、ー (nwngswr) | 爨ィ爭金、も、・爨セ爨も、ク爭金、ー (nwngtangswr) |
Breton | te | c'hwi | c'hwi | c'hwi |
Bulgarian | ムひク (ti) | ミ漬クミオ (Vie) | ミイミクミオ (vie) | ミイミクミオ (vie) |
Catalan | tu |
vostティ (formal) vテウs (respectful) |
vosaltres |
vostティs (formal) vosaltres |
Mandarin Chinese (Modern) | 菴 (nヌ) | 謔ィ (nテュn) [30] |
s
菴莉ャ nヌ仁en t 菴蛟 |
various [31] |
Czech | ty | Vy | vy | vy |
Danish | du | De ( increasingly uncommon, very rarely used) | I | De (increasingly uncommon) |
Dutch |
jij je |
u | jullie [32] | u |
Early Modern English |
thou (
nom) thee ( obj) |
ye
[33] (nom) you (obj) |
ye
[33] (nom) you (obj) |
ye
[33] (nom) you (obj) |
Modern English | you | you | you | you |
Esperanto | vi, ci (uncommon) | vi | vi | vi |
Estonian |
sina sa |
teie te |
teie te |
teie te |
Faroese | tテコ | tygum [34] | tit | tit |
Finnish | sinテ、 | te [35] (uncommon) | te | te |
French | tu |
vous il/ elle (show deference) |
vous |
vous ils/ elles (show deference) |
Frisian (west) | dテサ | jo [26] | jimme | jimme |
Scottish Gaelic | thu / thusa (emphatic) | sibh / sibhse (emphatic) | sibh / sibhse (emphatic) | sibh / sibhse (emphatic) |
Galician | ti ( tu, eastern dialect) | vostede | vテウs ( vosoutros, northeastern dialect) | vostedes |
Georgian | 痺ィ痺批 (shen) | 痺例Η痺甫ヴ痺 (tkven) | 痺例Η痺甫ヴ痺 (tkven) | 痺例Η痺甫ヴ痺 (tkven) |
German | du |
Sie
[36] Ihr ( arch or dial) Er/Sie/Es [37] (arch or dial) |
ihr |
Sie
[36] Ihr (arch or dial) |
Modern Greek | ホオマρ (esテュ) | ホオマπオホッマ (esテュs) | ホオマπオホッマ (esテュs) | ホオマπオホッマ (esテュs) |
Gujarati | 爼、爿≒ェ (tu) | 爼、爼ョ爿 (tame) | 爼、爼ョ爿 爼イ爿金ェ歩ォ (tame loko) | 爼、爼ョ爿 爼イ爿金ェ歩ォ (tame loko) |
Hindi |
爨、爭 (tナォ) (intimate)
爨、爭≒、ョ (tum) (familiar) |
爨爨ェ (ト}) | 爨、爭≒、ョ (tum) | 爨爨ェ (ト}) |
Hungarian | te |
maga (a bit old-fashioned, can be impolite) テカn (formal and official) |
ti |
maguk (a bit old-fashioned, can be impolite) テカnテカk (formal and official) |
Icelandic | テセテコ | テセテゥr ( very uncommon) | テセiテー | テセテゥr (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 | Loro (increasingly less common) |
Japanese | (proper nouns and/or common nouns) | (proper nouns and/or common nouns) | (proper nouns and/or common nouns) | (proper nouns and/or common nouns) |
Javanese | ヲ場ヲコヲエヲョヲコ (
kowテゥ) ヲイヲョヲ場ァヲゥヲク ( awakmu) |
ヲ・ヲ夛ァヲ隷ヲシヲ、ヲシヲ緋ヲ、ァ (
panjenengan) ヲアヲゥァヲ・ヲコヲェヲ、ァ ( sampテゥyan) |
ヲ場ヲコヲエヲョヲコヲ場ヲァヲコヲ ( kowテゥ kabティh) | ヲ・ヲ夛ァヲ隷ヲシヲ、ヲシヲ緋ヲ、ァヲーヲシヲ「ヲ、ァヲヲシヲ、ァ ( panjenengan sedanten) |
Kannada | 犂ィ犁犂ィ犁 (niinnu) | 犂ィ犁犂オ犁 (niivu) | 犂ィ犁犂オ犁 (niivu) | 犂ィ犁犂オ犁 (niivu) |
Kazakh | ムミオミス (sen) | ムム孟キ (siz) | ムミオミスミエミオム (sender) | ムム孟キミエミオム (sizder) |
Korean | ц (neo) | 窶 (directly addressing a person); 胸侠 (dangsin)(addressing anonymous readers) |
ц擣 (neohui) | 窶 ( 流洳カ yeoreobun) |
Ekoka !Kung | a | i!a | i!a | i!a |
Kurmanji (N. Kurdish) |
リェル (tu) | ルル異 (hテサn) ルルレッロ (hingo) リェル (tu) |
ルル異 (hテサn) ルルレッロ (hingo) |
ルル異 (hテサn) ルルレッロ (hingo) |
Sorani (S. Kurdish) |
リェロ (to) | ロ勺異 (テェwe) リェロ (to) |
ロ勺異 (テェwe) | ロ勺異 (テェwe) |
Kyrgyz | ムミオミス (sen) | ムミクミキ (siz) | ムミクミサミオム (siler) | ムミクミキミエミオム (sizder) |
Ladino | ラ俎 tテコ | ラ替ソラ勉。 vos | ラ替ソラ勉儲勉俎ィラ勉。 vozテウtros | ラ替ソラ勉儲勉俎ィラ勉。 vozテウtros |
Latvian | tu [38] | jナォs [38] | jナォs | jナォs |
Lithuanian | tu | jナォs | jナォs | jナォs |
Lombard | ti |
vテシ lテシテシ (m) lテゥe (f) |
viテイltar |
viテイltar vテシ lur |
Malay | kamu (standard), awak (regional; common spoken short form is engkau informal), hang (northern dialect, but understood and accepted across Peninsular Malaysia), kau (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 almost never occurs 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窶俳ften 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 | 犇ィ犒 | 犇、犇セ犇吭オ財エ歩オセ | 犇ィ犇ソ犇吭オ財エ吭オセ | 犇ィ犇ソ犇吭オ財エ吭オセ |
Macedonian | ムひク (ti) | ミ漬クミオ (Vie) | ミイミクミオ (vie) | ミイミクミオ (vie) |
Marathi | 爨、爭 tナォ |
爨、爭≒、ョ爭財、ケ爭 tumhトォ (formal), 爨爨ェ爨」 ト}a盪 (official) |
爨、爭≒、ョ爭財、ケ爭 tumhトォ | 爨、爭≒、ョ爭財、ケ爭 tumhトォ (formal), 爨爨ェ爨」 ト}a盪 (official) |
Mongolian | ムミク (chi, 癶エ癶「) | ムひー (ta, 癶イ癶) | ムひー ミスミーム (ta nar, 癶イ癶 癶ィ癶癶キ) | ムひー ミスミーム (ta nar, 癶イ癶 癶ィ癶癶キ) |
Nepali | 爨、爨, 爨、爨ソ爨ョ爭 (tテ」, timi) | 爨、爨ェ爨セ爨謂、 (tapトトォフ) | 爨、爨ソ爨ョ爭(-爨ケ爨ー爭) (timi[-harナォ]) | 爨、爨ェ爨セ爨謂、(-爨ケ爨ー爭) (tapトトォフゼ-harナォ]) |
Norwegian ( Bokmテ・l) | du/ deg | De/ Dem (archaic) | dere/dere | De/ Dem (archaic) |
Norwegian ( Nynorsk) | De/ Dykk (archaic) | de/ dykk | De/ Dykk (archaic) | |
Odia |
牀、牆 tu 牀、牆≒ャョ牆 tumト |
牀牀ェ牀」 ト}a盪a | 牀、牆≒ャョ牆牀ョ牀セ牀ィ牆 tumemane | 牀牀ェ牀」牀ョ牀セ牀ィ牆 apナ冴ケナ肯ane |
Persian | リェル to | リエルリァ ナ。omト | リエルリァ ナ。omト | リエルリァ/ リエルリァルリァ ナ。omト/ナ。omテ「-hテ「 |
Polish | ty |
pani (to a woman) pan (to a man) (verbs following any of the above addresses are in the 3rd person singular form) |
wy |
paナгtwo (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 paナгtwo (general) the 2nd person plural form is also possible). |
Portuguese in Portugal, Africa, and Asia-Pacific | tu |
vocテェ; o senhor/a senhora,
dona; vossa excelテェncia (o / a; lhe; si; se; lo/la) ( Vテウs / O Senhor / A Senhora when addressing a deity, Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary) |
vocテェs vテウs (dialects of northern Portugal) |
os senhores/as senhoras; vossas excelテェncias |
Brazilian Portuguese | vocテェ (and te, oblique form of tu, combined with vocテェ for a more familiar tone), tu | vocテェs | ||
Punjabi | 爲、爻もゥー窶 / リェル詔移コ tナォフ | 爲、爻≒ィク爻爲や / リェル証ウロ顧コ tusトォフ | 爲、爻≒ィク爻爲や / リェル証ウロ顧コ tusトォフ | 爲、爻≒ィク爻爲や / リェリウロ顧コ tusトォフ |
Quenya (Tolkien's High Elvish) | tyテォ | lyテォ | lテォ | lテォ |
Romanian | tu |
dumneavoastrト (formal)
dumneata (less formal, possibly confrontational) |
voi |
dumneavoastrト (formal)
domniile voastre (archaic) |
Russian | ムび (ty) narrowly reserved intimates (or for insults) |
ミイム (vy) the unmarked norm the capitalised spelling ミ柘 is used in formal correspondence |
ミイム (vy) not capitalised |
ミイム (vy) not capitalised |
Rusyn | ムび (tナキ) | Bム (Vナキ) | ミイム (vナキ) | ミイム (vナキ) |
Sanskrit |
爨、爭財、オ爨ョ爭 (tvam) 爨、爭財、オ爨セ (tva, acc) and 爨、爭 (te, dat and gen) also used in poetry/verse |
爨ュ爨オ爨セ爨ィ爭 (bhavト], addressing a man, root
爨ュ爨オ爨、爭) 爨ュ爨オ爨、爭 (bhavatトォ, addressing a woman) |
爨ッ爭≒、オ爨セ爨ョ爭 (dual, yuvト[) 爨ッ爭も、ッ爨ョ爭 (plural, yナォyam) (爨オ爨セ爨ョ爭 (vam, dual) and 爨オ爨 (va盧・, plural) for accusative, dative and genitive also used in poetry) |
爨ュ爨オ爨ィ爭財、、爭 (dual, bhavantau, addressing men) 爨ュ爨オ爨、爭財、ッ爭 (dual, bhavatyau, addressing women) 爨ュ爨オ爨ィ爭財、、爨 (plural, bhavanta盧・, addressing men) 爨ュ爨オ爨、爭財、ッ爨 (plural, bhavatya盧・, addressing women) |
Scots | thoo, mostly replaced by ye [テーuヒ疹, Southern [テーハ蛍], Shetland [duヒ疹 |
ye, you | ye, you | ye, you |
Serbo-Croatian | ムひク / ti | ミ漬ク / Vi | ミイミク / vi | ミイミク / vi |
Slovak | ty | Vy | vy | vy |
Slovene | ti |
vi Vi (protocolar) |
vidva (
dual) vidve or vedve (dual 窶 when addressing two women); vi (plural) ve (plural 窶 when addressing only women) |
vi (dual and plural) |
Sorbian (lower) | ty | Wy | wej (dual), wy (plural) | wy |
Sorbian (upper) | ty | Wy | wテウj (dual), wy (plural) | wy |
Somali | adi | adiga | idinka | idinka |
Spanish |
tテコ (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)
tテコ (in Cuba and Puerto Rico) vos, usテュa and vuecencia/ vuecelencia (literary use) |
ustedes (the Americas)
vosotros masc. and vosotras fem. ( Peninsular Spain, Equatorial Guinea, Philippines) [39] |
ustedes
vosotros, vosotras (literary) |
Swedish | du/ dig | Ni/ Er (rarely used since the Du-reformen) | ni/ er | Ni/Er (rarely used) |
Tagalog |
ikテ。w ka (postpositive only) |
kayテウ | kayテウ | kayテウ |
Tajik | ムび (tu) | ミィムσシミセ (ナ柆mo) | ム尉σシミセ (ナ殷mo) | ム尉σシミセ (ナ殷mo) or ム尉σシミセム岱ス (ナ殷mojon; the latter is used in spoken Tajik only) |
Tamil | 牋ィ牘 (nテゥe) | 牋ィ牘牋吭ッ財ョ歩ョウ牘 (neengal) | 牋ィ牘牋吭ッ財ョ歩ョウ牘 (neengal) | 牋ィ牘牋吭ッ財ョ歩ョウ牘 (neengal) |
Telugu | 牴ィ牾≒ーオ牾財ーオ牾 (nuvvu) | 牴ョ牾牴ー牾 (meeru) | 牴ョ牾牴ー牾 (meeru) | 牴ョ牾牴ー牾 (meeru) |
Turkish | sen | siz, sizler | siz | siz, sizler |
Ubykh | wテヲghハキa | sハクテヲghハキaalha | sハクテヲghハキaalha | sハクテヲghハキaalha |
Ukrainian | ムひク (ty) | ミイミク (vy) / ミ漬ク (Vy, addressing officials in letters etc.) | ミイミク (vy) | ミイミク (vy) |
Urdu |
リェル (tナォ, frozen or intimate or vulgar)
リェル (tum, casual) リ「ルセ (ト}, consultative, dialectal) |
リ「ルセ (ト}) |
リェル (tum, intimate or rude)
リ「ルセ (ト}, casual) |
リ「ルセ (ト}) |
Uyghur | リウロ弁 sen | リウル華イ siz or リウル菓ル sili | リウル菓ロ娩ア siler | リウル華イルロ娩ア sizler |
Uzbek | sen | siz | senlar | sizlar |
Welsh (literary) | ti, di | chwi (preferred) or chi | chwi (preferred) or chi | chwi (preferred) or chi |
Welsh (colloquial) | ti, di or chdi (regional variant, not possible when the subject) | chi | chi | chi |
Yiddish | ラ沌 (du) | ラ碩燮ィ (ir) | ラ碩燮ィ (ir) ラ「ラ・ (ets, regional) |
ラ碩燮ィ (ir) |
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 | 爬、爬-爬、爬爬歩ァ 爬ョ爬セ爬、 (toi-toikoi mat) (very informal), 爬、爰金ヲョ爬セ-爬、爰≒ヲョ爬ソ爬歩ァ 爬ョ爬セ爬、 (tテシma-tumikoi mat) (familiar) | 爬爬ェ爰金ヲィ爬セ-爬爬ェ爰≒ヲィ爬ソ爬歩ァ 爬ョ爬セ爬、 (apテシna-apunikoi mat) | 爬、爬-爬、爬 爬歩ァー爬セ (toi-toi kora) (very informal), 爬、爰金ヲョ爬セ-爬、爰≒ヲョ爬ソ 爬歩ァー爬セ (tテシma-tumi kora) (familiar) | 爬爬ェ爰金ヲィ爬セ-爬爬ェ爰≒ヲィ爬ソ 爬歩ァー爬セ (apテシna-apuni kora) |
Basque | hika aritu / hika hitz egin (very close) | zuka aritu / zuka hitz egin (neuter / formal) berorika (aritu / hitz egin) (very formal) |
||
Bengali | 爬、爰≒ヲ爬、爰金ヲ歩ヲセ爬ー爬ソ 爬歩ヲー爬セ (tuitokト〉i kテエrト) (very informal) | 爬爬ェ爬ィ爬ソ-爬爬憫ァ財ヲ樅ァ 爬歩ヲー爬セ (ト}ni-ト“ge kテエrト) | 爬、爰≒ヲ爬、爰金ヲ歩ヲセ爬ー爬ソ (very informal) | |
Breton | teal / mont dre te / komz dre te | c'hwial / mont dre c'hwi / komz dre c'hwi | ||
Bulgarian | (ミウミセミイミセムム / ムム諌シ) ミスミー "ムひク" (govorya / sam) na "ti" | (ミウミセミイミセムム / ムム諌シ) ミスミー "ミ漬クミオ" (govorya / sam) na "Vie" | ミスミー "ムひク" na "ti" (more like adverb) | ミスミー "ミ漬クミオ" na "Vie" (more like adverb) |
Catalan | tutejar / tractar de tu / vテウs | tractar de vostティ | tuteig, tutejament | |
Chinese | 遞ア(蜻シ)"菴" (chト渡g(hナォ) nヌ) / 隱ェ"菴" (shuナ nヌ) | 遞ア(蜻シ)"謔ィ" (chト渡g(hナォ) nテュn) / 隱ェ"謔ィ" (shuナ nテュn) | ||
Czech | tykat | vykat | tykテ。nテュ | vykテ。nテュ |
Danish | at vテヲre dus | at vテヲre Des | ||
Dutch | tutoyeren; jijen, jouen, jijjouwen (used very rarely) | vousvoyeren | tutoyeren | vousvoyeren |
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 tテコa, at siga tテコ | at siga tygum | ||
Finnish | sinutella | teititellテ、 | sinuttelu | teitittely |
French | tutoyer | vouvoyer; very rarely vousoyer / voussoyer | tutoiement | vouvoiement; very rarely vousoiement / voussoiement |
Frisian (West) | dookje | jookje | dookjen | jookjen |
Galician | tratar de ti | tratar de vostede | - | |
German | duzen | siezen | Duzen | Siezen |
Swiss German | Duzis machen | Siezis machen | Duzis | Siezis |
Greek | ホ慚ケホサマ マρホソホス ホオホスホケホコマ | ホ慚ケホサマ マρホソホス マホサホキホクマホスマホケホコマ | ホホサホキホクマホスマホケホコマ狐 ホオマホウホオホスホオホッホアマ | |
Hindi | 爨、爭も、、爨。爨シ爨セ爨 爨歩、ー爨ィ爨セ (tナォtaノスト〔 karnト) | |||
Hungarian | tegez | magテ。z | tegezテゥs | magテ。zテ。s |
Icelandic | テセテコa | テセテゥra | テセテコun | テセテゥrun |
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 | ァ川揆 畷共 (mareul notta); ー俯ァ戦葺共 (banmalhada) | ァ川揆 廷擽共 (mareul nophida); 。エ兼ァ戦葺共 (jondaemmalhada); | ー俯ァ (banmal) | 廷桷ァ (nopphim mal); 。エ兼ァ (jondaemmal) |
Lithuanian | tujinti | tujinimas | ||
Norwegian | テ・ vテヲre dus | テ・ vテヲre dis | ||
Occitan | tutejar | vosejar | tutejament | vosejament |
Polish | mテウwiト per ty tykaト (humorous) |
mテウwiト per pan / pani | mテウwienie per ty | mテウwienie per pan / pani |
Portuguese | tratar por tu, vocテェ; chamar de tu, vocテェ | tratar por senhor / senhora / senhorita; chamar de senhor / senhora / senhorita | 窶 | o senhor / a senhora |
Romanian | a tutui | a domni | tutuire | plural de politeナ」e |
Russian | ミセミアムミーム禍ームび袴ム ミスミー "ムび" ミアム錦び ミスミー "ムび" ムび巾コミームび (tykat') (colloquial) |
ミセミアムミーム禍ームび袴ム ミスミー "ミイム" ミアム錦び ミスミー "ミイム" ミイム巾コミームび (vykat') (colloquial) |
ムび巾コミーミスム糊オ (tykan'ye) | ミイム巾コミーミスム糊オ (vykan'ye) |
Serbian | ミスミオ ミソミオムムミクムミームひク (ne persirati), ミアミクムひク ミスミー ムひク (biti na ti), ムひクミコミームひク (tikati) |
ミソミオムムミクムミームひク (persirati), ミアミクムひク ミスミー ミイミク (biti na vi), ミイミクミコミームひク (vikati) |
ミスミオミソミオムムミクムミーム墟オ (nepersiranje), ムひクミコミーム墟オ (tikanje) |
ミソミオムムミクムミーム墟オ (persiranje), ミイミクミコミーム墟オ (vikanje) |
Slovak | tykaナ・ | vykaナ・ | tykanie | vykanie |
Slovene | tikati | vikati | tikanje | vikanje |
Upper Sorbian | ty prajiト, tykaト | wy rト嫐aト / prajiト, wykaト | tykanje | wykanje |
Lower Sorbian | ty groniナ, tykaナ (se) {lit.} | wy groniナ, wykaナ {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 / konuナ殞ak, sen diye テァaト淨アrmak | sizli bizli olmak / konuナ殞ak, siz diye テァaト淨アrmak | senli benli | sizli bizli |
Ukrainian | ムひクミコミームひク (tykaty), ミキミイミオムムひームひクムム ミスミー "ムひク" (zvertatysia na "ty") |
ミイミクミコミームひク (vykaty), ミキミイミオムムひームひクムム ミスミー "ミイミク" (zvertatysia na "vy") |
ムひクミコミーミスミスム (tykannia), ミキミイミオムムひーミスミスム ミスミー ムひク (zvertannia na ty) |
ミイミクミコミーミスミスム (vykannia), ミキミイミオムムひーミスミスム ミスミー ミイミク (zvertannia na vy) |
Urdu | リェル リェレゥリァリア レゥリアルリァ (tu tukaar karna) | リェル リェレゥリァリア (tu tukaar) | ||
Welsh | tydテッo | galw chi ar X | tydテッo | galw chi ar X |
Yiddish | ラ沌勉ヲラ (dutsn) ラ儲イヨキラ ラ碩アラ」 ラ沌 (zayn af du) ラ儲イヨキラ ラ、ヨシラ「ラィ ラ沌 (zayn per du) |
ラ碩燮ィラヲラ (irtsn) ラ儲イヨキラ ラ碩アラ」 ラ碩燮ィ (zayn af ir) |
ラ沌勉ヲラ (dutsn) ラ蹟キラィラ燮泰「ラィラ潰燮燮 ラ碩アラ」 ラ沌 (aribergeyn af du) |
ラ碩燮ィラヲラ (irtsn) |
a1225 (笆クc1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 31 (MED): Hwo is テセat us muネ抛n sceawin テーa gode テーe ネ抛 us behoteテー?
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The T窶天 distinction is the contextual use of different pronouns that 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. English historically contained the distinction, using the pronouns thou and you, but the familiar thou largely disappeared from the era of Early Modern English onward, with the exception of a few dialects. Additionally, British commoners historically spoke to nobility and royalty using the third person rather than the second person, a practice that has fallen out of favour. 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 madam. Under a broader classification, T and V forms are examples of honorifics.
The T窶天 distinction is expressed in a variety of forms. Two particularly common means are:
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.
The status of the single second-person pronoun you in English is controversial among linguistic scholars. [3] For some, the English you keeps everybody at a distance, although not to the same extent as V pronouns in other languages. [4] For others, you is a default neutral pronoun that fulfils the functions of both T and V without being the equivalent of either, [5] so an N-V-T framework is needed, where N indicates neutrality. [6]
The examples and perspective in this section may not represent a
worldwide view of the subject. (November 2021) |
In classical Latin, tu was originally the singular, and vos the plural, with no distinction for honorific or familiar. According to Brown and Gilman, the Roman emperors began to be addressed as vos 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窶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 crystallized. Less commonly, the use of the plural may be extended to other grammatical 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.
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. [7] This may be represented in Brown and Gilman's notation:
Unequal power | Equal power | ||
---|---|---|---|
Emperor | Father | High-class friend | Low-class friend |
T竊 竊膳 | T竊 竊膳 | 竊凪膳 | T竊凪 |
Subject | Son | High-class friend | Low-class friend |
Speakers developed greater flexibility of pronoun use by redefining relationships between individuals. Instead of defining the father窶都on 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. [8]
This may be represented as:
Superior has choice | Subordinate has choice | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Customer | Officer | Employer | Parent | Elder sibling |
T竊天 竊膳 | T竊天 竊膳 | T竊天 竊膳 | T竊 T竊膳 | T竊 T竊膳 |
Waiter | Soldier | Employee | Child | Younger sibling |
These choices were available not only to reflect permanent relationships, but to express momentary changes of attitude. This allowed playwrights such as Racine, Moliティre, Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare to express a character's inner changes of mood through outward changes of pronoun. [9] [10]
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. [11]
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: [12]
Superior choice removed | Subordinate choice removed | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Customer | Officer | Employer | Parent | Elder sibling |
竊鯛天 | 竊鯛天 | 竊鯛天 | T竊鯛 | T竊鯛 |
Waiter | Soldier | Employee | Child | 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. [13] In most Modern English dialects, the use of T is archaic and no longer exists outside of poetry or dialect.
It was reported in 2012 that use of the French vous and the Spanish usted are in decline in social media. [14] An explanation offered was that such online communications favour the philosophy of social equality, regardless of usual formal distinctions. Similar tendencies were observed in German, Persian, Chinese, Italian and Estonian. [14] [15]
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窶天 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. [16] The usage may have started among the Norman French nobility in imitation of Old 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. [17]
David Crystal summarises Early Modern English usage thus:
V would normally be used
T would normally be used
The T窶天 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窶天 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窶天 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窶天 distinction and responded with derision and physical violence.[ citation needed]
In the 19th century, one aspect of the T窶天 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. [19] 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. [20]
Yous(e) (pron. /juヒz/, /jノz/) 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.
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. [21] 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窶天 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, テ液ienne 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 facilitテゥ de nos naturels" ("according to our natural tendencies"). In poetry, tu was often used to address kings or to speak to God. [22]
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. "Ihr" was also used in formal situations; this was once the abundant usage, but it has completely fallen out of use. In the plural form, "ihr" is used as the "T" pronoun and "Sie" is used as the "V" pronoun; "Ihr" and "Sie" are capitalized when they are used as the "V" pronoun.
A T窶天 distinction was once widespread in the North Germanic languages but its use began rapidly declining in the second half of the 20th century, [23] [24] coinciding with the 1960s youth rebellion. [24] The V variant has in practice completely disappeared from regular speech in Swedish[ citation needed], Norwegian and Icelandic. [23] In Faroese, however, it is still occasionally used.
The use of the V variant in Danish has declined dramatically, but as of 2023 not completely disappeared. [24] In Danish the T variant is "du" and the V variant is a capitalized "De". [24]
Swedish both had a V-variant of "you" and an even more formal manner of addressing people, which was to address them in the third person ("Could I ask Mr. Johnson to..."). [23]
Hindi- Urdu ( Hindustani) have three levels of formality distinction. The pronoun 爨、爭 リェル (tナォ) is the informal (intimate) pronoun, 爨、爭≒、ョ リェル (tum) is the familiar pronoun and 爨爨ェ リ「ルセ (ト}) is the formal pronoun. Tナォ is only used in certain contexts in Urdu, as in normal conversation, the use of tナォ is considered very rude. The pronoun 爨、爭 リェル (tナォ) is grammatically singular while the pronouns 爨、爭≒、ョ リェル (tum) and 爨爨ェ リ「ルセ (ト}) are grammatically plural. However, the plural pronouns are more commonly used as singular pronouns and to explicitly mark the plurality, words such as 爨イ爭金、 ルル移ッ (log) [people], 爨ク爨ャ リウリィ (sab) [all], 爨ヲ爭金、ィ爭金、 リッル異ル移コ (donテオ) [both], 爨、爭爨ィ爭金、 リェロ雇ル移コ (tトォnテオ) [all three] etc. are added after the plural pronouns. [25]
In the Western Hindi dialects, a fourth level of formality (semi-formal), which is intermediate between 爨爨ェ リ「ルセ (ト}) and 爨、爭≒、ョ リェル (tum), is created when the pronoun 爨爨ェ リ「ルセ (ト}) is used with the conjugations of 爨、爭≒、ョ リェル (tum). However, this form is strictly dialectal and is not used in standard versions of Urdu and Hindi.
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窶天-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 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 and to seniors).[ citation needed]
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, a 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窶天 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, the 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窶派aving lost the T form vosotros, Latin Americans address all groups as ustedes, even if the group is composed of friends whom they would call tテコ or vos (both T forms).[ citation needed] 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 capitalized when it is written.
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 [26] | julle | u [26] |
Albanian | ti | ju | ju | ju |
Amharic |
瘧瘧甫臆 (antテ、, m) 瘧瘧甫下 (anト絞, f) |
瘧・瘉オ瘠 (ノィsswo) or[ why?] 瘧・瘉ュ瘉オ瘠 (ノィrswo) |
瘧・瘧乍兜瘟ー (ノィnnantテ、) |
瘧・瘉オ瘠 (ノィsswo) or[ why?] 瘧・瘉ュ瘉オ瘠 (ノィrswo) |
Arabic |
リ」ルリェル (anta, m) リ」ルリェル (anti, f) |
antum[
citation needed] others [27] |
antum (m) antunna (f) |
antum (m) antunna (f) others [28] |
Aragonese | tu |
vustテゥ vos ( Ansテウ dialect) |
vusatros vusaltros (regional) vusotros (regional) |
vustテゥs vos (Ansテウ dialect) |
Armenian |
ユ、ユクヨ (du, east) ユ、ユクヨぷカ (tun, west) |
ユ、ユクヨへ (duk, east) ユ、ユクヨへ (tuk, west) |
ユ、ユクヨへ (duk, east) ユ、ユクヨへ (tuk, west) |
ユ、ユクヨへ (duk, east) ユ、ユクヨへ (tuk, west) |
Assamese |
爬、爬 (toi; informal) 爬、爰≒ヲョ爬ソ (tumi; familiar) |
爬爬ェ爰≒ヲィ爬ソ (apuni) |
爬、爬ケ爬≒ヲ、 (tohテオt; informal) 爬、爰金ヲョ爬セ爬イ爰金ヲ (tテシmalテシk; familiar) |
爬爬ェ爰金ヲィ爬セ爬イ爰金ヲ (apテシnalテシk) |
Azerbaijani (Azeri) | sノ冢 | siz | siz |
siz sizlノ决 [29] |
Basque |
hi (intimate) zu (standard) |
zu (standard) berori (very respectful) |
zuek | zuek |
Belarusian | ムび (ty) | Bム (Vy) | ミイム (vy) | ミイム (vy) |
Bengali |
爬、爰≒ヲ (tui; very informal) 爬、爰≒ヲョ爬ソ (tumi) |
爬爬ェ爬ィ爬ソ (apni) |
爬、爰金ヲー爬セ (tora; very informal) 爬、爰金ヲョ爬ー爬セ (tomra) |
爬爬ェ爬ィ爬セ爬ー爬セ (apnara) |
Bodo | 爨ィ爭金、 (nwng) | 爨ィ爭金、も、・爨セ爨 (nwngtang) | 爨ィ爭金、も、ク爭金、ー (nwngswr) | 爨ィ爭金、も、・爨セ爨も、ク爭金、ー (nwngtangswr) |
Breton | te | c'hwi | c'hwi | c'hwi |
Bulgarian | ムひク (ti) | ミ漬クミオ (Vie) | ミイミクミオ (vie) | ミイミクミオ (vie) |
Catalan | tu |
vostティ (formal) vテウs (respectful) |
vosaltres |
vostティs (formal) vosaltres |
Mandarin Chinese (Modern) | 菴 (nヌ) | 謔ィ (nテュn) [30] |
s
菴莉ャ nヌ仁en t 菴蛟 |
various [31] |
Czech | ty | Vy | vy | vy |
Danish | du | De ( increasingly uncommon, very rarely used) | I | De (increasingly uncommon) |
Dutch |
jij je |
u | jullie [32] | u |
Early Modern English |
thou (
nom) thee ( obj) |
ye
[33] (nom) you (obj) |
ye
[33] (nom) you (obj) |
ye
[33] (nom) you (obj) |
Modern English | you | you | you | you |
Esperanto | vi, ci (uncommon) | vi | vi | vi |
Estonian |
sina sa |
teie te |
teie te |
teie te |
Faroese | tテコ | tygum [34] | tit | tit |
Finnish | sinテ、 | te [35] (uncommon) | te | te |
French | tu |
vous il/ elle (show deference) |
vous |
vous ils/ elles (show deference) |
Frisian (west) | dテサ | jo [26] | jimme | jimme |
Scottish Gaelic | thu / thusa (emphatic) | sibh / sibhse (emphatic) | sibh / sibhse (emphatic) | sibh / sibhse (emphatic) |
Galician | ti ( tu, eastern dialect) | vostede | vテウs ( vosoutros, northeastern dialect) | vostedes |
Georgian | 痺ィ痺批 (shen) | 痺例Η痺甫ヴ痺 (tkven) | 痺例Η痺甫ヴ痺 (tkven) | 痺例Η痺甫ヴ痺 (tkven) |
German | du |
Sie
[36] Ihr ( arch or dial) Er/Sie/Es [37] (arch or dial) |
ihr |
Sie
[36] Ihr (arch or dial) |
Modern Greek | ホオマρ (esテュ) | ホオマπオホッマ (esテュs) | ホオマπオホッマ (esテュs) | ホオマπオホッマ (esテュs) |
Gujarati | 爼、爿≒ェ (tu) | 爼、爼ョ爿 (tame) | 爼、爼ョ爿 爼イ爿金ェ歩ォ (tame loko) | 爼、爼ョ爿 爼イ爿金ェ歩ォ (tame loko) |
Hindi |
爨、爭 (tナォ) (intimate)
爨、爭≒、ョ (tum) (familiar) |
爨爨ェ (ト}) | 爨、爭≒、ョ (tum) | 爨爨ェ (ト}) |
Hungarian | te |
maga (a bit old-fashioned, can be impolite) テカn (formal and official) |
ti |
maguk (a bit old-fashioned, can be impolite) テカnテカk (formal and official) |
Icelandic | テセテコ | テセテゥr ( very uncommon) | テセiテー | テセテゥr (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 | Loro (increasingly less common) |
Japanese | (proper nouns and/or common nouns) | (proper nouns and/or common nouns) | (proper nouns and/or common nouns) | (proper nouns and/or common nouns) |
Javanese | ヲ場ヲコヲエヲョヲコ (
kowテゥ) ヲイヲョヲ場ァヲゥヲク ( awakmu) |
ヲ・ヲ夛ァヲ隷ヲシヲ、ヲシヲ緋ヲ、ァ (
panjenengan) ヲアヲゥァヲ・ヲコヲェヲ、ァ ( sampテゥyan) |
ヲ場ヲコヲエヲョヲコヲ場ヲァヲコヲ ( kowテゥ kabティh) | ヲ・ヲ夛ァヲ隷ヲシヲ、ヲシヲ緋ヲ、ァヲーヲシヲ「ヲ、ァヲヲシヲ、ァ ( panjenengan sedanten) |
Kannada | 犂ィ犁犂ィ犁 (niinnu) | 犂ィ犁犂オ犁 (niivu) | 犂ィ犁犂オ犁 (niivu) | 犂ィ犁犂オ犁 (niivu) |
Kazakh | ムミオミス (sen) | ムム孟キ (siz) | ムミオミスミエミオム (sender) | ムム孟キミエミオム (sizder) |
Korean | ц (neo) | 窶 (directly addressing a person); 胸侠 (dangsin)(addressing anonymous readers) |
ц擣 (neohui) | 窶 ( 流洳カ yeoreobun) |
Ekoka !Kung | a | i!a | i!a | i!a |
Kurmanji (N. Kurdish) |
リェル (tu) | ルル異 (hテサn) ルルレッロ (hingo) リェル (tu) |
ルル異 (hテサn) ルルレッロ (hingo) |
ルル異 (hテサn) ルルレッロ (hingo) |
Sorani (S. Kurdish) |
リェロ (to) | ロ勺異 (テェwe) リェロ (to) |
ロ勺異 (テェwe) | ロ勺異 (テェwe) |
Kyrgyz | ムミオミス (sen) | ムミクミキ (siz) | ムミクミサミオム (siler) | ムミクミキミエミオム (sizder) |
Ladino | ラ俎 tテコ | ラ替ソラ勉。 vos | ラ替ソラ勉儲勉俎ィラ勉。 vozテウtros | ラ替ソラ勉儲勉俎ィラ勉。 vozテウtros |
Latvian | tu [38] | jナォs [38] | jナォs | jナォs |
Lithuanian | tu | jナォs | jナォs | jナォs |
Lombard | ti |
vテシ lテシテシ (m) lテゥe (f) |
viテイltar |
viテイltar vテシ lur |
Malay | kamu (standard), awak (regional; common spoken short form is engkau informal), hang (northern dialect, but understood and accepted across Peninsular Malaysia), kau (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 almost never occurs 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窶俳ften 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 | 犇ィ犒 | 犇、犇セ犇吭オ財エ歩オセ | 犇ィ犇ソ犇吭オ財エ吭オセ | 犇ィ犇ソ犇吭オ財エ吭オセ |
Macedonian | ムひク (ti) | ミ漬クミオ (Vie) | ミイミクミオ (vie) | ミイミクミオ (vie) |
Marathi | 爨、爭 tナォ |
爨、爭≒、ョ爭財、ケ爭 tumhトォ (formal), 爨爨ェ爨」 ト}a盪 (official) |
爨、爭≒、ョ爭財、ケ爭 tumhトォ | 爨、爭≒、ョ爭財、ケ爭 tumhトォ (formal), 爨爨ェ爨」 ト}a盪 (official) |
Mongolian | ムミク (chi, 癶エ癶「) | ムひー (ta, 癶イ癶) | ムひー ミスミーム (ta nar, 癶イ癶 癶ィ癶癶キ) | ムひー ミスミーム (ta nar, 癶イ癶 癶ィ癶癶キ) |
Nepali | 爨、爨, 爨、爨ソ爨ョ爭 (tテ」, timi) | 爨、爨ェ爨セ爨謂、 (tapトトォフ) | 爨、爨ソ爨ョ爭(-爨ケ爨ー爭) (timi[-harナォ]) | 爨、爨ェ爨セ爨謂、(-爨ケ爨ー爭) (tapトトォフゼ-harナォ]) |
Norwegian ( Bokmテ・l) | du/ deg | De/ Dem (archaic) | dere/dere | De/ Dem (archaic) |
Norwegian ( Nynorsk) | De/ Dykk (archaic) | de/ dykk | De/ Dykk (archaic) | |
Odia |
牀、牆 tu 牀、牆≒ャョ牆 tumト |
牀牀ェ牀」 ト}a盪a | 牀、牆≒ャョ牆牀ョ牀セ牀ィ牆 tumemane | 牀牀ェ牀」牀ョ牀セ牀ィ牆 apナ冴ケナ肯ane |
Persian | リェル to | リエルリァ ナ。omト | リエルリァ ナ。omト | リエルリァ/ リエルリァルリァ ナ。omト/ナ。omテ「-hテ「 |
Polish | ty |
pani (to a woman) pan (to a man) (verbs following any of the above addresses are in the 3rd person singular form) |
wy |
paナгtwo (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 paナгtwo (general) the 2nd person plural form is also possible). |
Portuguese in Portugal, Africa, and Asia-Pacific | tu |
vocテェ; o senhor/a senhora,
dona; vossa excelテェncia (o / a; lhe; si; se; lo/la) ( Vテウs / O Senhor / A Senhora when addressing a deity, Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary) |
vocテェs vテウs (dialects of northern Portugal) |
os senhores/as senhoras; vossas excelテェncias |
Brazilian Portuguese | vocテェ (and te, oblique form of tu, combined with vocテェ for a more familiar tone), tu | vocテェs | ||
Punjabi | 爲、爻もゥー窶 / リェル詔移コ tナォフ | 爲、爻≒ィク爻爲や / リェル証ウロ顧コ tusトォフ | 爲、爻≒ィク爻爲や / リェル証ウロ顧コ tusトォフ | 爲、爻≒ィク爻爲や / リェリウロ顧コ tusトォフ |
Quenya (Tolkien's High Elvish) | tyテォ | lyテォ | lテォ | lテォ |
Romanian | tu |
dumneavoastrト (formal)
dumneata (less formal, possibly confrontational) |
voi |
dumneavoastrト (formal)
domniile voastre (archaic) |
Russian | ムび (ty) narrowly reserved intimates (or for insults) |
ミイム (vy) the unmarked norm the capitalised spelling ミ柘 is used in formal correspondence |
ミイム (vy) not capitalised |
ミイム (vy) not capitalised |
Rusyn | ムび (tナキ) | Bム (Vナキ) | ミイム (vナキ) | ミイム (vナキ) |
Sanskrit |
爨、爭財、オ爨ョ爭 (tvam) 爨、爭財、オ爨セ (tva, acc) and 爨、爭 (te, dat and gen) also used in poetry/verse |
爨ュ爨オ爨セ爨ィ爭 (bhavト], addressing a man, root
爨ュ爨オ爨、爭) 爨ュ爨オ爨、爭 (bhavatトォ, addressing a woman) |
爨ッ爭≒、オ爨セ爨ョ爭 (dual, yuvト[) 爨ッ爭も、ッ爨ョ爭 (plural, yナォyam) (爨オ爨セ爨ョ爭 (vam, dual) and 爨オ爨 (va盧・, plural) for accusative, dative and genitive also used in poetry) |
爨ュ爨オ爨ィ爭財、、爭 (dual, bhavantau, addressing men) 爨ュ爨オ爨、爭財、ッ爭 (dual, bhavatyau, addressing women) 爨ュ爨オ爨ィ爭財、、爨 (plural, bhavanta盧・, addressing men) 爨ュ爨オ爨、爭財、ッ爨 (plural, bhavatya盧・, addressing women) |
Scots | thoo, mostly replaced by ye [テーuヒ疹, Southern [テーハ蛍], Shetland [duヒ疹 |
ye, you | ye, you | ye, you |
Serbo-Croatian | ムひク / ti | ミ漬ク / Vi | ミイミク / vi | ミイミク / vi |
Slovak | ty | Vy | vy | vy |
Slovene | ti |
vi Vi (protocolar) |
vidva (
dual) vidve or vedve (dual 窶 when addressing two women); vi (plural) ve (plural 窶 when addressing only women) |
vi (dual and plural) |
Sorbian (lower) | ty | Wy | wej (dual), wy (plural) | wy |
Sorbian (upper) | ty | Wy | wテウj (dual), wy (plural) | wy |
Somali | adi | adiga | idinka | idinka |
Spanish |
tテコ (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)
tテコ (in Cuba and Puerto Rico) vos, usテュa and vuecencia/ vuecelencia (literary use) |
ustedes (the Americas)
vosotros masc. and vosotras fem. ( Peninsular Spain, Equatorial Guinea, Philippines) [39] |
ustedes
vosotros, vosotras (literary) |
Swedish | du/ dig | Ni/ Er (rarely used since the Du-reformen) | ni/ er | Ni/Er (rarely used) |
Tagalog |
ikテ。w ka (postpositive only) |
kayテウ | kayテウ | kayテウ |
Tajik | ムび (tu) | ミィムσシミセ (ナ柆mo) | ム尉σシミセ (ナ殷mo) | ム尉σシミセ (ナ殷mo) or ム尉σシミセム岱ス (ナ殷mojon; the latter is used in spoken Tajik only) |
Tamil | 牋ィ牘 (nテゥe) | 牋ィ牘牋吭ッ財ョ歩ョウ牘 (neengal) | 牋ィ牘牋吭ッ財ョ歩ョウ牘 (neengal) | 牋ィ牘牋吭ッ財ョ歩ョウ牘 (neengal) |
Telugu | 牴ィ牾≒ーオ牾財ーオ牾 (nuvvu) | 牴ョ牾牴ー牾 (meeru) | 牴ョ牾牴ー牾 (meeru) | 牴ョ牾牴ー牾 (meeru) |
Turkish | sen | siz, sizler | siz | siz, sizler |
Ubykh | wテヲghハキa | sハクテヲghハキaalha | sハクテヲghハキaalha | sハクテヲghハキaalha |
Ukrainian | ムひク (ty) | ミイミク (vy) / ミ漬ク (Vy, addressing officials in letters etc.) | ミイミク (vy) | ミイミク (vy) |
Urdu |
リェル (tナォ, frozen or intimate or vulgar)
リェル (tum, casual) リ「ルセ (ト}, consultative, dialectal) |
リ「ルセ (ト}) |
リェル (tum, intimate or rude)
リ「ルセ (ト}, casual) |
リ「ルセ (ト}) |
Uyghur | リウロ弁 sen | リウル華イ siz or リウル菓ル sili | リウル菓ロ娩ア siler | リウル華イルロ娩ア sizler |
Uzbek | sen | siz | senlar | sizlar |
Welsh (literary) | ti, di | chwi (preferred) or chi | chwi (preferred) or chi | chwi (preferred) or chi |
Welsh (colloquial) | ti, di or chdi (regional variant, not possible when the subject) | chi | chi | chi |
Yiddish | ラ沌 (du) | ラ碩燮ィ (ir) | ラ碩燮ィ (ir) ラ「ラ・ (ets, regional) |
ラ碩燮ィ (ir) |
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 | 爬、爬-爬、爬爬歩ァ 爬ョ爬セ爬、 (toi-toikoi mat) (very informal), 爬、爰金ヲョ爬セ-爬、爰≒ヲョ爬ソ爬歩ァ 爬ョ爬セ爬、 (tテシma-tumikoi mat) (familiar) | 爬爬ェ爰金ヲィ爬セ-爬爬ェ爰≒ヲィ爬ソ爬歩ァ 爬ョ爬セ爬、 (apテシna-apunikoi mat) | 爬、爬-爬、爬 爬歩ァー爬セ (toi-toi kora) (very informal), 爬、爰金ヲョ爬セ-爬、爰≒ヲョ爬ソ 爬歩ァー爬セ (tテシma-tumi kora) (familiar) | 爬爬ェ爰金ヲィ爬セ-爬爬ェ爰≒ヲィ爬ソ 爬歩ァー爬セ (apテシna-apuni kora) |
Basque | hika aritu / hika hitz egin (very close) | zuka aritu / zuka hitz egin (neuter / formal) berorika (aritu / hitz egin) (very formal) |
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Bengali | 爬、爰≒ヲ爬、爰金ヲ歩ヲセ爬ー爬ソ 爬歩ヲー爬セ (tuitokト〉i kテエrト) (very informal) | 爬爬ェ爬ィ爬ソ-爬爬憫ァ財ヲ樅ァ 爬歩ヲー爬セ (ト}ni-ト“ge kテエrト) | 爬、爰≒ヲ爬、爰金ヲ歩ヲセ爬ー爬ソ (very informal) | |
Breton | teal / mont dre te / komz dre te | c'hwial / mont dre c'hwi / komz dre c'hwi | ||
Bulgarian | (ミウミセミイミセムム / ムム諌シ) ミスミー "ムひク" (govorya / sam) na "ti" | (ミウミセミイミセムム / ムム諌シ) ミスミー "ミ漬クミオ" (govorya / sam) na "Vie" | ミスミー "ムひク" na "ti" (more like adverb) | ミスミー "ミ漬クミオ" na "Vie" (more like adverb) |
Catalan | tutejar / tractar de tu / vテウs | tractar de vostティ | tuteig, tutejament | |
Chinese | 遞ア(蜻シ)"菴" (chト渡g(hナォ) nヌ) / 隱ェ"菴" (shuナ nヌ) | 遞ア(蜻シ)"謔ィ" (chト渡g(hナォ) nテュn) / 隱ェ"謔ィ" (shuナ nテュn) | ||
Czech | tykat | vykat | tykテ。nテュ | vykテ。nテュ |
Danish | at vテヲre dus | at vテヲre Des | ||
Dutch | tutoyeren; jijen, jouen, jijjouwen (used very rarely) | vousvoyeren | tutoyeren | vousvoyeren |
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 tテコa, at siga tテコ | at siga tygum | ||
Finnish | sinutella | teititellテ、 | sinuttelu | teitittely |
French | tutoyer | vouvoyer; very rarely vousoyer / voussoyer | tutoiement | vouvoiement; very rarely vousoiement / voussoiement |
Frisian (West) | dookje | jookje | dookjen | jookjen |
Galician | tratar de ti | tratar de vostede | - | |
German | duzen | siezen | Duzen | Siezen |
Swiss German | Duzis machen | Siezis machen | Duzis | Siezis |
Greek | ホ慚ケホサマ マρホソホス ホオホスホケホコマ | ホ慚ケホサマ マρホソホス マホサホキホクマホスマホケホコマ | ホホサホキホクマホスマホケホコマ狐 ホオマホウホオホスホオホッホアマ | |
Hindi | 爨、爭も、、爨。爨シ爨セ爨 爨歩、ー爨ィ爨セ (tナォtaノスト〔 karnト) | |||
Hungarian | tegez | magテ。z | tegezテゥs | magテ。zテ。s |
Icelandic | テセテコa | テセテゥra | テセテコun | テセテゥrun |
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 | ァ川揆 畷共 (mareul notta); ー俯ァ戦葺共 (banmalhada) | ァ川揆 廷擽共 (mareul nophida); 。エ兼ァ戦葺共 (jondaemmalhada); | ー俯ァ (banmal) | 廷桷ァ (nopphim mal); 。エ兼ァ (jondaemmal) |
Lithuanian | tujinti | tujinimas | ||
Norwegian | テ・ vテヲre dus | テ・ vテヲre dis | ||
Occitan | tutejar | vosejar | tutejament | vosejament |
Polish | mテウwiト per ty tykaト (humorous) |
mテウwiト per pan / pani | mテウwienie per ty | mテウwienie per pan / pani |
Portuguese | tratar por tu, vocテェ; chamar de tu, vocテェ | tratar por senhor / senhora / senhorita; chamar de senhor / senhora / senhorita | 窶 | o senhor / a senhora |
Romanian | a tutui | a domni | tutuire | plural de politeナ」e |
Russian | ミセミアムミーム禍ームび袴ム ミスミー "ムび" ミアム錦び ミスミー "ムび" ムび巾コミームび (tykat') (colloquial) |
ミセミアムミーム禍ームび袴ム ミスミー "ミイム" ミアム錦び ミスミー "ミイム" ミイム巾コミームび (vykat') (colloquial) |
ムび巾コミーミスム糊オ (tykan'ye) | ミイム巾コミーミスム糊オ (vykan'ye) |
Serbian | ミスミオ ミソミオムムミクムミームひク (ne persirati), ミアミクムひク ミスミー ムひク (biti na ti), ムひクミコミームひク (tikati) |
ミソミオムムミクムミームひク (persirati), ミアミクムひク ミスミー ミイミク (biti na vi), ミイミクミコミームひク (vikati) |
ミスミオミソミオムムミクムミーム墟オ (nepersiranje), ムひクミコミーム墟オ (tikanje) |
ミソミオムムミクムミーム墟オ (persiranje), ミイミクミコミーム墟オ (vikanje) |
Slovak | tykaナ・ | vykaナ・ | tykanie | vykanie |
Slovene | tikati | vikati | tikanje | vikanje |
Upper Sorbian | ty prajiト, tykaト | wy rト嫐aト / prajiト, wykaト | tykanje | wykanje |
Lower Sorbian | ty groniナ, tykaナ (se) {lit.} | wy groniナ, wykaナ {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 / konuナ殞ak, sen diye テァaト淨アrmak | sizli bizli olmak / konuナ殞ak, siz diye テァaト淨アrmak | senli benli | sizli bizli |
Ukrainian | ムひクミコミームひク (tykaty), ミキミイミオムムひームひクムム ミスミー "ムひク" (zvertatysia na "ty") |
ミイミクミコミームひク (vykaty), ミキミイミオムムひームひクムム ミスミー "ミイミク" (zvertatysia na "vy") |
ムひクミコミーミスミスム (tykannia), ミキミイミオムムひーミスミスム ミスミー ムひク (zvertannia na ty) |
ミイミクミコミーミスミスム (vykannia), ミキミイミオムムひーミスミスム ミスミー ミイミク (zvertannia na vy) |
Urdu | リェル リェレゥリァリア レゥリアルリァ (tu tukaar karna) | リェル リェレゥリァリア (tu tukaar) | ||
Welsh | tydテッo | galw chi ar X | tydテッo | galw chi ar X |
Yiddish | ラ沌勉ヲラ (dutsn) ラ儲イヨキラ ラ碩アラ」 ラ沌 (zayn af du) ラ儲イヨキラ ラ、ヨシラ「ラィ ラ沌 (zayn per du) |
ラ碩燮ィラヲラ (irtsn) ラ儲イヨキラ ラ碩アラ」 ラ碩燮ィ (zayn af ir) |
ラ沌勉ヲラ (dutsn) ラ蹟キラィラ燮泰「ラィラ潰燮燮 ラ碩アラ」 ラ沌 (aribergeyn af du) |
ラ碩燮ィラヲラ (irtsn) |
a1225 (笆クc1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 31 (MED): Hwo is テセat us muネ抛n sceawin テーa gode テーe ネ抛 us behoteテー?
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