In addressing the interlocutor, Russian and many other languages use various pronouns and forms of other words depending on sociolinguistic factors. The most common distinction is formal appeal and informal. Formally, a formal appeal in modern Russian is made with the use of the second person's pronoun of the plural “you,” addressed to one respondent. In writing, the pronoun "you" addressed to a particular interlocutor, in certain cases, is written with a capital letter. Treatment with the pronoun "you" is considered informal. For brevity, formal appeal is often called “appeal to you,” informally, respectively, “appeal to you,” although this is not entirely correct and does not correspond to reality everywhere.
It is assumed that the appeal “to you” was first applied to the Roman emperors , in connection with the combination of several different titles [1] . Sometimes the plural is considered [by whom? ] a very ancient metaphor of power and authority.
Content
Russian language
In the Russian language, the appeal “to you” gradually came into use from the 18th century due to the strong influence of the French language and culture, especially in the circles of the aristocracy.
Empty you hearty you
She, let slip, replaced
And all happy dreams
In my heart loving excited.
I stand thoughtfully before her,
Cast eyes with her there is no power;
And I say to her: how sweet you are!
And I think: how I love you!- “You and You” (A. S. Pushkin) , May 23, 1828
There are theories that the original "you" was an appeal to the enemy. Previously, traditional Russian speech etiquette was used with its own system of familiar and formal references. Thus, the pronoun "you" could even be addressed to the king : " you, tsar-father ... ". The "Petition" (Petition of workers and residents of St. Petersburg for submitting to Nicholas II) also uses "you" addressed to Tsar Nicholas II .
English language
In the English language, starting from the 15th century, an appeal “for you” was adopted almost everywhere ( eng. You ). As a result, the normative forms of the second-person pronouns ceased to differ, thus the appeal “to you” disappeared from English as an independent form. The exception is archaic or poetic speech: religious texts, prayers (when referring to God ), poems where the pronoun “you” is used, which, incidentally, is respectful ( English thou ). At the same time, in colloquial speech, to refer to a group of people, instead of pronouns of the second person in the plural, the phrase “you are all” is sometimes used ( eng. You guys, you all ), and in some dialects - the archaic form “you” and its abbreviated forms ( English ye, y'all, yinz ).
Spanish language
In Spanish, the pronoun for the 2nd person is vos in Argentina , Uruguay , Paraguay, and Central America , while in other Spanish-speaking countries the form tú is used , and most Colombians usually use usted form in informal conversations other countries this is the official form). “Vos” is used for personal use instead of the following pronouns: informal (familiar) “tú” (direct analogue of Russian “you”) and, less often, instead of formal (respectful) “Usted”, which literally translates as “Your Grace”, and accordingly in fact is a pronoun of the 3rd person unit. numbers
“Vos” became widespread in the relatively neglected, sparsely populated, economically insignificant colonies of the Spanish monarchy ( Argentina , Uruguay , Paraguay , Chile , Costa Rica , Nicaragua ), where language innovations from Madrid did not have time, the highest social circles of which refused to use “vos First. On the contrary, the capital is economically and culturally closely connected with the Spanish capital of America's regions ( Mexico , Peru , Venezuela ), as well as the colonies that remained under the control of Madrid until the end of the XIX century (the Caribbean islands, the Philippines , Equatorial Guinea ), or completely abandoned “vos Or stigmatized its use as vulgar, colloquial, dialectal or archaic.
Hebrew
In Hebrew, addressing one person is possible only on “you” (and there are two different pronouns of two genders: masculine אַתָּה ata and feminine אַתְּ at ).
Notes
- ↑ Brown, Roger / Gilman, Albert (1960) "The Pronouns of Power and Solidarity" in American Anthropologist 4 (6): 24-39. Also found in Language and Social Context: Selected Readings, ed. by P. Giglioli (1972), ISBN 0-140-13303-8 , pp. 252-282.