Cover not available
Part of
The Social Dynamics of Pronominal Systems: A comparative approach
Edited by Paul Bouissac
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 304] 2019
► pp. 17–34

Chapter 1
N-V-T, a framework for the analysis of social dynamics in address pronouns

 | University of Wolverhampton
Address pronouns are often discussed within a T-V model of evaluation, where T symbolizes a familiar or informal approach and V a polite or formal approach. These two postures are originally associated with asymmetric personal and group interaction. N-V-T is an alternative framework of evaluation that considers neutrality, N, as an essential component. English unmarked, single pronoun you bypasses the T-V binary and has become a global example of the N posture. This chapter analyses the Anglophone case and how it compares with other languages, in some of which a traditional V or T encoder may be playing a new role in response to the inter-relational shifts which are taking place in today’s worldwide evolution of address pronoun social dynamics.
Keywords: address pronouns, forms of address, T-V distinction, neutrality (N), N-V-T distinction, familiar/informal, polite/formal, power and solidarity, English you, sociolinguistics
Article outline
  • Note
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The N dimension
  • 3.T and V encoders: pronominal or nominal?
  • 4.Vertical axis and horizontal mobility
    • 4.1Learning from the past
    • 4.2Moving into the future
      • 4.2.1N for solidarity
      • 4.2.2T and V ambiguities
  • 5.English you… and the other languages
    • 5.1Possible misunderstandings
    • 5.2Delicate compromises
    • 5.3Solidarity or power?
  • 6.Conclusions
  • References
Published online: 23 July 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.304.01coo
References (44)
References
Amendt, Gerhard. 1995. Du oder Sie. Bremen: Ikaru-Verlag.Google Scholar
Barthes, Roland. 1971. “Ecrivains, intellectuels, professeus.” Tel quell 47:1–15.Google Scholar
Bayer, Klaus. 1979. “Die Anredepronomina Du und Sie.” Deutsche Sprache, 3:212–219.Google Scholar
Braun, Friedrike. 1988. “Terms of Address. Problems of patterns and usage in various languages and cultures.” Journal of Linguistics 26 (1): 265–274.Google Scholar
Brown, Penelope, and Stephen Levinson. 1987. Politeness. Some universals in language usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Brown, Roger, and Albert Gilman. 1960. “The Pronouns of Power and Solidarity.” In Style in Language, ed. by Thomas A. Sebeok, 253–276. Cambridge, MA: The M.I.T. Press.Google Scholar
Calvet, Louis-Jean. 1976. “À tu et à vous.” Le Français dans le Monde 118:14–18.Google Scholar
Cameron, Deborah. 1995. Verbal Hygiene. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Chaika, Elaine. 1989. Language, the Social Mirror. New York: Harper and Row.Google Scholar
Chambers Dictionary. 2011. London: Chambers.Google Scholar
Chambers Thesaurus. 2012. London: Chambers.Google Scholar
Clegg, Stewart. 1989. Frameworks of Power. London: Sage. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Clyne, Michael. 1995. The German language in a changing Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Clyne, Michael, Catrin Norrby and Jane Warren. 2009. Language and Human Relations. Styles of Address in Contemporary Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Coffen, Béatrice. 2002. Histoire culturelle des pronoms d’adresse. Vers une typologie des systèmes allocutoires dans les langues romanes. Paris: Honoré Champion.Google Scholar
Cook, Manuela. 1997. “Uma Teoria de Interpretação das Formas de Tratamento na Língua Portuguesa.” Hispania, 80 (3), 451–464. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2000. “Power and Solidarity Revisited”, Paper presented at the 28th Romance Linguistics Seminar Meeting, Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge, 4–5 January.Google Scholar
. 2013. “Portuguese Pronouns and Other Forms of Address, from the Past into the Future – Structural, Semantic and Pragmatic Reflections.” Ellipsis (renamed Journal of Lusophone Studies) 11: 267- 290.Google Scholar
Crystal, David. 1993. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
. 2001. Language and the Internet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2003. English as a Global Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fetzer, Anita. 2000. “Was muss ich machen, wenn ich will, dass er das da macht?, Eine interpersonal orientierte Gesprächsanalyse von Experten/Laien-Kommunikation.” [URL]Google Scholar
Formentelli, Maicol. 2007. “The vocative mate in contemporary English: A corpus based study.” In Language Resources and Linguistic Theory, ed. by A. Sansò, 180–199. Milan: Franco Angeli.Google Scholar
Gardner-Chloros, Penelope. 2004. “Le développement historique de T/V en français et en anglais: parallélisme et divergence.” Franco-British Studies, Special Issue: Second person pronouns and forms of address in the languages of contemporary Europe 33–34: 90–99.Google Scholar
Halmøy, Odile. 1999. “Le vouvoiement en français: forme non-marquée de la seconde personne du singulier.” In XIV Skandinaviska Romanistkongressen, ed. by J. Nystedt, 556–565. Stockholm: Acta Universitatis Stockhomliensis.Google Scholar
Havu, Eva. 2005. “Quand les français tutoient-ils?” Paper presented at the XVle Congrès des romanistes scandinaves, Copenhagen, 25–27 August.Google Scholar
Hickey, Raymond. 2003. “The German address system: Binary and scalar system at once.” In Diachronic Perspectives on Address Form Systems, ed. by I. Raavitsainen, and A. Jucker, 401–425. Amsterdam: Benjamin. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Holmes, Janet. (2001). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Ikea. 2013. [URL].
. 2013. “Fråga Anna.” [URL].
Kretzenbacher, Heinz. 1991. “Vom Sie zum Du – und retour?” In Vom Sie zum Du – mehr als eine neue Konvention?, ed. by Hein Kretzenbacher and Wulf Segebrecht, 9–77. Hamburg: Luchterhand.Google Scholar
. 2010. “Man ordnet ja bestimmte Leute irgendwo ein für sich… Anrede und soziale Deixis”. Deutsche Sprache, 38(1) 1–18.Google Scholar
Kretzenbacher, Heinz, and Michael Clyne. 2006. “Pronominal address in German – Rules, anarchy and embarrassment potential.” Australian Review of Applied Linguistics 29 (2): 17.1–17.18. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Leech, Geoffrey. 1999. “The distribution and function of vocatives in American and British English conversation.” In Studies in honour of Stig Johansson, ed. by H. Hasselgård and S. Oksefiell, 107–118. Amsterdam: Rodopi.Google Scholar
Liu, Yongcan. 2011. “A New Sociolinguistic Model of Address Term Progression.” In Sociolinguistics, ed. by Edmund Spencer, 99–117. New York: Nova Science Publishers.Google Scholar
Marks & Spencer. 2013. [URL].
Mårtensson, Eva. 1986. “Det nya niandet.” Nordlund 10: 35–79.Google Scholar
Norrby, Catrin and John Hajek. 2011. “Language Policy in Practice: What Happens When Swedish IKEA and H&M Take ‘You’ On?” In Uniformity and Diversity in Language Policy. Global Perspectives, ed. by Catrin Norrby, and John Hajek, 242–257. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Oxford Dictionary of English. 2010. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Pountain, Christopher. 2003. “Pragmatic and Structural Reflections on the Expression of the Second Person Notion in Romance, with Special Reference to Spanish and Portuguese.” Bulletin of Spanish Studies 80 (2): 146–160.Google Scholar
Sun, Chaofen. 2006. Chinese: A Linguistic Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tsujimura, Natsuko. 2013. An Introduction to Japanese Linguistics. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Wade, Terence and David Gillespie. 2010. A Comprehensive Russian Grammar. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.Google Scholar
Warren, Jane. 2006. “Address pronouns in French: Variation within and outside the Workplace.” Australian Review of Applied Linguistics 29 (2): 16.1–16.17. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by (5)

Cited by five other publications

Guarin, Daniel & Larissa Oliveira Cardoso
2023. A Virtual Linguistic Landscape Analysis of Higher Education Institutions and Their Use of Pronouns of Address in the Hispanic and Lusophone World. In Transformation of Higher Education Through Institutional Online Spaces [Advances in Higher Education and Professional Development, ], ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Lara Bermejo, Víctor
2022. The system of pronouns of address in Madeira. Estudos de Lingüística Galega DOI logo
Lara Bermejo, Víctor
2022. The system of pronouns of address in Madeira. Estudos de Lingüística Galega DOI logo
Lara Bermejo, Víctor
2023. The history of second-person pronouns in European Portuguese. Journal of Historical Pragmatics DOI logo
Rozumko, Agata
2022. Between V and T address: The translation of English address terms into Polish in serial storytelling (the case of Doc). Crossroads. A Journal of English Studies :38(3) ► pp. 121 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 27 october 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.