Need help from non-native English speakers for some research

[Grojlach]

Hi there,

Overloaded with work as I am, I somehow have to find the time to get a number of people to fill out a questionnaire on a Linguistics-related subject and analyse the results - and that's where I wanted to ask you for help. [img]smile.gif[/img]

As the title suggests, I'm mainly looking for people who don't speak English in their daily lives. The reason for this is quite simple - I need people for this questionnaire who have two different versions of the second person singular "you" in their native language, a formal and an informal one. So, for example, in French there's a distinction between "tu" for informal occasions and "vous" for formal ones; in German you've got "Du" (informal) and "Sie" (formal), in Dutch "jij" (informal) en "U" (formal). I'm trying to get an idea of when people tend to use the formal "you" and when the informal equivalent. I will refer to this particular distinction below with the French version, Tu/Vous, but feel free to use the Latvian/Bulgarian/Dutch/Swedish/Danish/etc equivalent instead. [img]smile.gif[/img]

I'd really appreciate it if you could give me a hand with the questionnaire below. Under A only a simple "tu" or "vous" (or the equivalents in your own native tongue) is sufficient. Under B a simple "yes" or "no" is sufficient, though if you feel a more detailed answer is necessary then feel free to do so. [img]smile.gif[/img] Finally, there's a number of open questions under C that you can answer in any way you see fit.

Thanks in advance! [img]smile.gif[/img]

Male/Female:
Age:
Nationality:
Occupation:


A
With which form are you usually addressed?
· By parents
· By grandparents
· In secondary school
· By professors
· By students
· By people over 50
· By unfamiliar children
· In a pub
Which do you normally use
· To your parents
· To your grandparents
· To sec. school teachers
· To university professore
· To students over 40
· To younsters

B
Is it okay to be addressed Tu
· In advertisements
· On election posters
· By professors
· By students
· In a newspaper
Is it okay to be addressed Vous
· By professors
· By younger people (younger than 18)
· By older students (40+)
· By students your age
· By acquaintance of your parents
· By former teacher

C
· Are there situations you’re not sure which to use?

· Have you ever felt uncomfortable when addressed Tu/Vous?

· Do you ever say Vous, being addressed Tu in return?

[Jorath Calar]

Originally posted by Grojlach: Male Age: 31 Nationality: Icelandic Occupation: Store worker Þú (pr: thoo) = tu Þér (pr: thier)= Vous The Vous word is very seldom used, almost only in the congress or very celebrational occations. Þú is used almost exclusivly in daily life and has been since middle of last century A With which form are you usually addressed? · By parents Þú · By grandparents Þú · In secondary school Þú · By professors Þú (older university professors might use Þér... butr they are almost exstinct) · By students Þú · By people over 50 Þú · By unfamiliar children Þú · In a pub Hey asshole Which do you normally use · To your parents Þú · To your grandparents Þú · To sec. school teachers Þú · To university professore Þú · To students over 40 Hey loser [img]smile.gif[/img] · To younsters Þú B Is it okay to be addressed Tu · In advertisements yes · On election postersyes · By professors yes · By students yes · In a newspaper yes Is it okay to be addressed Vous · By professors yes but no one cares · By younger people (younger than 18) Yes but no one does · By older students (40+) yes · By students your age yes but no one does · By acquaintance of your parents yesbut no one does · By former teacher yes indeed C · Are there situations you’re not sure which to use? no Þú is used almost always · Have you ever felt uncomfortable when addressed Tu/Vous? Only if I'm addressed Þér · Do you ever say Vous, being addressed Tu in return? no

Not sure if that was much help [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Luvian]

Male/Female: Male
Age: 25
Nationality: French canadian
Occupation: Yes


A
With which form are you usually addressed?
· By parents: Tu
· By grandparents: Tu
· In secondary school: Tu
· By professors: Depends on the teacher.
· By students: Tu
· By people over 50: Vous mostly I think, but they use Vous for pretty much everyone.
· By unfamiliar children: mostly Tu, but some have used Vous, mostly when they want something.
· In a pub: Tu
. (by cops): Vous most of the time
Which do you normally use
· To your parents: Tu
· To your grandparents: Tu
· To sec. school teachers: Tu
· To university professore: Tu
· To students over 40: Tu
· To younsters: Tu

B
Is it okay to be addressed Tu
(Are you asking my oponion, or what tend to be the norm? Personally it doesn't matter to me and I think to most people either, except the old people that live in another generation still)
· In advertisements: They almost always use vous
· On election posters: I don't remember ever being directly adressed by an election poster, it's usually a generic "Vote for X" or another such slogan.
· By professors: Students don't mind being called either.
· By students: Vous is deferential and usually impersonal, so if a student adressed another one with vous it would be strange, and he might get teased.
· In a newspaper: They usually use vous
Is it okay to be addressed Vous
· By professors: Yes
· By younger people (younger than 18): Yes
· By older students (40+): Yes
· By students your age: No
· By acquaintance of your parents: Depends on age
· By former teacher: Yes

C
· Are there situations you’re not sure which to use?
I never use vous.

· Have you ever felt uncomfortable when addressed Tu/Vous?
When I was 19-20 a teenaged girl of 16-17 used vous when she asked me for cigarettes (which she didn't get). It felt strange as we were almost the same age, but she was trying to flatter me.

· Do you ever say Vous, being addressed Tu in return?
I never say vous, but usually when one person has to use vous the other has too for the same reasons but inversed. (Difference in age/status...)

You're supposed to use vous when being formal, or when adressing someone of lower or higher status, but like I said it's not really in use anymore. Old people, as well as those in social positions like cops/politicians/McDonald girl use vous. Some teachers do but it's not that important, since most young people don't care and don't use vous. Most ads and journals use it, but they want to appear proper and professional. In a formal letter you use vous in a regular one you use tu.

Really I don't think there is much difference with english. Situations that would require you to be formal in english would require you to be formal in french too.

[ 09-16-2006, 10:37 AM: Message edited by: Luvian ]

[Bozos of Bones]

Male/Female: male
Age: 19.9
Nationality: Croat
Occupation: Student/pending employment

Official: vi(means both an official or respectful you, and a plural)
Unofficial: ti
In my language, the official/respectful adress of a single person is usually done by making it a plural. Ja, ti, on, which means me, you, him, turns into mi, vi, oni, or we, you, them.

A
With which form are you usually addressed?
· By parents ti
· By grandparents ti
· In secondary school vi
· By professors vi
· By students ti
· By people over 50 ti/vi
· By unfamiliar children ti/vi
· In a pub ti/vi
Which do you normally use
· To your parents ti
· To your grandparents ti
· To sec. school teachers ti
· To university professore vi
· To students over 40 vi
· To younsters ti

B
Is it okay to be addressed Ti
· In advertisements yes
· On election posters yes
· By professors yes, in some circumstances
· By students yes
· In a newspaper yes
Is it okay to be addressed Vous
· By professorsyes
· By younger people (younger than 18) yes
· By older students (40+) yes
· By students your age yes
· By acquaintance of your parents yes
· By former teacher yes

C
· Are there situations you’re not sure which to use? In situations where one is unsure, one should always use the official/respectful form.

· Have you ever felt uncomfortable when addressed Tu/Vous? Yes, when I first started college, first time a professor addressed me as Vi was a bit of a shocker.

· Do you ever say Vous, being addressed Tu in return? Yes, in grade school and high school this is a normal occurence, as well as in some other areas. Often it is not meant as disrespect in return, but as a sign of closeness or friendship.

[Bithron]

Male/Female:Male
Age:14
Nationality:Finnish-Swede (Swedish language)
Occupation: -


A
With which form are you usually addressed?
· By parents - Tu
· By grandparents - Tu
· In secondary school - Tu
· By professors - Vous
· By students - Tu
· By people over 50 - Tu
· By unfamiliar children - Tu
· In a pub - Tu
Which do you normally use
· To your parents - Tu
· To your grandparents - Tu
· To sec. school teachers - Tu
· To university professore - Tu
· To students over 40 - Tu
· To younsters - Tu

B
Is it okay to be addressed Tu
· In advertisements - Y
· On election posters - Y
· By professors - Y
· By students - Y
· In a newspaper - Y
Is it okay to be addressed Vous
· By professors - Y
· By younger people (younger than 18) - Y
· By older students (40+) - Y
· By students your age - Y
· By acquaintance of your parents - Y
· By former teacher - Y

C
· Are there situations you’re not sure which to use?
Yes, the first time I was at a meeting.
· Have you ever felt uncomfortable when addressed Tu/Vous?
No.
· Do you ever say Vous, being addressed Tu in return?
Sure, but since language is pretty loose around me, I don't really care. But if they insist on being assholes then I'm gonna get upset...

[Grojlach]

Thanks so far, keep them coming! [img]smile.gif[/img] I'm going to analyze the results in about 15 hours from now. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 09-17-2006, 02:37 AM: Message edited by: Grojlach ]

[ZFR]

In Poland the informal is 'ty', for formal usage you adress the person in third person. (instead of "where have you been?" you say "where has sir been?"). I'll be using french for simplicity.

Male/Female: male
Age: 22
Nationality: Syrian/Polish
Occupation: student

With which form are you usually addressed?
· By parents tu
· By grandparents tu
· In secondary school tu
· By professors vous
· By students tu
· By people over 50 vous
· By unfamiliar children vous
· In a pub tu
Which do you normally use
· To your parents tu
· To your grandparents tu
· To sec. school teachers vous
· To university professore vous
· To students over 40 tu
· To younsters tu

B
Is it okay to be addressed Tu
· In advertisements yes
· On election posters yes
· By professors they usually use vous for students, though I've met quite a few using tu and its okay.
· By students yes
· In a newspaper yes
Is it okay to be addressed Vous
· By professors yes
· By younger people (younger than 18) yes
· By older students (40+) no. students use tu to each other no matter what age.
· By students your age no
· By acquaintance of your parents. varies, but it is ok I suppose.
· By former teacher. depends on whether he used tu or vous when he was your teacher before.

C
· Are there situations you’re not sure which to use? yes. use vous, until your sure you can use tu. Using vous instead of tu is no big offense. The other way round it could be insulting.

· Have you ever felt uncomfortable when addressed Tu/Vous? not really.

· Do you ever say Vous, being addressed Tu in return? yes. e.g to professors.

[ZFR]

Now for Syria. In Arabic the informal is "inta". In Syria to use formal you say an Arabic word which mean "your presence". Again I'll use French for simplicity

Male/Female: male
Age: 22
Nationality: Syrian/Polish
Occupation: student


A
With which form are you usually addressed?
· By parents tu
· By grandparents tu
· In secondary school tu
· By professors (not sure haven't studied there but I'd say tu, could be vous)
· By students tu
· By people over 50 tu
· By unfamiliar children tu
· In a pub tu
Which do you normally use
· To your parents tu
· To your grandparents tu
· To sec. school teachers tu
· To university professore (I believe vous, haven't studied there)
· To students over 40 I think tu. You won't find such old students there as much as in Europe.
· To younsters tu

B
Is it okay to be addressed Tu
· In advertisements yes
· On election posters yes
· By professors yes (not 100% sure)
· By students yes
· In a newspaper yes
Is it okay to be addressed Vous
· By professors yes (again not 100% sure)
· By younger people (younger than 18) no
· By older students (40+) no
· By students your age no
· By acquaintance of your parents no
· By former teacher no

C
· Are there situations you’re not sure which to use? yes. Older strangers.

· Have you ever felt uncomfortable when addressed Tu/Vous? no.

· Do you ever say Vous, being addressed Tu in return? yes. quite common when adressing older people.

The above is for Syria only, not all countries using Arabic.

[bjorn]

My mother tongue is Swedish and I can't imagine a situation where I would use, or hear, the formal version of you, "Ni". Maybe if I was speaking to the King on television.

[Bithron]

Originally posted by bjorn: My mother tongue is Swedish and I can't imagine a situation where I would use, or hear, the formal version of you, "Ni". Maybe if I was speaking to the King on television.

Yeah, that's kinda tha thing with my language thingy... [img]tongue.gif[/img]