In languages in which variation of person in pronominal reference is used to show degrees of respect or social distance, the 3rd person indicates greater social distance when used in reference to either the addressee or the speaker than do the pronouns of the 2nd and 1st person, respectively.
Standardized
In languages in which variation of person in pronominal reference is used to show degrees of respect or social distance, the 3rd person indicates greater social distance when used in reference to either the addressee or the speaker than do the pronouns of the 2nd and 1st person, respectively.
Keywords
personal pronoun, 3 person, 2 person, 1 person, respect, social distance, addressee, speaker
German of about 1800 poses a problem for this universal. In its system the 2nd person pronoun “Ihr” indicates greater social distance than do the personal pronouns of the 3d person “er ” and “sie” (Simon 1997).
