Hello Language Learners!
This month, I want to ask you to think about a question: how do you feel about formal “you” pronouns? I think about this quite often when I compare English with many other languages which have formal and informal “you’s” and singular and plural “you’s”. For us English speakers, this can feel a bit tricky to navigate because we use the same word anytime we are referring to someone in the second person, “you”. The only time we differ is when we refer to something someone owns, aka the possessive case, where we use “your/s”.
When English speakers learn a new language, often it is confusing to navigate when and how we ought to use the different forms of “you”. In French, for example, “tu” is used when talking to someone informally, such as with a child, a friend or a classmate, while “vous” is used to address someone with respect, such as an elder, a teacher, an official or a stranger. In Spanish, it is even more difficult. “Usted” and “ustedes” are the formal singular and plural forms of “you” respectively, while “tu” and “vosotros” are the respective informal forms. This usage even changes depending on which country you are in. In German, it’s equally as complicated. One uses “du” for informal singular “you” situations, “ihr” for informal plural situations and “sie” for all formal needs.
This trend only gets more and more mind-boggling as you continue to dive into other languages that differentiate between types of “you’s”, so I’ll stop there. But, if you want to thank your lucky stars that English is so easy, go ahead because I’ve got some fun news for you: just a few centuries ago, English was just as complicated as many other languages. Yes, English had formal and informal “you” pronouns too. It is, in fact, quite difficult to find a consensus as to exactly how the English pronouns were meant to be used. Every resource I consulted online had a different explanation, so I’m going to offer you an example of the possible usage as best as I can. “Thee” and “thou” were the informal, singular, “you’s”, used to denote intimacy or lower societal rank. “Ye” was used to showing respect or when a plural “you” was called for. So if you were addressing all your friends, you would say, “Ye hurry up, we’re going to be late!”, or whatever you normally say to your friends. Sounds weird, right?
Imagine if we still used these terms? While they may seem annoyingly complicated since we’re so used to easy, fast “you”, could there be any value to formal and informal “you’s”? Speakers of many other languages would argue yes, there is immense value. Having separate “you’s” allows you to show respect to those with whom you’re speaking, it allows you to clarify when you are talking to a group or to a single person, and it calls for more mindfulness in speech. Mindfulness and respect are two things that are often lost in our day to day interactions. While there are certainly benefits to quick, easy, familiar speech, it does lack thoughtfulness and respect. Perhaps, if we were forced to be more respectful with each other through language rules, we would consequently live more consciously and coexist more easily.
However, as a native English speaker I must admit to finding it difficult to remember to use “vous” instead of “tu” in social situations when I am speaking French. The verb conjugations for “tu” tend to be easier and roll off my tongue quicker, and sometimes I have to consciously remind myself to use “vous”. Conversely, my former roommate, who was German, told me that she usually uses the formal “sie” instead of the informal “du” or “ihr”, even when talking to friends, because it is easier to conjugate and because respect is so important. Therefore, she did not have any problems remembering to use “vous” when talking in French. Granted, I don’t know if other German speakers do this as well, but it is interesting to note the difference in perceived “difficulty” using formal and informal pronouns based on one’s native language.
While there is by no means a simple answer or consensus concerning whether the use of these pronouns is necessary, I hope that this has encouraged you to consider how you speak and hopefully choose to be more mindful of how you address people. Formal pronouns or not, respect in a language is always important, especially if you’re learning a language where this respect is obligatory through the use of pronouns!
Happy learning!
À bientôt!
Shannon