Editing Hungarian language (section)

==Politeness==
{{Main|T–V distinction in the world's languages#Hungarian}}

Hungarian has a four-tiered system for expressing levels of politeness. From highest to lowest:

*''Ön'' (''önözés''): Use of this form in speech shows respect towards the person addressed, but it is also the common way of speaking in official texts and business communications. Here "you", the second person, is grammatically addressed in the third person.
*''Maga'' (''magázás'', ''magázódás''): Use of this form serves to show that the speakers wish to distance themselves from the person they address. A boss could also address a subordinate as ''maga''. Aside from the different [[pronoun]] it is grammatically the same as "''önözés''".
*''Néni/bácsi'' (''tetszikezés''): This is a somewhat affectionate way of expressing politeness and is grammatically the same as "''önözés''" or "''magázódás''", but adds a certain verb in auxiliary role "''tetszik''" ("like") to support the main verb of the sentence. For example, children are supposed to address adults who are not parents, close friends or close relatives by using "''tetszik''" ("you like"): "''Hogy vagy?''" ("How are you?") here becomes "''Hogy tetszik lenni?''" ("How do you like to be?"). The elderly, especially women, are generally addressed this way, even by adults.
*''Te'' (''tegezés'', ''tegeződés'' or ''pertu'', [[per tu]] from [[Latin]]): Used generally, i.e. with persons with whom none of the above forms of politeness is required, and, in religious contexts, to address [[God]]. The highest rank, the [[king]], was traditionally addressed "per tu" by all, peasants and noblemen alike, though with Hungary not having had any crowned king since 1918, this practice survives only in folk tales and children's stories. Use of "''tegezés''" in the media and advertisements has become more frequent since the early 1990s. It is informal and is normally used in families, among friends, colleagues, among young people, and by adults speaking to children; it can be compared to addressing somebody by their first name in English. Perhaps prompted by the widespread use of English (a language without [[T–V distinction]] [[thou|in most contemporary dialects]]) on the Internet, "''tegezés''" is also becoming the standard way to address people over the Internet, regardless of politeness.

The four-tiered system has somewhat been eroded due to the recent expansion of "''tegeződés''" and "''önözés''".

Some anomalies emerged with the arrival of multinational companies who have addressed their customers in the ''te'' (least polite) form right from the beginning of their presence in Hungary. A typical example is the Swedish furniture shop [[IKEA]], whose web site and other publications address the customers in ''te'' form. When a news site<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kanizsaujsag.hu/hirek/8351/miert-tegezik-a-magyarokat-a-multik/|title=Miért tegezik a magyarokat a multik? - Kanizsa Újság|first=Kanizsa|last=Ujsag|website=Kanizsaujsag.hu|access-date=8 October 2017}}</ref> asked IKEA—using the ''te'' form—why they address their customers this way, IKEA's PR Manager explained in his answer—using the ''ön'' form—that their way of communication reflects IKEA's open-mindedness and the Swedish culture. However IKEA in France uses the polite (''vous'') form. Another example is the communication of [[Yettel Hungary]] (earlier Telenor, a mobile network operator) towards its customers. Yettel chose to communicate towards business customers in the polite ''ön'' form while all other customers are addressed in the less polite ''te'' form.