Editing T–V distinction (section)

=== Modification: the solidarity semantic ===
Speakers developed greater flexibility of pronoun use by redefining relationships between individuals. Instead of defining the father–son relationship as one of power, it could be seen as a shared family relationship. Brown and Gilman term this the semantics of solidarity. Thus a speaker might have a choice of pronoun, depending on how they perceived the relationship with the person addressed. Thus a speaker with superior power might choose ''V'' to express fellow feeling with a subordinate. For example, a restaurant customer might use ''V'' to their favourite waiter. Similarly, a subordinate with a friendly relationship of long standing might use ''T''. For example, a child might use ''T'' to express affection for their parent.<ref>Brown & Gilman pp. 257–258</ref>

This may be represented as:
{| class="wikitable"
!colspan="3"| Superior has choice
! colspan="2" | Subordinate has choice
|-
| Customer          || Officer           || Employer          || Parent            || Elder sibling
|-
| T↓V{{spaces|2}}↑V || T↓V{{spaces|2}}↑V || T↓V{{spaces|2}}↑V || T↓{{spaces|2}}T↑V || T↓{{spaces|2}}T↑V
|-
| Waiter            || Soldier           || Employee          || Child             || Younger sibling
|}
These choices were available not only to reflect permanent relationships, but to express momentary changes of attitude. This allowed playwrights such as [[Jean Racine|Racine]], [[Molière]], [[Ben Jonson]], [[Christopher Marlowe]] and [[William Shakespeare]] to express a character's inner changes of mood through outward changes of pronoun.<ref>Brown & Gilman pp. 278–280</ref><ref>Crystal, David & Ben (2002) pp. 450–451. Reproduced at David Crystal's [http://www.shakespeareswords.com/thou-and-you Explore Shakespeare's Works] site</ref>

For centuries, it was the more powerful individual who chose to address a subordinate either with ''T'' or with ''V'', or to allow the subordinate to choose. For this reason, the pronouns were traditionally defined as the "pronoun of either condescension or intimacy" (''T'') and "the pronoun of reverence or formality" (''V''). Brown and Gilman argue that modern usage no longer supports these definitions.<ref>Brown & Gilman p. 258</ref>