Editing T–V distinction (section)

=== History of use in individual languages ===
{{main|T–V distinction in the world's languages}}

==== English ====
The [[Old English]] and [[Early Middle English#Early Middle English|Early Middle English]] [[grammatical person|second person]] pronouns {{lang|enm|thou}} and {{lang|enm|ye}} (with variants) were used for singular and plural reference respectively with no ''T–V'' distinction. The earliest entry in the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' for ''ye'' as a ''V'' pronoun in place of the singular ''thou'' exists in a [[Middle English]] text of 1225 composed in 1200.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/231466#eid13732377 |title=ye, ''pron.'' and ''n.'' |encyclopedia=[[Oxford English Dictionary]] |access-date=10 November 2018 |url-access=subscription |quote=''a''1225 (▸c1200) ''Vices & Virtues'' (1888) 31 (''MED''): {{lang|enm|Hwo is þat us muȝen sceawin ða gode ðe '''ȝe''' us behoteð?}}}}</ref> The usage may have started among the [[Norman French]] nobility in imitation of [[Old French]]. It made noticeable advances during the second half of the 13th century. During the 16th century, the distinction between the [[Subject (grammar)|subject]] form ''ye'' and the [[Object (grammar)|object]] form ''you'' was largely lost, leaving ''you'' as the usual ''V'' pronoun (and plural pronoun). After 1600, the use of ''ye'' in standard English outside of regional dialects was confined to literary and religious contexts or as a consciously archaic usage.<ref>"Interlude 12 : Choosing ''thou'' or ''you''" David Crystal (2004) pp. 307–310</ref>

[[David Crystal]] summarises [[Early Modern English]] usage thus:

''V'' would normally be used
* by people of lower social status to those above them
* by the upper classes when talking to each other, even if they were closely related
* as a sign of a change (contrasting with ''thou'') in the emotional temperature of an interaction

''T'' would normally be used
* by people of higher social status to those below them
* by the lower classes when talking to each other
* in addressing God or Jesus
* in talking to ghosts, witches, and other supernatural beings
* in an imaginary address to someone who was absent
* as a sign of a change (contrasting with ''you'') in the emotional temperature of an interaction<ref>Crystal (2004) p. 308</ref>

The ''T–V'' distinction was still well preserved when Shakespeare began writing at the end of the 16th century. However, other playwrights of the time made less use of ''T–V'' contrasts than Shakespeare. The infrequent use of ''T'' in popular writing earlier in the century such as the [[Paston Letters]] suggest that the distinction was already disappearing from gentle speech. In the first half of the 17th century, ''thou'' disappeared from [[Standard English]], although the ''T–V'' distinction was preserved in many regional dialects. When the [[Quakers]] began using ''thou'' again in the middle of the century, many people were still aware of the old ''T–V'' distinction and responded with derision and physical violence.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}

In the 19th century, one aspect of the ''T–V'' distinction was restored to some English dialects in the form of a pronoun that expressed friendly solidarity, written as ''[[y'all]]''. Unlike earlier ''thou'', it was used primarily for plural address, and in some dialects for singular address as well.<ref name="Schneider">{{cite book |last=Schneider |first=Edgar W. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OqUBUgW_Ax8C&pg=PA284 |chapter=The English dialect heritage of the southern United States |title=Legacies of Colonial English |editor-first=Raymond |editor-last=Hickey |year=2005 |page=284|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-44238-1 }}</ref> The pronoun was first observed in the southern states of the US, although its precise origin is obscure. The pronoun spread rapidly throughout the southern states, and (to a lesser extent) other regions of the US and beyond. This pronoun is not universally accepted, and may be regarded as either nonstandard or a regionalism.<ref>"Interlude 17, Tracking a change: the case of ''y'all''" Crystal (2004) pp. 449–452</ref>

''Yous(e)'' (pron. {{IPAc-en|j|uː|z|}}, {{IPAc-en|j|ə|z|}}) as a plural is found mainly in [[English language in Northern England|(Northern) England]], [[Scottish English|Scotland]], parts of [[Hiberno-English|Ireland]], [[Australian English|Australia]], [[New Zealand English|New Zealand]], [[South African English|South Africa]], northern [[Nova Scotia]] and parts of [[Ontario]] in Canada and parts of the northeastern United States (especially areas where there was historically Irish or Italian immigration), including in [[Boston]], [[Philadelphia]], [[New York City|New York]], and scattered throughout working class communities in the American [[Rust Belt]].

==== French ====
In [[Old French]] texts, the pronouns {{lang|fr|tu}} and {{lang|fr|vous}} are often used interchangeably to address an individual, sometimes in the same sentence. However, some emerging pattern of use has been detected by recent scholars.<ref>Summarised in Fagyal et al. (2006) pp. 267–268</ref> Between characters equal in age or rank, {{lang|fr|vous}} was more common than {{lang|fr|tu}} as a singular address. However, {{lang|fr|tu}} was sometimes used to put a young man in his place, or to express temporary anger. There may also have been variation between Parisian use and that of other regions.

In the [[Middle French]] period, a relatively stable ''T–V'' distinction emerged. ''Vous'' was the ''V'' form used by upper-class speakers to address one another, while {{lang|fr|tu}} was the ''T'' form used among lower class speakers. Upper-class speakers could choose to use either ''T'' or ''V'' when addressing an inferior. Inferiors would normally use ''V'' to a superior. However, there was much variation; in 1596, [[Étienne Pasquier]] observed in his comprehensive survey {{lang|fr|Recherches de la France|italic=yes}} that the French sometimes used {{lang|fr|vous}} to inferiors as well as to superiors "{{lang|fr|selon la facilité de nos naturels}}" ("according to our natural tendencies"). In poetry, {{lang|fr|tu}} was often used to address kings or to speak to God.<ref>Fagyal et al. p. 268</ref>

==== German ====
In [[German language|German]], ''Du'' is only used as an informal pronoun. It is only addressed to persons that one knows well, like family members and friends. It is also most commonly used among peers as a sign of equality, especially among young people. In formal situations with strangers and acquaintances, ''Sie'' is used instead. "Ihr" was also used in formal situations; this was once the abundant usage, but it has completely fallen out of use. In the plural form, "ihr" is used as the "T" pronoun and "Sie" is used as the "V" pronoun; "Ihr" and "Sie" are capitalized when they are used as the "V" pronoun.

==== Scandinavian languages ====
{{further|Du-reformen}}
A ''T–V'' distinction was once widespread in the [[North Germanic languages]] but its use began rapidly declining in the second half of the 20th century,<ref name="icelandic">{{cite news|date=1999-10-29|title=Þéranir á meðal vor|publisher=[[Morgunblaðið]]|language=is|url=https://timarit.is/page/1949629#page/n1/mode/2up}}</ref><ref name="BandleBraunmüller2002">{{cite book|author1=Oskar Bandle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6b7WwBC5tRAC&pg=PA1631|title=The Nordic Languages: An International Handbook of the History of the North Germanic Languages|author2=Kurt Braunmüller|author3=Lennart Elmevik|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|year=2002|isbn=978-3-11-017149-5|pages=1631–}}</ref> coinciding with the [[Counterculture of the 1960s|1960s youth rebellion]].<ref name="BandleBraunmüller2002" /> The ''V'' variant has in practice completely disappeared from regular speech in [[Swedish language|Swedish]] spoken in Sweden{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}}, Norwegian and [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]].<ref name="icelandic" /> In [[Faroese language|Faroese]] and [[Finland Swedish]], however, it is still occasionally used.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://svenska.yle.fi/a/7-1343312|title=Niandet är artigt eller nedlåtande – olika servicesvenska i Sverige och Finland|date=2018-11-08|access-date=2024-09-30}}</ref>

The use of the ''V'' variant in [[Danish language|Danish]] has declined dramatically, but as of 2023 not completely disappeared.<ref name="BandleBraunmüller2002" /> In Danish the ''T'' variant is "du" and the ''V'' variant is a capitalized "De".<ref name="BandleBraunmüller2002" />

Swedish both had a ''V''-variant of "you" and an even more formal manner of addressing people, which was to address them in the [[Third person (grammar)|third person]] ("Could I ask Mr. Johnson to...").<ref name="icelandic" />

==== Hindi-Urdu ====
[[Hindi]]-[[Urdu]] ([[Hindustani grammar|Hindustani]]) have three levels of formality distinction. The pronoun तू تو (tū) is the informal (intimate) pronoun, तुम تم (tum) is the familiar pronoun and आप آپ (āp) is the formal pronoun. Tū is only used in certain contexts in Urdu, as in normal conversation, the use of tū is considered very rude. The pronoun तू تو (tū) is grammatically singular while the pronouns तुम تم (tum) and आप آپ (āp) are grammatically plural. However, the plural pronouns are more commonly used as singular pronouns and to explicitly mark the plurality, words such as लोग لوگ (log) [people], सब سب (sab) [all], दोनों دونوں (donõ) [both], तीनों تینوں (tīnõ) [all three] etc. are added after the plural pronouns.<ref>First-Year Hindi Course (Part one), H.H. Van Olphen (page 30-32)

https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/46086/First_Year_Hindi_Course-Part_1.pdf?sequence=2</ref>

In the [[Western Hindi]] dialects, a fourth level of formality (semi-formal), which is intermediate between आप آپ (āp) and तुम تم (tum), is created when the pronoun आप آپ (āp) is used with the conjugations of तुम تم (tum). However, this form is strictly dialectal and is not used in standard versions of Urdu and Hindi.