In linguistics, an honorific (abbreviated ) is a grammatical or morphosyntactic form that encodes the relative social status of the participants of the conversation. Distinct from honorific titles, linguistic honorifics convey formality , social distance, politeness , humility , deference, or respect through the choice of an alternate form such as an affix, clitic, grammatical case, change in person or number, or an entirely different lexical item. A key feature of an honorific system is that one can convey the same message in both honorific and familiar forms—i.e., it is possible to say something like (as in an oft-cited example from Brown and Levinson) "The soup is hot" in a way that confers honor or deference on one of the participants of the conversation.
Honorific speech is a type of social deixis, as an understanding of the context—in this case, the social status of the speaker relative to the other participants or bystanders—is crucial to its use.
There are three main types of honorifics, categorized according to the individual whose status is being expressed:
Addressee (or speaker/hearer) Referent (or speaker/referent) Bystander (or speaker/bystander)
Addressee honorifics express the social status of the person being spoken to (the hearer), regardless of what is being talked about. For example, Javanese has three different words for "house" depending on the status level of the person spoken to. Referent honorifics express the status of the person being spoken about. In this type of honorific, both the referent (the person being spoken about) and the target (the person whose status is being expressed) of the honorific expression are the same. This is exemplified by the T–V distinction present in many Indo-European languages, in which a different second-person pronoun (such as tu or vous in French) is chosen based on the relative social status of the speaker and the hearer (the hearer, in this case, also being the referent).Huang, Yan. 2007. Pragmatics, Oxford University Press. p.164 Bystander honorifics express the status of someone who is nearby, but not a participant in the conversation (the overhearer). These are the least common, and are found primarily in avoidance speech such as the "mother-in-law languages" of aboriginal Australia, where one changes one's speech in the presence of an in-law or other tabooed relative.
A fourth type, the Speaker/Situation honorific, does not concern the status of any participant or bystander, but the circumstances and environment in which the conversation is occurring. The classic example of this is diglossia, in which an elevated or "high form" of a language is used in situations where more formality is called for, and a vernacular or "low form" of a language is used in more casual situations.
Politeness can be indicated by means other than grammar or marked vocabulary, such as conventions of word choice or by choosing what to say and what not to say. Politeness is one aspect of register, which is a more general concept of choosing a particular variety of language for a particular purpose or audience.
T–V distinction in Indo-European languages
One common system of honorific speech is T–V distinction. The terms T-form and V-form to describe the second person pronouns and , respectively, were introduced by Brown and Gilman, whose 1960 study of them introduced the idea that the use of these forms was governed by "power and solidarity." The Latin refers to the singular T-form, while the Latin refers to the V-form, which is usually plural-marked. is used to express informality, and in contrast, is used to express politeness and formality. T–V distinction is characteristic of many Indo-European languages, including Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu), Odia, Persian, Portuguese, Polish, and Russian, as detailed below.
Brazilian Portuguese
The pronouns (informal) and (more formal) fit the T–V pattern nicely, except that their use varies a great deal from region to region. For instance, in most parts of Brazil, is not used; whereas in the northern state of Maranhão and southern regions, it is. A third lexical option is added to the honorific scheme: and (literally meaning "sir" and "madam"), which are third-person references that are used in direct address that would normally require the second person or ). These forms are highly formal and used when speaking "upward" and always used in formal correspondence, such as in governmental letters, to authorities, customers and elders.
Indo-Aryan languages
Many Indo-Aryan languages, including Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu), Odia, and Bengali, have three instead of two levels of honorifics. The use of , and in Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu), or their cognates in other languages (e.g. Odia , and , Bengali , and ; respectively), indicates increasing levels of formality or social status of the addressee. The verb changes accordingly to agree with the pronoun.
In other Indo-Aryan languages, such as Punjabi, Gujarati and Marathi, while there ostensibly exists a three-way distinction in formality, in practice, the cognate of is almost never used (though in Punjabi, is used in somewhat rare cases), and there is only a two-way distinction between the - and -equivalents (in fact, the -equivalent in Punjabi, i.e., /, is both used as and are used in Hindustani).
Persian As an Indo-European language the pronouns tu (informal) and šumā (more formal form of second-person single and also used alone for second-person plural) fit the T–V pattern except that šumā is actually a modern Persian word originating from the Early New Persian (ENP) words šēwā where wā used as more formal form of second-person single and also used alone for second-person plural and šē which means for him or his. Therefore, the words šēwā together, had been used to refer to formal form of second-male person single and also used alone for second-male person plural.
Polish
Polish incorporates grammatical and lexical politeness. It uses grammatical category of honorifics within certain verbs and personal pronouns; this honorific system is namely split into two basic levels – the familiar (T) and the polite (V): : second-person singular, informal (masculine) / (feminine): third-person singular, informal (there is also a neuter , but it is not used when referring to people, except when the noun reference happens to be neuter, as in the case of , child) : second-person plural, informal (used when referring to a group of men or a mixed-sex group)/ (when referring to a group of women): third-person plural (male-marked) / (female-marked): second- and third-person singular, formal (male-marked) / (female-marked) / (mixed gender): second- and third-person plural, formal Sometimes is used for an unmarried woman, along with using different suffixes for last name, although it is mostly obsolete and can be considered condescending. Using first name alone is familiar (but not necessarily intimate, as in Japanese—it is commonly used among colleagues, for example). Using the last name alone is extremely rare and when it is employed, it is condescending, and used among school pupils and in the military. Also using / with surname in vocative form is rather impolite. The address in form "/" is preferred. / can be used as a prefix to a first or last name, as in the example: : Mr. Karol : Mrs./Ms. Kowalska : Mrs./Ms. Anna Which are more formal than using the typical familiar //, but they may imply familiarity, especially in second person. Using a prefix with the first name is almost always considered familiar and possibly rude. Using the last name with a prefix in second person can still be considered impolite. Using the set phrase , is preferred (and polite) when drawing attention (in a way akin to using sir in English).
In addition, there are two different V forms within the honorific usage – the more formal and the less formal form. The less formal form is more colloquial and used in daily speech more frequently. The higher honorific level includes "compound" pronouns consisting of prefixal or in conjunction with professional titles. Here are some examples (for males/females resp.): / : Minister / : Director / : driver / : doctor These professional titles are more formal as the speaker humbles him/herself and puts the addressee at a higher rank or status. These can also be used along with a name (only last or both names), but that is extremely formal and almost never used in direct conversation. For some professional titles (e.g. , ), the / can be dropped, resulting in a form which is less formal, but still polite. Unlike the above, this can also precede a name (almost always last), but it is seldom used in second person. As with / phrases such as (which can be translated "Minister, sir") can also be used for calling attention, although they are less common. The / can also be dropped with some titles in the phrase, but it is even less common and can be inappropriate.
Historical factors played a major role in shaping the Polish usage of honorifics. Poland's history of nobility was the major source for Polish politeness, which explains how the honorific male-marked pronoun ( is female-marked) was derived from the old word for "lord." There are separate honorific pronouns used to address a priest (), a nun or nurse (). It is acceptable to replace with when addressing a nurse, but it is unacceptable when speaking to a nun. Likewise, it is unacceptable to replace with when speaking to a priest. It is however accepted and commonly used to replace with (Father) . As with / phrases such as (which can be translated "Father, sir") can also be used for calling attention. The intimate T form is marked as neutral when used reciprocally between children, relatives, students, soldiers and young people.Huszcza, Romuald. (2005). “Politeness in Poland: From ‘Titlemania’ to Grammaticalised Honorifics.” Politeness in Europe: 218–233
Russian
Native Russian speakers usually know when to use the informal second person singular pronoun () or the formal form (). The practice of being informal is known as while the practice of being formal and polite is referred to .
It has been suggested that the origin of -address came from the Roman Empire and the French due to the influence of their language and culture on the Russian aristocracy. In many other European countries, initially was used to address any one person or object, regardless of age and social ranking. was then used to address multiple people or objects altogether. Later, after being in contact with foreigners, the second person plural pronoun acquired another function. Displaying respect and formality, it was used for addressing aristocrats – people of higher social status and power.
Another theory suggests that in Russia, the Emperor first adopted the plural -form. The Emperor is considered plural because he is the representation of the people. Likewise, the Emperor could refer to himself using (we), to represent "I and my people". From the courts, the middle and lower classes gradually adopted this usage.
The younger generation and commoners, with minimal education still address each other using with no connotation of disrespect, however. Certain Russians who are used to -address may perceive the ones who do not differentiate between and forms as uneducated, offensive and uncultured. This leads to the conclusion that this honorific was not a Russian innovation. Instead, the use of in both the singular and plural form is due to the exposure to the Latin historical and political developments. The usage of did not spread throughout the Russian population quickly; as a result, the usage was inconsistent until the eighteenth century, when became more prominent in secular literature.Popov, Paul (Autumn 1985). “On the Origin of Russian vy as a Form of Polite Address.” The Slavic and East European Journal 29 (3): 330–337
French