How many people here are on a REAL first name basis?

[KJbushway]

Kinda easy to imagine what my name is. KJBushway and south park has a connection with my name. Now its probably ten times easier to get what my name is.

 

[JarodRussell]

Have to ask... what does it mean in English speaking countries if you're on a "first name basis"?

We have "tu" and "vous", not only "you". "Tu" is for people you know very well, "vous" is formal, for authorities and people you don't know. Your boss can address you with "tu", but you still address him with "vous". People who are somewhere between friendship and formal relationship (longtime co-workers, for example) are called by their first name, yet still adressed with "vous".

 

[RoJoHen]

Have to ask... what does it mean in English speaking countries if you're on a "first name basis"?

We have "tu" and "vous", not only "you". "Tu" is for people you know very well, "vous" is formal, for authorities and people you don't know. Your boss can address you with "tu", but you still address him with "vous". People who are somewhere between friendship and formal relationship (longtime co-workers, for example) are called by their first name, yet still adressed with "vous".

It means that, instead of having to call your boss "Mr. Smith," you're allowed to call him "Bob."

We don't have different versions of "you" in English.

 

[thestrangequark]

^Yes we do, we just don't use them much any more! Thee, thou, thy, etc.

 

[RoJoHen]

^Yes we do, we just don't use them much any more! Thee, thou, thy, etc.

Do those imply different levels of familiarity, or are they interchangeable?

 

[thestrangequark]

^Yes we do, we just don't use them much any more! Thee, thou, thy, etc.

Do those imply different levels of familiarity, or are they interchangeable?

They imply familiarity, station, and respect, comparable to the French examples already given. Many languages have different terms for "you" that change either with the subject or the speaker.

 

[RoJoHen]

^Yes we do, we just don't use them much any more! Thee, thou, thy, etc.

Do those imply different levels of familiarity, or are they interchangeable?

They imply familiarity, station, and respect, comparable to the French examples already given. Many languages have different terms for "you" that change either with the subject or the speaker.

Yeah, I know, but my point was that the word "you" in and of itself doesn't have different forms in English. We can use "you" for our boss, our best friend, some stranger we just met...it works for all levels of familiarity.

Thee, thou, and thy really aren't relevant to modern English speakers.

 

[thestrangequark]

^Well, that's why I said we don't use them much any more. I was just pointing out that English does have other words for you which, along with 'you', accomplish the same thing as tu and vous do in French. And if you knew why'd you ask?

 

[RoJoHen]

^Well, that's why I said we don't use them much any more. I was just pointing out that English does have other words for you which, along with 'you', accomplish the same thing as tu and vous do in French. And if you knew why'd you ask?

I knew that other languages had different forms of "you." I did not know that "thee, thou, and thy" were used for different occasions. And I asked because I'm trying to LEARN!

 

[thestrangequark]

^Well, that's why I said we don't use them much any more. I was just pointing out that English does have other words for you which, along with 'you', accomplish the same thing as tu and vous do in French. And if you knew why'd you ask?

I knew that other languages had different forms of "you." I did not know that "thee, thou, and thy" were used for different occasions. And I asked because I'm trying to LEARN!

hahaha, we are confusing eachother! I thought when you said you knew you were saying you knew how thee, thou, thy, and you were used in Old English!

 

[RJDiogenes]

Some users are friends on facebook and it is great to see a more personal side of them, and I also know some from exchanging Christmas cards ~ I get a childish glee from receiving post from abroad

Oooh, that sounds fun. I'll try to remember for next year if you want one from NYC! I'd love to get some from abroad.

I love to get cards from abroad. I don't mind getting them from guys, either.

We have "tu" and "vous", not only "you". "Tu" is for people you know very well, "vous" is formal, for authorities and people you don't know. Your boss can address you with "tu", but you still address him with "vous". People who are somewhere between friendship and formal relationship (longtime co-workers, for example) are called by their first name, yet still adressed with "vous".

So you'd say, "voulez vous coucher avec moi" to your boss and "voulez tu coucher avec moi" to a friend?

 

[RoJoHen]

^Well, that's why I said we don't use them much any more. I was just pointing out that English does have other words for you which, along with 'you', accomplish the same thing as tu and vous do in French. And if you knew why'd you ask?

I knew that other languages had different forms of "you." I did not know that "thee, thou, and thy" were used for different occasions. And I asked because I'm trying to LEARN!

hahaha, we are confusing eachother! I thought when you said you knew you were saying you knew how thee, thou, thy, and you were used in Old English!

Well, glad we got that straightened out.

 

[K'Ehleyr]

Now all my loved ones are in deadly peril.

Yes, yes they are



But I did like the card so I will restrain my evil intentions

Some users are friends on facebook and it is great to see a more personal side of them, and I also know some from exchanging Christmas cards ~ I get a childish glee from receiving post from abroad

Oooh, that sounds fun. I'll try to remember for next year if you want one from NYC! I'd love to get some from abroad.

^ We exchanged the year before but I wasn't able to send cards last year. But I fully intend on sending them out this year. K'Ehleyr is definitely on the list.

Please do I got the most amazing card from Norway/Denmark (God he's going to kill me that can't remember!) But it's still displayed in my sitting room and people ask 'where did you get that from?' 'Oh a friend on my Trek site' and then their eyes go all glassy

Do those imply different levels of familiarity, or are they interchangeable?

They imply familiarity, station, and respect, comparable to the French examples already given. Many languages have different terms for "you" that change either with the subject or the speaker.

Yeah, I know, but my point was that the word "you" in and of itself doesn't have different forms in English. We can use "you" for our boss, our best friend, some stranger we just met...it works for all levels of familiarity.

Thee, thou, and thy really aren't relevant to modern English speakers.

I usually use another word for my boss... but's that's another thread!

I am intriqued however, tsq, by when and how you judge the difference between, for example 'tu' or 'vous'? When to be more familiar.

Is it invited? As in "please call me *first name* instead of 'Mrs ***'"
Is it something that you fall into?

Email etiquette is equally confusing:

Regards,
Kind Regards,
Many thanks,
Love and kisses (not suitable for a tutor of Son as I have realised! )

 

[RoJoHen]

I am intriqued however, tsq, by when and how you judge the difference between, for example 'tu' or 'vous'? When to be more familiar.

Is it invited? As in "please call me *first name* instead of 'Mrs ***'"
Is it something that you fall into?

Email etiquette is equally confusing:

Regards,
Kind Regards,
Many thanks,
Love and kisses (not suitable for a tutor of Son as I have realised! )

Spanish has similar words for "you": tu (informal) and su (formal). I was taught to use "su" as a term of respect, so it's something you might use with your boss or when meeting your significant other's parents for the first time. You would even use it when meeting a stranger for the first time just in case. They might then invite you to use "tu" and let you know that it's fine to do that from then on. On the flip side of that, if you suddenly started using the formal "su" when talking to your buddy, it would sound incredibly awkward.

I imagine it's one of those things that you just naturally understand when you are a native speaker of the language, but when you are coming into it from another language that doesn't have such rules, it would be very hard to get used to.

 

[KJbushway]

My name is the same in spanish.

 

[RoJoHen]

Your name isn't the issue.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Now all my loved ones are in deadly peril.

Yes, yes they are



But I did like the card so I will restrain my evil intentions

 

[thestrangequark]

They imply familiarity, station, and respect, comparable to the French examples already given. Many languages have different terms for "you" that change either with the subject or the speaker.

Yeah, I know, but my point was that the word "you" in and of itself doesn't have different forms in English. We can use "you" for our boss, our best friend, some stranger we just met...it works for all levels of familiarity.

Thee, thou, and thy really aren't relevant to modern English speakers.

I usually use another word for my boss... but's that's another thread!

I am intriqued however, tsq, by when and how you judge the difference between, for example 'tu' or 'vous'? When to be more familiar.

Is it invited? As in "please call me *first name* instead of 'Mrs ***'"
Is it something that you fall into?

Well, I'm not a native French speaker, and to be honest, 6 years on from my last French class my French is pretty awful at this point. However, I'd assume it is much the same as how English speakers modify their speech to suit different situations. You wouldn't likely use the same type of language when speaking to your friends as you would to a possible employer, to your underlings as to your doctor, etc. Sometimes in English the differences are more subtle, but they are there.

Japanese is an interesting one in that the words change with the speaker more often than with the subject. For example, watashi is generic Japanese for I or me, atashi is only used by females and is less formal, boku is used by either young males or males who are being subservient, (or butch lesbians, I've heard), and so on.

 

[K'Ehleyr]

I am intriqued however, tsq, by when and how you judge the difference between, for example 'tu' or 'vous'? When to be more familiar.

Is it invited? As in "please call me *first name* instead of 'Mrs ***'"
Is it something that you fall into?

Email etiquette is equally confusing:

Regards,
Kind Regards,
Many thanks,
Love and kisses (not suitable for a tutor of Son as I have realised! )

Spanish has similar words for "you": tu (informal) and su (formal). I was taught to use "su" as a term of respect, so it's something you might use with your boss or when meeting your significant other's parents for the first time. You would even use it when meeting a stranger for the first time just in case. They might then invite you to use "tu" and let you know that it's fine to do that from then on. On the flip side of that, if you suddenly started using the formal "su" when talking to your buddy, it would sound incredibly awkward.

I imagine it's one of those things that you just naturally understand when you are a native speaker of the language, but when you are coming into it from another language that doesn't have such rules, it would be very hard to get used to.

I'm worried about meeting Son's Japanese tutor. She has been brilliant to him and I would love to take her for a drink/chat. But I'm scared of mucking up. Would I look totally stupid if I bowed? Would that be showing respect or just looking silly?

 

[RoJoHen]

I am intriqued however, tsq, by when and how you judge the difference between, for example 'tu' or 'vous'? When to be more familiar.

Is it invited? As in "please call me *first name* instead of 'Mrs ***'"
Is it something that you fall into?

Email etiquette is equally confusing:

Regards,
Kind Regards,
Many thanks,
Love and kisses (not suitable for a tutor of Son as I have realised! )

Spanish has similar words for "you": tu (informal) and su (formal). I was taught to use "su" as a term of respect, so it's something you might use with your boss or when meeting your significant other's parents for the first time. You would even use it when meeting a stranger for the first time just in case. They might then invite you to use "tu" and let you know that it's fine to do that from then on. On the flip side of that, if you suddenly started using the formal "su" when talking to your buddy, it would sound incredibly awkward.

I imagine it's one of those things that you just naturally understand when you are a native speaker of the language, but when you are coming into it from another language that doesn't have such rules, it would be very hard to get used to.

I'm worried about meeting Son's Japanese tutor. She has been brilliant to him and I would love to take her for a drink/chat. But I'm scared of mucking up. Would I look totally stupid if I bowed? Would that be showing respect or just looking silly?

My guess is she would not expect you to bow.