Are there significant differences in the language when you are talking to family rather than strangers? older people rather than younger ones? Are there class distinctions? Are there gender distinctions? What else do you know about formality and informality in cultures where 'your' language is spoken?
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Sindhi similar to many other languages spoken in India does depend a lot on the cultural aspect when we think about formality. It is a patriarchal society where the man is the head of a household and is given utmost respect.
In our society elders are given respect and Sindhi incorporates different versions of the word “you” when talking to someone older or someone younger than you. It is not only the word “you”, that is just an example. In Sindhi if I were to say “you” to someone older than me I would use the word “thava khe” - तवा खे but if I am using the same word with someone younger than me I would say “tokhe” - तोखे
The Sindhi language also makes gender distinctions. When we say verbs and some adjectives the format of the verb or adjective changes depending on whether the word is being referred to a male or female. Mostly when it is used for a female te verb will end with a “ee” sound but when for male the verb will end with a “aa” sound. Examples:
To tell (male) – chavan
To tell (female) – chavanthi
Nice/good (male) – sutha
Nice/good (female) – suthi
Like in spanish, a language that I have spent more time with, there is a specific term for the formal version of 'you': shoma. So if I were to engage with a stranger or someone older, I would use this term to show respect. Another way of being formal and showing respect is the use of jan after someone's name, it's also considered a term of endearment and is used with children as well.
Titles are also important to use upon initial interactions. doktor is used like in the U.S, for MDs and PhDs while engineers are called mohandis; these are used with the last name of the individual. More general titles are also used, like agha, (sir) for men and khanoom (madam) for women. First name basis is something that comes over time as only close friends and family use first names.
A formality in regards to gender is that men do not ask other men about their wife or any other female relative.
Turkish, just as almost any other language has formal and informal ways of saying things. For example there is more than one meaning to "you" in Turkish. For example, if you talk to a close friend or relatives you will use informal you "sen", but if you are talking to older people or to someone you want to show respect then you will use formal you which is "siz" in Turkish. This is one of the characteristics of Turkish language.
Turkish language has many respect words that are frequently used. For example, instead of saying "siz" formal for "you" when talking to a teacher, students use "Hocam" which means "my master" or "my teacher." Then "Bey" and "Hanim" are used after the name and they can be used when speaking to people that are unknown to us or just show respect. Bey is used for addressing a male, and Hanim for addressing a female. For example: "Ayse Hanim, gelebilir misin?" which when translated to English means "Ms. Ayse, could you come?"
Informal way of saying goodbye is "Hosça kal" while formal is "Hosça kalin." Formal way of saying "thank you" is "Tesekkür ederim" while informal is "Tesekkürler." When you want to ask someone for his/her name, informal way of asking is "Adin ne?" while formal is "Sizin adiniz ne?"
When Turkish people meet with their close friends, they usually kiss each other on cheeks, regardless of whether it is man to man, woman to woman or man to woman. It is also a custom to kiss a hand of an older person to show respect.
English language distinguishes between gender specific pronouns such as "she", "he", "it," however, Turkish language does not. Turkish language has only one pronoun for "she/he/it" and that is "o". This makes Turkish language much easier, however, for me as a beginner this causes a lot of trouble because I never know when somebody is referring to "she, he or it." I know that I will understand it from the context of a sentence once I build vocabulary, but for now, I find it very confusing.
There are significant differences in Bengali when speaking to friends/family versus a stranger, in terms of informality and formality. This comes from age difference rather than class differences. Interestingly enough, there is no gender specification in the language; the gender of the person is in context rather than attached to the verb or noun. This chart displays the pronouns:
I
These are the informal pronouns that are used to speak to immediate family or friends. When referring to older people, such as grandparents or older family members with whom a close relationship is not shared, the formal pronouns used to speak to them are apne (you), apnar (your), apnader (your pl.). When referring to them the formal pronouns are unni (he/she), unar (his/her), unader (your pl.). These pronouns can also be used when referring to a respectable person or to someone belonging to a higher class. For example, when speaking to a politician or other government official, these terms would be used. If the younger generations do not speak to the elders with these respectful terms, it is considered disrespectful and displays cultural ignorance in respecting elders.
Beyond the informal address, there is another category of informal. This is so informal that it can be considered rude to use it. It is usually used by the uneducated populace or to show higher status when speaking to someone of a lower class. They are tui (you), tura (you pl.), tor (your), toder (your pl.). This category can be complicated because while it can be rude and show lack of education and disrespect, it can also display closeness. For example, it is taboo to use this on elders as it would be undermining their authority, however an elder may use that on a young child and it would be accepted.
Similar to Spanish, there are differences in communication, in the words you say and in the words you write, when communicating in a formal manner and when speaking in an informal manner. Informal language is appropriate when speaking to friends, peers your own age, those younger than you, and close family members. Formal language is more appropriate when speaking to strangers, those older than you, those who seem to carry great "clout", and anyone else to whom you desire to show reverence.
The differences in language mainly come down to vocabulary and phrasing, not quite as simple as verb alterations like in Spanish. The language learner, ie me, is required to simply know the two ways of saying the same thing depending on context. I want my focus to begin with formal, though I want to communicate with people on a street level, because I would rather be weirdly respectful and deferential than weirdly disrespectful.
Korean has a significant distinction between formality and informality. Depending on the kind of relationship with a person, your speech can either be either be formal or informal. In actuality, there are several levels of informality and formality and each of them have their own title. Although there are specific titles for these levels, the overall feel is based on the intimacy with the person you are speaking with. For instance, speaking to a close friend and family members a Korean speaker will more likely speak in an informal manner. While speaking to elders, possibly grandparents, or strangers, one will more likely speak formally. Although there is a general idea of what level of formality to use during specific times, for instance using a high level of formality when speaking to someone important such as your boss versus speaking to your best friend, in general there is no class distinction present. The only one is known as “formal polite” but this never used in modern times because it is meant to be used with kings, queens or a high official. This level of formality is currently only heard in historical Korean dramas and read only in the Bible. Also Korean does not have gender distinction.
Another form of formality is bowing. Bowing is a common gesture found among many Asian countries. When first meeting someone, regardless of age, you usual bow out of respect. From the perspective of someone my age, I would bow by simply tilting my head slightly. But if I were to meet someone who is an adult or elder, I would bow further or a bit longer. But the bow does not need to be in excessive or a 90 degree angle. Another form of formalities are honorifics. The choice of honorific is based on the relationship the speaker has with the person they are conversing with. In an event when conversing with someone older, there is a specific one to pick depending both the speaker and the person they are speaking to genders’. Here is a list of honorifics and their reasoning of being used:
언니 [Unni] = What girls say to older sisters or girls older than themselves.
오빠 [Oppa] = What girls say to older brothers or boys older than themselves.
누나 [Noona] = What boys say to older sisters or girls older than themselves
형 [Hyung] = What boys say to older brothers or boys older than themselves.
Using these honorifics can indicate various things. The most obvious reason is respect. Another less obvious reason is actually intimacy. For instance, it is common among Korean girls to call their boyfriends “oppa” out of affection. Although honorifics were first made for respect usage, in Korea they can also show a mix of respect and intimacy you have for a person. Meaning you may call someone with an honorific, but proceed to use a less formal speech pattern to show how intimate you are. As expected, respect has many degrees in Asia that it is not simply one or the other. There can certainly be a mix of both formality and informality.
the only formal thing about Persian I have learned is to use shoma as opposed to tu when speaking directly to a superior.
The speaker or writer's relationship to the person with whom they are speaking decides the level of formality. There are many class distinctions in Korean and honorifics were usually used to indicate and uphold social status differences. However, in contemporary society, these stringent distinctions are loosened. Now, honorifics are more commonly used to show the differences between formal and informal speech and to indicate the level of familiarity the speaker has to the subject/audience. Words are added to the ends of names or pronouns to indicate relative ages and social positions of the speakers. Using the wrong honorific can cause offense (I've seen instances in Korean dramas where a character deliberately used the wrong honorific to insult someone, a nuance that may be lost on someone whose language doesn't have levels of politeness.)
There are a lot of Korean honorifics lists on the internet but I found this page to be helpful.
1. strangers- "However, outsiders, strangers and those who do not belong to their social class or group will not usually receive such consideration. This is part of the reason why Iranians often try to talk to the head of an office or organization, because they feel once they are personally known to the person in charge, they will be treated with "insider" status." from : http://bahai-library.com/lewis_iranian_refugees_america
2. older people
Being loud is considered inappropriate unless people know each other very well. People stand up when new guests arrive except with the elderly who will remain seated and sometimes women will only stand up when other females arrive. Card games and jokes are a popular past time at parties but normally unsavory jokes are exclusive to males and are not mentioned in mixed gatherings with females present and definitely not in front of the elderly or parents. Respecting elderly is another ancient practice that has survived. Traditionally the older people are respected, listened to and are treated accordingly. It is customary for all to stand up once they enter a room, the best seats are allocated to them and they are offered drinks and food before anyone else. Younger people are expected to be polite and restrain themselves and even avoid drinking alcohol or smoke cigarettes when elderly are present. Mothers particularly are revered and well into 20th century when traveling was a major task, sons would regard it as a tremendous achievement if they could finance their mother’s trip to Mecca or other holy shrines. Till recently grandmothers and aunts were trusted with the task of finding suitable spouses for the young in the family. The elderly are still consulted with such matters and play a very important part in bringing up their grand children and sometimes even naming them at the time of birth. While speaking to them or about them third person is used as a sign of respect and they normally have both a formal and a nickname allocated to them. There are no standard terminology used to refer to them and local variations exist and are important.
3. class- Iranian culture is patriarchal, legally and culturally males have more rights and privileges than females. Centuries of gender discrimination and segregation of sexes has created distinct roles and codes of behavior for both the sexes and many are still practiced toda
4. gender "Generally the lower and uneducated classes may regard females as inferior or different who are entitled to a lesser position in the society. On the other hand the modern classes normally strive to guarantee the equality of sexes and eliminate gender discrimination" http://www.iranchamber.com/culture/articles/codes_behavior.php
5. informality - "more Americans prefer to sit informally later in negotiations and believe it can show familiarity while Iranians may interpret it as impoliteness."
Read more: http://www.businessteacher.org.uk/free-business-essays/americans-ir...
Does the language itself make formal/informal distinctions? Do women speak differently than men? I see some of the answers in terms of older people, but what about others?
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