Addressing people in speech etiquette is a certain word or phrase that names the addressee and is characteristic of the national language culture. Its forms in Russian have changed many times throughout history, as they were formed simultaneously with national traditions.
These days, speech etiquette requires adherence to unspoken rules. One of its important forms is the appeal to different people or to a specific person.
Concepts and definitions
Depending on gender, age, position in society, degree of kinship and acquaintance, we do not address different people in the same way. Intonation is of great importance, as the spoken message takes on a different meaning with different intonation.
Appeal happens:
- Informal - to "you", by name, "dear friend" and so on.
- Official is a bit of a forgotten word-appeals to people: "madame", "sir", "madam", "sir" and others. The most commonly used are "citizen" or "comrade".
- Impersonal - these are sentences addressing a stranger, such as "excuse me", "tell me", "I'm sorry", "please" and so on.
Let's take a closer look at these and other forms of address adopted in Russian speech etiquette.
The history of the formation of a generally recognized form of address in Russian
The first norms of speech etiquette appeared at the beginning of the 18th century and were set out in the textbook "Indications for everyday behavior", which was compiled by order of Peter Ι. For example, the father, according to what is written in the book, should have been called “sir father”, and the mother - “sovereign mother”.
In the 18th century, the European style of behavior and address was established in Russia. There was also a form of speech etiquette for "You". Official expressions such as "dear madam" and "dear sir" were also used. This is how strangers were addressed, all service official documents began with this form. After a while, an abbreviated version of the language turnover appeared in the form of “sir” and “madame”.
Strong formulas were used in the service: "Your Excellency", "Your Honor". Members of the royal family were called "Your Highness", the emperor and his wife - "Your Imperial Majesty", the counts - "Your Excellency", the princes - "Your Grace".
After the October Revolution, such appeals to people as “comrade”, “citizen”, “citizen” came into use. After the collapse of the USSR, the first of them lostpopularity and is practically not used in speech etiquette, the exception is the Russian army.
Shape selection
When choosing the form of addressing people in Russian, the following factors are taken into account:
- nature of the situation (semi-official, official, unofficial);
- degree of acquaintance (unfamiliar, familiar, unfamiliar, well known);
- characteristics of the speaker (male or female, subordinate or boss, younger or older);
- attitude towards the interlocutor (neutral, respectful, polite, familiar).
"You" or "You"
In Russian speech etiquette is traditionally dominated by the appeal to "you", which expresses a respectful and polite attitude towards the interlocutor. This form is used when referring to a person in official situations: at work, in institutions, in public places. Mostly "You" is addressed if:
- this is an unfamiliar and unfamiliar person;
- speakers have official relations (colleague, teacher - student, boss - subordinate);
- the interlocutor is older or holds a higher official position;
- a person is an official in a particular institution, enterprise or institution.
The "you" form prevails in informal communication: at home, among friends, on vacation. That is, they refer to:
- to a well-known person;
- children and young people;
- unknown peers in children's and youthcommunication environment;
- towards their children.
An extremely gross violation of the ethics and norms of verbal communication, as well as an indicator of bad manners, is the appeal to "you" to the attendants or a person who is older.
Forms of speech turnover "without naming the interlocutor"
Often in Russian, faceless forms of address to the interlocutor are used: “Excuse me, where is …?”, “Excuse me, can I ask …?” etc. Similar language is used in both formal and informal dialogues. They are polite and neutral.
The expressions are unambiguously considered rude: “hey, where is it …?”, “Listen, how to get through …?” and so on.
Attention-grabbing forms of address
There are speech etiquette formulas, the main purpose of which is to attract the attention of an interlocutor or a group of people. For example, "young man", "man", "girl" and so on.
If it is necessary to interest a group of people, stable phrases are used: “Dear ladies and gentlemen!”, “Colleagues!”, “Friends!”, “Guys!”, “Citizens!”, “Dear compatriots!”. The specific form of address in this case depends on the audience.
Nominal formulas of speech etiquette
In Russian, there are several forms of addressing a person by name:
- Full name: Irina, Tatyana, Alexander. This is a detached official address to a person.
- Short: Ira, Tanya, Sasha. It is used infriendly conversation.
- Diminutive: Irochka, Tanyusha, Sashenka. Ideal for communication between very close acquaintances.
- Rude and familiar: Irka, Tanya, Sasha. As a rule, such an appeal sounds in the dialogue between children at school.
It is common for Russian speech etiquette to address people by name and patronymic - this is a traditional formula that is used in relation to older people, colleagues, boss, teachers, doctors.
Used and address only by last name. It is used in educational and medical institutions, in the army. This is the norm and is considered a neutral and polite form.
Appeal to a stranger
In Russia, the cultural tradition for addressing strangers uses such forms as “girl”, “woman”, “young man” and so on.
In the culture of European countries, special stable forms of language expressions have developed, for example, “Mr. Doctor”, “Frau Baker”, “Mrs. Professor”. In the Russian language, there are no unified national standards of address, such as "Mrs - Mister", "Senior - Senorina". But under the influence of the culture of Western countries, such a simplified form is used, such as "Mr", "Doctor", "Professor", "Client", "Co-Founder" and so on.
Currently, new official appeals have appeared that unite representatives of all estates and parties: “compatriots”, “compatriots”, “Russians”. They areused to attract the attention of the public and only in the plural.
In social networks, an informal form of communication has been adopted. After it, as a rule, they go straight to the topic of conversation. For example, "Hello! What are you doing tonight?" The most common form is "you", which is also used in conversations with older people, such as "Will you go online today?"
