Regarding the spelling of the appeal to the reader, the following questions arise: "When is it appropriate to write" You "with a capital letter and in what cases is it unacceptable?" Why are there different options in the literature? What do modern rules say?
Let's look into the depths of centuries
Until the eighteenth century in Russia, one person was addressed to “you”, be it a high-ranking official, even a tsar, or a simple peasant. There was also no difference in the treatment of an older person .
True, it should be noted that from the XI-XVI centuries the appeal to "you" can be found in official correspondence when addressing the prince. Apparently, the influence of Byzantium, where such an appeal was in the order of things , affected it .
With the development of the language, especially since the time of Peter I, under the influence of French and German etiquette, the appeal to "you", as polite and respectful, is gradually becoming the norm.
Over time, at first the nobles, then the educated layers of the society, "poked" high-ranking persons, persons occupying the highest position in society and older in age. Among peasants, “you” continued to persist.
Circulation in the literature
Authoritative writers - such as A.S. Pushkin and L.N. Tolstoy - used this epistolary turn in their letters. Moreover, they wrote "you" with a capital or small letter.
Tatyana’s letter begins with an appeal to “you”:
But after a few phrases, Tatyana switches to “you”, pours out feelings in a letter, after which she also ends with “you”:
- I’m bailing your honor.
How can one not recall the poet’s remark about a more intimate “you”:
- You’re empty hearty, she, having said a word, replaced.
A.S. Pushkin writes a lowercase letter. Although his famous letter on the day of the duel of A.O. Ishimova contains “You” and “You” with a capital letter.
L. N. Tolstoy wrote to Yu. Bitovt:
I. S. Turgenev in a letter to Schumacher writes:
- For sim, I remain loyal to you ...
Here is the appeal to you with a capital letter.
By the way, V. I. Dahl, the compiler of the famous dictionary and friend of Aleksandr Sergeyevich, did not approve of “weeping,” of this “distorted politeness,” as he put it. It is obvious that in those days there were no clear boundaries for using a capital letter in the "you" address.
How to be a modern person? After all, even the classics are inconsistent in their preferences.
What do the rules say?
The question of how to write "you" - with a capital or small letter - arose with a vengeance with the advent of the Internet. Website owners, referring to potential visitors, have created a new type of correspondence - not official and not personal, but at the same time public. The Russian Language Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences recommends the following rules:
1. This appeal should be written with a capital letter in official letters to one person:
- Your Honor, let me introduce you the following case materials and copies of documents. ...
2. Turning to more than one person, you should write these words with a small letter:
- I am sending you, dear Anton Pavlovich and Yuri Alexandrovich, copies of the documents you are interested in ...
3. In the questionnaires, the spelling of these words is regulated with a capital letter:
- Indicate what awards you have and what thanks you have been given ...
4. In congratulatory addresses, as they are equated with official letters, write these words with a capital letter:
- Dear Vasily Nikodimovich! Congratulations on your fiftieth birthday and from the whole team we wish you ...
5. Turning to reading the page on the Internet, it is recommended to use a small letter:
- If you liked this article, as well as if you would like to change or supplement something ...
Drinking practice
Now, as before, in the official correspondence “You” is written with a capital letter, it is unacceptable to address otherwise - this is illiterate and impolite. These are the requirements of etiquette.
In personal correspondence, the choice is the author of the letter. It is permissible to use “you” with a lowercase letter. There is a tendency, especially in emails, to increase the use of the lowercase pronoun “you”.
Directories published before 2000 establish the rate of reference to “You” with a capital letter, and after 2000 - with a lowercase. It should be noted here that the well-known recommendations of the RAS were issued to Yandex executives in mid-2000.
Newspapers and advertisements do not use a capital letter in the pronoun "you". This is not required in the literature (for example, in direct speech), in quotations, or in an appeal to the reader.
To summarize
How, after all, to write "you" - with a capital or small letter? We list all the options:
1. At the request of etiquette, officials (the highest persons, president, ambassador, judge, director) are contacted only with a capital letter “You”. Moreover, the author may not have any respect for the addressee, but the rules are the rules.
2. Appeal to two or more persons in any correspondence is regulated only with a lowercase letter.
3. Profiles are drawn up with the pronoun “You” with a capital letter.
4. In personal correspondence, promotional materials, press releases and releases, interviews, you should write “you” with a small letter. But if the author really wants to testify in his letter of respect, it is permissible to write “to you” only if it is an appeal to a specific person. This is considered an optional spelling.
How in such situations to write the appeal "to you" - with a capital or small letter - is determined by the author. In any case, turning to “you”, he demonstrates the degree of polite attitude to the addressee.