Addressing people: standards according to etiquette

An appeal to 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 the Russian language have changed many times throughout history, as they were formed simultaneously with national traditions.

These days, speech etiquette requires compliance with 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 apply differently to different people. Intonation is of great importance, since the spoken message takes on different meanings for different intonations.

Appeal happens:

• Unofficial - on “you”, by name, “dear friend” and so on.
• The official is a bit of forgotten words-appeals to people: "madam", "sir", "mistress", "lord" and others. The most commonly used are “citizen” or “comrade”.
• Impersonal - these are sentences with an appeal to a stranger, for example, “sorry”, “tell me”, “I apologize”, “allow” and so on.

Let us consider in more detail these and other forms of treatment adopted in Russian speech etiquette.

The history of the formation of the generally recognized form of treatment 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 routine”, which was compiled by order of Peter Ι. For example, the father, according to what was written in the book, should be called "sovereign father", and his mother - "sovereign mother."

In the 18th century, the European style of behavior and appeal was established in Russia. There was also a form of speech etiquette on “You”. Official expressions such as “gracious madam” and “gracious sir” were also used. So they turned to strangers, with this form all official official documents began. After a while, an abbreviated version of the language turnover appeared in the form of "sir" and "madam".

The service used stable formulas: “Your Excellency”, “Your Honor”. “Your Highness” addressed the members of the royal family, “Your Imperial Majesty” addressed to the emperor and his wife, “Your Excellency” to the counts, and “Your Grace” to the princes.

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 lost popularity and is practically not used in speech etiquette, with the exception of the Russian army.

Shape selection

When choosing a form of addressing people in Russian, the following factors are taken into account:

• the nature of the situation (semi-official, official, unofficial);
• degree of acquaintance (unfamiliar, acquaintances, unfamiliar, familiar);
• the characterization of the speaker (male or female, subordinate or superior, younger in age or older);
• attitude to the interlocutor (neutral, respectful, polite, familiar).

“You” or “You”

In Russian, speech etiquette traditionally predominates with a reference to “you,” which expresses a respectful and polite attitude to 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 a unfamiliar and unfamiliar person;
• speakers have official relations (colleague, teacher - student, boss - subordinate);
• the interlocutor is older in age or occupies a higher official position;
• the 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;
• unfamiliar peers in the children's and youth communication environment;
• in relation to 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 the service personnel or a person who is older in age.

Forms of speech circulation "without naming the interlocutor"

Often in the Russian language faceless forms of addressing the interlocutor are used: “I'm sorry, where is ...?”, “I'm sorry, you can ask ...?” etc. Similar formulations are used in both formal and informal dialogues. They are polite and neutral.

Coarse expressions are unambiguously considered: "hey, where is it ...?", "Listen, how to get through ...?" etc.

Attention forms

There are formulas of speech etiquette, the main purpose of which is to attract the attention of the interlocutor or group of persons. 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 appeal in this case depends on the audience.

Name formulas of speech etiquette

In Russian, there are several forms of appeal to a person by name:

• Full name: Irina, Tatyana, Alexander. This is a distantly formal appeal to a person.
• Short: Ira, Tanya, Sasha. It is used in a friendly conversation.
• Diminutive: Ira, Tanyusha, Sasha. Ideal for communication between very close friends.
• Rough and familiar: Irka, Tank, Sashka. As a rule, such an appeal sounds in the dialogue between children at school.

For Russian speech etiquette, an appeal to people by name and patronymic is characteristic - this is a traditional formula that applies to older people, colleagues, to the boss, teachers, doctors.

The appeal is used 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.

Appeals to a stranger

In Russia, in the cultural tradition, such forms as “girl”, “woman”, “young man” and so on are used to appeal to strangers.

In the culture of European countries there are special stable forms of linguistic turns, for example, "Mr. Doctor," "Frau the baker," "Mrs. Professor." In the Russian language there are no uniform national standards of treatment, such as "Mrs. Mr.", "Senior - Senior." But under the influence of the culture of Western countries, such a simplified form as “gentleman”, “doctor”, “professor”, “client”, “co-founder” and so on is used.

Currently, new official appeals have appeared that unite representatives of all classes and parties: "compatriots", "fellow citizens", "Russians." They are used to attract the attention of the public and only in the plural.

Social networks have adopted an unofficial form of communication. 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, for example, “Will you go online today?”