A_Comparison_of_Pronoun_Systems_and_Address_Terms_in_English_and_French.

A comparison of pronoun systems and address terms in English and French. The modern languages of English and French share histories of great literary prowess and achievement. These two languages have repeatedly, and continue to today, exchanged linguistic elements and systems so much so that in observing mechanisms such as pronoun usage and kinship terms some very interesting differences and similarities appear. When observing the pronoun systems of the English and French languages, some interesting and significant differences emerge. For example in the English language, the pronoun you is used to address a single person in the second person. But the function of this word you also extends to address multiple people in the second person. Ergo if one were to listen to a recorded speech in which the speaker addressed his audience with the pronoun you, it would impossible to determine solely from that whether that person was speaking to one listener or many. Instead, English speakers must observe the overall context of what is being said to determine whether the you form is plural or singular. In the French language however, a different system exists in which a distinction is made between addressing single and multiple persons in the second person. Where in English one would address a single person with the word you, in French the equivalent pronoun is the word tu. But unlike in English this tu form cannot be used to address multiple people in the second person. Instead the plural form vous is used (see Appendix A). Additionally, the English language does not distinguish between formal and informal address by way of differing pronouns. French on the other hand does use its pronoun system to make this distinction. As well as serving to specify whether one is speaking to one person or a group of people, the French pronouns tu and vous also denote different levels of formality; tu being the informal and vous being the formal. For instance when speaking to a friend or family member, the tu form would be the more appropriate but if one were ever to address a teacher or superior with tu, it would be considered very rude (Warren 2006, p. 5). The same disparity exists regarding the pronoun they. In the English language, there is made no distinction between addressing multiple people in the third person depending on the majority gender of said group of people; whether addressing a group of males or females, the pronoun does not change but is always simply they. Yet for French speakers the situation is different and the rules for the system are quite interesting indeed. In French, when addressing multiple people in the third person, one must first establish the composition of that group in terms of gender. If for example one is speaking about a group entirely composed of males, then the pronoun used would be the masculine form ils. However if a group is entirely composed of females, then the pronoun would change to the feminine form elles. (see Appendix A) But what happens when one is referring to a group of people in the third person that is mostly composed of males but contains some females, and vice versa' Or is there a change when referring to a group that is 50% male and 50% female' Interestingly, none but one factor has any influence on whether the masculine or feminine form is used and that is whether or not at least one male is present; one could be referring to a large group of females, in which case the feminine elles would be used, however as soon as at least one male is present in that group, the form must change to the masculine ils. Of course in the real world, instances could occur in which one male would be present in a group of fifty females, and realistically this would never change the form of pronoun used. However the rules for French pronoun usage remain theoretically so. Another vast difference between the English and French languages, in terms of pronoun systems, involves the words you and we and us. In English, when talking about a group of people as the subject of a sentence, in which the speaker is included, the pronoun we is used. This pronoun does not change depending on the formality of the speaking situation or indeed any other factor. However in French, there is a change. In French, when talking about a group of people as the subject of a sentence, in which the speaker is included, one can –and must- choose between the pronouns nous and on. The form nous is used formally i.e. in news reports, public announcements and newspapers etc. On the other hand, where once upon a time the nous form was used universally to mean we, an informal on is now used. Today this on form is used as the everyday word for we and is only replaced by nous in quite formal contexts. (see Appendix B) But this modern on pronoun has another use which also exists in English. Almost every single English speaker today has at least once used the word you when in fact referring to people in general. For example one of the most common phrases uttered by anyone learning how to play a new video game is “How do you shoot'” Of course by saying this, the person does not mean “How do you shoot' Because the button will be different for me I’m sure.” Obviously what is meant by “How do you shoot'” is actually “How does one shoot'” Where once we would use the word one to refer to the common man or ‘people in general’, we now use the word you. The same phenomenon occurs in French but with one important difference. To say “How do you shoot'” in French would be “On tire comment'” Notice that the word on is present which we know to mean we. This on pronoun is also used just like our general you to mean people as a whole. But the difference between the two general pronouns is this. For English speakers in previous centuries (even in colloquial speech) to refer to people in general, the word one would be used. And this form is still used formally in some social circles and in academic work. But for the most part, this archaic one has been replaced by the word you. In French however, the modern pronoun to refer to people in general, i.e. on, has existed with this function for centuries and only recently has evolved to encompass the informal we as well (Compernolle 2008, p. 86). Another noteworthy difference between the English and French languages involves their systems of kinship terms. It is observable that in some cases, terms in one language mirror those in the other but in others there is no relation at all. In regards to immediate family, such as mother, father, sister, brother etc. the terms assigned in French are as simple as those of English, and sometimes resemble each other, but are not identical. For example mother becomes mere, father becomes pere, sister becomes soeur and so on (see Appendix B). Perhaps to no surprise however, there are kinship terms within the two languages which clearly have evolved in the same way. For example in English, to refer to the mother of one’s mother or father, one would use the term grandmother. Likewise the father or one’s mother or father is called their grandfather. In exactly the same way, the mere of one’s mere or pere in the French language is called their grandmere, literally taking the French words for big and mother and combining them. Obviously the same system applies in the case of the word grandfather which in French becomes grandpere. However in English, to refer on the other hand to the daughter or one’s son or daughter, we use the word granddaughter as an evident inversion of grandmother. And the same system applies to the male side of the coin i.e. grandfather becomes grandson. Speakers of French adhere to a different system. When referring to the daughter of one’s son or daughter, a French speaker would use the word petite-fille meaning small daughter. Equally petit-fils, meaning small son refers to the son of one’s son or daughter. However the most interesting of diversities between the kinship terms of English and French arise when referring to one’s in-laws and half-siblings. In common with English is the French system for referring to siblings with which one shares a single biological parent. If you were to have a sister whose father is not your father as well, she would be called your half-sister. By the same token, a brother with whom you only share one parent is called your half-brother. In French the system is the same; the word demi-seour translates to half-sister as does demi-frère to half-brother (see Appendix B). Yet when it comes to members of one’s family with whom there is no blood relation, the two languages differ greatly. In English, the name for a man who is married to your mother but is not your father is your stepfather. Just like a woman who is married to your father but is not your mother is your stepmother and this prefix step- can be applied to the words daughter, son, sister and brother as well. The equivalent French system uses a different and perhaps slightly more intimate prefix. Your stepfather would in fact be called your beau-pere in French as would your stepmother be called your belle-mere. These respectively translate into beautiful Father and beautiful mother, although the word beautiful in this context has less amorous connotations in French (Maranda 1974, p. 104). Reflection upon the differences and similarities between one’s own language and another is not an everyday activity for most. But sometimes it is valuable to step back and ponder the origins and rational behind an ability to speak that is often taken for granted. And learning another language is arguably the most effective and most rewarding way in which to do that. Appendix A English | French | I | Je | You | Tu | He | Il | She | Elle | You p | Vous | We | Nous | They m | Ils | They f | Ells | We (informal) | On | Us | Nous | You (general) | On | Appendix B English | French | Mother | Mere | Father | Pere | Sister | Soeur | Brother | Frere | Daughter | Fille | Son | fils | Grandmother | Grandmere | Grandfather | Grandpere | Granddaughter | Petite fille | Grandson | Petit fils | Stepmother | Belle mere | Stepfather | Beau pere | Stepsister | Demi soeur | Stepbrother | Demi frère | Brother in law | Beau frère | Sister law | Belle soeur | Son in law | Beau fils | Daughter in law | Belle fille | References 1. Compernolle, R.A.v 2008, ‘Nous versus on: Pronouns with firstperson plural reference in synchronous French chat’, CJAL, vol. 11, no. 2, The Pennsylvania State University 2. Maranda, P 1974, ‘French Kinship – Structure and History’, Mouton, University of British Columbia 3. Warren, J 2006, ‘Address Pronouns in French – Variation within and outside the workplace’, Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, vol. 29, no. 2, Monash University Press