| Language: | Indonesian |
| Feature: | Politeness Distinctions in Pronouns by Johannes Helmbrecht |
| Value: | Pronouns avoided for politeness |
|
bapak |
2nd sg. hon. |
- 'father' - used for speaker and hearer reference; respectful forms used to older people or to any adult of marriagable age; can be used with proper name; can also mean "I"; in this usage it is restricted to older people talking to younger people |
|
engkau, kau, kamu |
2nd sg. intim. |
- used to address children, and between equals who have a close relationship with each other; 2nd person pronouns are all restricted in social usage in Indonesian |
|
ibu |
2nd sg. hon. |
- 'mother' (notes see ‘bapak’) |
|
kalian |
2nd sg. intim. |
- used to address children, between equals who have a close relationship with each other; there are almost no polite forms in 2nd person pronouns |
|
-nya |
2nd sg. hon. |
- /-nya/ is a 3rd person bound pronoun (no number distinction); it is sometimes used as a polite form for 2nd person address, if there is uncertainty how to address a specific person; another strategy is to to avoid personal pro altogether |
|
saudara |
2nd sg. hon. |
- used to address siblings or relatives of the same generation; 2nd person polite address for male people of the speaker's generation or younger; used to address people with whom the speaker is not well aquainted |
|
saudari |
2nd sg. hon. |
- used to address siblings or relatives of the same generation; 2nd person polite address for female people of the speaker's generation or younger; used to address people with whom the speaker is not well aquainted |