Datapoint Indonesian / Politeness Distinctions in Pronouns

Language:Indonesian
Feature:Politeness Distinctions in Pronouns by Johannes Helmbrecht
Value:Pronouns avoided for politeness

Notes

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

References