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 |