Kerry Hale wrote:
Jacqui wrote:
If episode 'Blake' was being translated into a language with 'familiar' you and 'formal' you, which would Avon's 'Have you betrayed...' be in?
Nico replied
Familiar (tu, du)! Avon would consider himself superior to
everyone else,
and would address everyone he knows, except perhaps Servalan, in the familiar. The formal would be reserved for people he's just
met, or barely
knows.
I think Avon would use the 'formal' you for everyone except the very few people he has been close to in order to keep everyone else at a distance. The 'familiar' is for people you care about or are prepared to admit you care about.
Or for those you outrank, have authority over, or feel contempt for. I can't see Avon using the formal you with Vila for example. (And Vila would use the familiar with all the crew to be friendly or to tease.)
Maybe it depends on the language. When I lived in Germany, my friends really hated the advertising slogans 'Trink Coca Cola' and 'Trimm Dich' ('drink coke', and 'get fit') because they used the familiar you and they regarded it as an insult. OTOH the formal you was the polite form to use, and I can't see Avon passing up an opportunity to put someone down.
What do native speakers of such a language think?
Nico
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