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I don't know if anyone has pointed this out yet, but if not it is time someone did: it is not only in Russian, African & Australian languages, etc. that wives and husbands are referred to as "mother" and "father" by their spouses -- but also, and quite normally, in rural American English! (I just heard it again last night...)<BR>
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Colin Masica<BR>
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<B>From: </B>Elena Skribnik <Elena.Skribnik@FINN.FAK12.UNI-MUENCHEN.DE><BR>
<B>Reply-To: </B>Elena Skribnik <Elena.Skribnik@FINN.FAK12.UNI-MUENCHEN.DE><BR>
<B>Date: </B>Tue, 22 Apr 2003 14:59:10 +0200<BR>
<B>To: </B>LINGTYP@LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG<BR>
<B>Subject: </B>Re: Summary: number in personal pronouns<BR>
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<BLOCKQUOTE><FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Arial">> Re: Summary: number in personal pronouns<BR>
I would like to add two more items to the list:<BR>
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a) the use of "we" instead of "I" in scientific Russian and German; for the<BR>
generation of my teachers "we" is the norm, both spoken and written, in my<BR>
generation "I" appears sporadically - evidently under the English influence.<BR>
Compare: I argue that = Nam (Pl.) predstavljaetsja, chto; v nashej rabote<BR>
'in our (=my) work'; etc. The same happens in German;<BR>
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b) plural pronouns with singular reference as polite forms are widely<BR>
spread; but there are also cases when they are used in response, like in<BR>
some German dialects: "Wie geht es Euch (Sg.)? Uns (=mir) geht es gut". The<BR>
same happens in Turkish.<BR>
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By the way, in Russian families with children the husband can call his wife<BR>
not only by her name, but simply mat' - 'mother', and she can call him<BR>
otec - "father".<BR>
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Elena Skribnik<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Arial">Prof. Dr. Elena Skribnik<BR>
Institut für Finnougristik/Uralistik<BR>
der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München<BR>
Ludwigstr. 31<BR>
D-80539 München<BR>
Tel. (089) 2180 1379<BR>
Fax (089) 2180 3005<BR>
E-mail: Elena.Skribnik@finn.fak12.uni-muenchen.de<BR>
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