polite/formal

[Deborah Hoffman]

I've often been intrigued by this fact in standard
Italian, as many of the dialects (or what came to be
considered dialects after Italian unification) use
"voi" for the formal.  Getting further off course from
Slavics, I've often wondered if this usage was grafted
into the Florentine dialect from the German and hence
made its way into what came to be the preferred form
of Italian.

--------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Date:    Fri, 23 Dec 2005 14:17:54 -0500
> From:    Edward M Dumanis <dumanis at BUFFALO.EDU>
> Subject: Re: from vy to oni
> 
> Talking about "Vy" in relation to a third person
> singular, it is
> interesting to note that Italian "Lei" (She/Her) is
> used as a polite
> form of addressing a singular person in Italian.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Edward Dumanis <dumanis at buffalo.edu>
> 

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