V forms of address in Hungarian:
their roles and metapragmatic evaluation
Address practices in doctor-patient communication
Ágnes Domonkosi, Eszterházy Károly University, Hungary
domonkosi.agnes@uni-eszterhazy.hu
1. Introduction: T/V system in Hungarian
 in Hungarian, T vs. V is based on the dichotomy
between 2nd and 3rd person references to the
discourse partner
 verbs can reflect the T/V distinction through their
personal inflection by themselves, without pronouns
(pro-drop language)
2nd person 3rd person
 in T forms, the pronoun is te (ti in the plural), and all
personal suffixes (possessive and verbal) are 2nd
person as well
 V is further differentiated:
 each of these V forms has its characteristic sphere of
use, social deictic role and stylistic value
2. Research questions
1) What typical social values are attached to variants of
V, based on speakers’ metapragmatic reflections?
2) How are the functions of different V forms expressed
in doctor-patient communication?
3. Theoretical basis
 forms of address are devices for the dynamic
construal of interpersonal relations
 the relationship between discourse participants
cannot be described exhaustively along the formal vs.
informal axis, or in the dimension of power and
solidarity
 describing the construal of interpersonal relations
requires a multi-dimensional model of social meaning
 speakers’ metapragmatic evaluations can be effective
in modeling of social meaning
 in the social meaning of particular forms of address,
these dimensions may be relevant to different degrees
 the dimensions combine freely (rather than running
in parallel); e.g. a polite address can be formal or
informal, kind or cold
4. Data and methods
 questionnaire study (576 informants), interview (72
informants) – 2002, 2010
 questionnaire about doctor-patient communication
(50 doctors and 50 patients) - 2014
 open and closed questions about awareness of social
meanings: opinions and reflections of speakers
 opinions about real-life situations
 experiences and views on one’s own address
practices
 arguments to justify address choices
Poster template by ResearchPosters.co.za
5. The functions and evaluation of V forms
5.1. V1 – maga, maguk
 since the 18th century
 most controversial among V forms
 rural, dialectal form: in some dialect areas V1 is the
only V pronoun
 V1 is avoided even by informants whose vernacular
dialect has only this V pronoun: they use it in their
village, but not with outsiders or in other
environments
I only use it in my immediate
environment, it’s rural style, but
there it is completely fine.
 59.4% of informants mentioned its negative role,
offensive social meaning – the proportion is even
higher (81.2%) among informants under 35
 V1 is used in non-official relationships where
expressing respect is not an issue
 in asymmetrical but non-distant and non-impersonal
relationships the interlocutor in the superordinate
position can use V1
 V1 + first name (FN) is used in close and equal
relationships as mutual form
 2 different social meanings:
 speakers reject V1 more widely when asked to reflect
on their own language use than in their actual
language use
5.2. V2 – ön, önök
 V2 was formed through back-formation from the
forms önmaga “himself/herself” and önként in the
early 19th century
 V2 without nominal elements is used to address
unfamiliar discourse partners: signals politeness on
the part of the speaker rather than the social rank or
position of the addressee
 in official written discourse (e.g. letters) and spoken
discourse addressed to larger audiences on radio and
television
 V2 + honorifics/ honorofics + last name is the most
general address variant used in status-marked settings
 V2 is used by all age groups as a form expressing great
respect
 V2 + FN is a new development, used primarily by the
young age group: the personal nature of FN softens
the stiffness of V2
5.3. V3– zero pronoun (with 3rd person)
 the lack of a general V pronoun explains the fact that
3rd person with no pronoun has become a separate
variant of V
 a typical reason for opting for pronoun avoidance is
that neither of the V pronouns is deemed neutral and
at the same time respectful
 V3 is used with different nominal forms
 the social meaning of V3 depends on nominal forms
used with it
I never address anyone with maga, because maga is kind
of plebeian, kind of coarse. Somehow it feels rough. And
then ön feels too genteel to me. So I flounder along
between the two, without using either word.
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5.4. V4 – the auxiliary construction with tetszik
 the auxiliary tetszik (‘to please’) followed by an
infinitive
 tetszik may combine with various V forms indicating
politeness; while if it is used in order to avoid V-
pronouns, it can occur independently as a form of V
 V4 more prominent than other V forms, due to its
longer and more elaborate morpho-phonological
structure
 children → adults: 89% of the children under 14 use
V4 towards their teachers and unfamiliar adults:
expression of the inequality
It suggests that the two parties are not equal.
 in close, non-equal relationships
 V4 is in general use towards older people: especially
when there is a great age difference between the
interlocutors
 requests, expressions of interest, requests for
information: V4 is used in the service industry, to
express a high degree of politeness and courtesy
 use targeted at women has a higher share by 34%
6. Variants of V in doctor-patient communication
 all variants of V occur in healthcare communication
V1 V2 V3 V4
V1
 92% of patient informants and 84% of doctors
explicitly avoid it, finding it indecent and out of place
in the speech situation
V2
 majority of doctors and patients regard this as the
adequate pronominal address form in this
communication domain
 use of v3 and v4 differs significantly between
doctors and patients
V3
 few doctor informants use it (17%)
 patients employ V3 as a dominant strategy (61%): it
can be substituted by special honorifics directed at
the doctor (doktor úr, doktornő)
V4
 among patients, avoiding v4 for the sake of avoiding
self-subordination is widespread
 doctors use this self-subordinating form from a
superordinate position, so it becomes a device of
reducing social distance
V1 V2 V3 V4
doctors/patients
This work was supported by the OTKA K100717
(Research in functional cognitive linguistics) grant and
the Bolyai János Research Scholarship of the Hungarian
Academy of Sciences.