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''Du-reformen'' ((:ˈdʉː reˈfɔrmən), ''the you-reform'') was the process of popularization of the second-person singular pronoun ''du'' as a universal form of address in Sweden, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The use of ''du'' (cognate with English ''thou'', French ''tu'', and German ''du'') replaced an intricate former system where speakers could use the third person ''hon'' and ''han'' ("she" and "he'), the second person plural pronoun ''ni'' ("you") or titles like ''fru'' and ''fröken'' ("Mrs." and "Ms."), ''kamrer'' ("accountant"), ''doktor'' ("doctor"), etc.〔(How the Swedish language lost its formality ), Elin Hellström〕 Formerly, it was considered impolite to address most people without an appropriate title. A subordinate was addressed as ''ni'' or ''han/hon'', or alternatively by name. ''Du'' was only used between close friends, family, and for addressing children. However, usage of the singular and plural second-person pronoun or titles varied between different parts of the country and thereby also by social context, both before and after the reform. ==History== In the Swedish of Sweden, the polite ''ni'' was known from earlier epochs, but had come to be considered somewhat careless, bullying or rude; instead, an intricate system had evolved in order to prudently step around pronouns almost altogether. Addressing in third person singular adding ''title and surname'' was considered proper and respectful in most cases. But with persons of higher standing, say a doctor, count or managing director, there arose the question when to use that title only and when to precede it with a ''herr'' ('mister' or, in this connection, 'sir'); not doubling such titles could be very rude unless you were on somewhat informal terms. A woman, married to a husband with a specific title, was addressed using the ''feminine form of her husband's title'' as a matter of course. This created its own set of problems as more and more women acquired professional titles of their own. If two persons were somewhat acquainted and not too far apart in rank and age, they could then drop the name and use the ''title only''—with the same problem of single or double title as above. Surname without title was considered proper between friends not too close and for a superior to his subordinate or someone of similar rank. That was also customary in male brotherhoods like between students. Below that on the social scale, both among peers and from above, was the ''third person singular pronoun only'' (''han'' 'he', less often ''hon'' 'she'). That was more usual in the countryside; considered rustic by "educated" people, but fitting towards e.g. an old fisher- or woodman. Simple folks of venerable age could be properly addressed ''far'' ('father'; less usual) and ''mor'' ('mother') ''plus Christian name'', both by their own and by superiors. The sex difference in the two addresses above was caused mainly by the ''hon'' ('she') being felt as too direct, maybe a covert insult or sign of doubt as to the addressee's decency. If she was a farmwife or the like, she could be called ''mor'' etc. even if young; otherwise, one had to make do with the nearest-fitting other way of addressing. A master could address his servant, or a farmer his farmhand, by ''Christian name in the third person''; that was more common between females, as the female world was generally more confined, but restricted between the sexes unless the social gap was very wide. A subordinate, in each case, answered by using the superior's title or titles or, in private, the informal term for his rank (e.g. ''herrn'', ''patron''). ''Kinship term plus Christian name'', still never alternating with pronoun, was proper in private to nearer older relatives. The second person singular ''du'' was used only to and between children, within a married couple, between lovers or to a more or less voluntary mistress of lower standing, and between friends who had ''druckit duskål'' ('toasted for thou', as it were; infinitive ''dricka duskål'') with each other—of course initiated by the elder or higher-ranked party. Again, the custom could be somewhat more relaxed among women—at least the toast itself was usually dispensed with. Then, ''du'' could be used to insult a tramp or the like. Parts of this system began to erode around the Second World War or so, but the essentials held up into the 1960s. In the province of Dalarna, however, and in a few other remote places with few upper-class people, the ''du''/''ni'' distinction had remained one of number only; possibly, children addressed their parents with ''far'' (Father) and ''mor'' (Mother) also when ''du'' would otherwise have been more logical. In some other remote places, the ''ni'' survived as both second person plural pronoun and polite address—to elders, including one's parents, not classified with "better people"—but in its older form ''I''. In standard Swedish, that form had become archaic and solemn well before the 20th century. (''I'' is always capitalized, not out of respect but to avoid confusion with the preposition ''i'' ('in').) As the twentieth century progressed, this circumlocutive system of addressing, with its innumerable ambiguities and opportunities for unintentional offence, was increasingly felt as a nuisance. An early way out was to carry the circumlocutions one degree further—finding impersonal ways of saying what was needful, avoiding both personal pronoun and title. (''Får det lov att vara en kopp kaffe?'', approximately 'Might it be a cup of coffee?'; ''Så det är till att resa?'', approximately 'So, it is about travelling?'). However, that soon proved of little avail. For one thing, you still had to address the person you talked with directly from time to time in the conversation, otherwise you would really have sounded impolite—and over time, it became ''de rigueur'' to do so more and more often, until it was a system with both longish titles used instead of personal pronouns and impersonal circumlocutions; and for another, the impersonal constructions soon acquired their own gradations, to be observant upon—e.g., that in the second example above being perceived as more and more rustic, ending up rude. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Du-reformen」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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