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Subject:
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Referring to self in second person
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Question:
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It seems that there's been a trend in increased use of second person when people are referring to themselves in speech.
Example:
Q: ''How did you feel when you lost your job?''
A: ''You're in shock. You get angry, you feel lost. You wonder what you could've done differently, but you have to move on.''
Has there been any linguistic research done on this aspect of language use? I'm trying to remember when I first noticed it. Thank you very much for any information you can provide.
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Reply:
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I agree with my colleagues that this is actually an impersonal in disguise, and may
be used as way to allow some mental distance from painful emotions.
I seem to recall some cancer patients using this strategy to describe what they are
experiencing.
I don't know research sources, but I would start with reading an introduction to the
sub field of discourse which discusses issues of when people use certain
grammatical structures depending on context.
To add two more anecdotes:
* I heard that someone had done research on the use of "we" vs. "them" for home
sports teams. As I recall, "we" was more likely to be used when the home team won,
and "them" more likely when the team lost.
* I also recall a documentary about the British Royal family in which the Queen
described her duties in terms of "one does this" and "one does that". Very unique.
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Reply From:
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Elizabeth J Pyatt
click here to access email
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| Date: |
May-11-2009
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Other Replies:
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Re: Referring to self in second person
Charley Rowe
(May-08-2009)
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Re: Referring to self in second person
Joseph F Foster
(May-08-2009)
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Re: Referring to self in second person
James L Fidelholtz
(May-08-2009)
-
Re: Referring to self in second person
Herbert Frederic Stahlke
(May-08-2009)
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