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Grammar in the service of pragmatics

The tripartite address system in Contemporary Hasidic Yiddish

ORCiD logo with link | Freie Universität Berlin | University College London
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with Freie Universität Berlin.

Published online: 27 May 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/prag.24027.yam
Abstract
This article examines the system of address forms in Contemporary Hasidic Yiddish, as well as the underlying principles of social hierarchy and cultural values as encoded in their grammatical structures. Field research in Hasidic communities of the UK, USA, Israel, and Canada reveals a tripartite address system, not-known in the pre-WWII varieties of Yiddish. I argue that two options for polite address encode fundamentally distinct social meanings, rather than represent two levels of formality: third person nominal address manifests deference, while 2pl pronominal address signifies consideration. Finally, I discuss the origin of the tripartite system of T/V distinction in Yiddish, suggesting a hypothesis that the third person address as a full-scaled address mode is a recent development in Hasidic Yiddish that took shape in the second half of the twentieth century.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Methods
  • 3.Data
  • 4.V3 address forms (3sg or pl)
    • 4.1Primary use of V3
    • 4.2Secondary use of V3
  • 5.V2 address forms (2pl)
    • 5.1Primary use of V2
    • 5.2Address forms on the first date
    • 5.3Secondary use of V2
  • 6.T forms of address (2sg)
  • 7.A hypothesis of the origin of V3 in Contemporary Hasidic Yiddish
  • 8.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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