Analysis of the Social Meanings of the Second Person Pronoun SEN in Turkish

• Main Author: Çiler Hatipoğlu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BÜTEK Boğaziçi Eğitim Turizm Teknopark Uygulama ve Dan. Hiz. San. Tic. A.Ş. 2008-07-01
• Series: Dilbilim Araştırmaları Dergisi
• Subjects: second person pronouns; SEN; social meaning; solidarity; antagonism; distance and closeness; blood relations; age; conversableness
• Online Access: http://dad.boun.edu.tr/download/article-file/224703

This study, first, identifies the groups of interlocutors that university students address with the familiar second person pronoun SEN and uncovers the social meanings that are most frequently associated with SEN by this group of subjects. Then, it examines whether or not Brown and Gilman’s (1960) ‘Power and Solidarity’ model is able to explain all of the social meanings associated with the pronoun SEN in Turkish. Data in this study were collected through a questionnaire from 191 (Female=95, Male=96) METU undergraduate students all of whom were native speakers of Turkish. The informants in the study were from different geographical regions in Turkey and had different social backgrounds. Results of the study reveal that, the second person pronoun SEN has a double function in Turkish. While on the one hand, as Brown and Gilman (1960) predicted, it is used to refer to interlocutors belonging to our inner circle; on the other hand, it is used to keep some interactants at bay. The findings also show that Brown and Gilman’s (1960) model of ‘Power and Solidarity’ fails to explain all of the social meanings associated with the pronoun SEN in Turkish.