Perceptions of the use of address forms in Finland by the ... · Aim Department of Modern Languages, University of Helsinki To examine outsiders’ (etic) perceptions of the use of

I P R A 2 0 1 7 B E L F A S T , 1 6–2 1 J U L Y 2 0 1 7

J O H AN N A I S O S Ä V I , U N I V E R S I T Y O F H E L S I N K I

Department of Modern Languages, University of Helsinki

Perceptions of the use of address forms in Finland by the French and in France

by the Finns

Aim


To examine outsiders’ (etic)perceptions of the use of forms of address

French people living in Finland

Finns living / having lived in France

Part of a larger post doc project

Finnish and French politeness, funded by Konefoundation (2017–19)

Method


Focus groups

how people think about an issue (Krueger & Casey 2015)

normative understandings which groups draw upon (Bloor et al. 2001)

participants’ strengthened role (cf. interviews) (Dervin 2015)

Less used in address studies

because most studies are macro-sociolinguistic (Hughson 2009)?

Clyne, Norrby & Warren (2009)

5 focus groups


3 French focus groups (FR1-, FR2-, FR3-France) 2 Finnish focus groups (FR1-, FR2-Finland)

video + audio

N = 22 participants, 3–5 per group Sex: 15 female, 7 male participants Age: 26–66 years Academic professions:

teachers (N = 11), students of French philology (N = 4), others e.g. Account Manager, Director of Legal Affairs...

Years abroad: 7 months – 33 years

Assistant moderator: Tuuli Holttinen (doctoral student of French)

Focus group questions


10 questions on politeness, e.g. What does politeness evoke in you?

According to your observations, what is considered polite/impolite in Finland / in France?

What do you appreciate in the Finnish/French politeness?

What causes you problems in the Finnish/French politeness?

In 4 out of 5 groups talk about forms of address

1 group: the researcher raised the question

Background: T/V in Finland & in France


Finland: T reform since the late 1960’s

T forms (sinä) favored despite a comeback of V form

Yli-Vakkuri 2005

France: T (tu) restricted to intimate

relationships

V (vous) standard form in many contexts

Clyne et al 2009, Isosävi 2010, Kerbrat-Orecchioni 1992

Background:Nominal forms of address in Finland & in France


Finland nominal forms of address generally avoided

herra/rouva (sir/madam)

loans from Sweden, never widely used

first names: tele-marketers (?), Starbucks • Yli-Vakkuri 2005, Isosävi & Lappalainen 2015

France Madame/Monsieur

used but less than before

first names + T/V

last names: among men

Isosävi 2010, Kerbrat-Orecchioni 1992

Results


Etic understandings of the use of T & V forms

French: T does not reduce distance in Finland


Anne: en Finlande bon on va dire tu même à ses supérieurs hiérarchiques et cetera c’est pas pour autant qu’il n’y aura pas une hiérarchie […] on a tendance à penser que le tu réduit les hiérarchies […] c’est pas forcément vrai […] c’est un malentendu […] je connais des entreprises même là où je travaille […] il y a une hiérarchie très très marqué (FR2-France) In Finland well one addresses even their

hierarchical superiors with the T form et cetera it doesn’t mean that there wouldn’t be a hierarchy […] one tends to think that the T form reduces hierarchies [...] it’s not necessarily true [...] it’s a misunderstanding [...] I know companies also where I work [...] there’s a very very marked hierarchy

French: negative attitude towards V in Finland


Alice: ici j’ai un collègue qui m’a dit qu’elle avait été vouvoyée au supermarché et elle l’avait très mal pris parce qu’elle n’était pas une vieille femme […] elle dit j’ai l’air avoir quel âge et ça l’avait assez choqué […] alors qu’en France justement si à la caisse on dit ça te fera heh 25 euros on va dire ça va? (FR1-France) here I have a colleague who told me

that she was addressed with a V form in a supermarket and she took it very badly because she wasn’t an old lady […] she said how old do I look and it shocked her quite a bit […] if in France a cashier saysit would be for you [T-form] heh 25 euros

one would say is everything all right?

French: How to address Finnish-speaking students of French in Finland?


Alice: je me demande […] si ces codes qu’on adopte ça dépend du lieu ou si ça dépend de la langue parce que par exemple avec les étudiants à [une ville en Finlande] ils me tutoyaient il m’appelaient Alice [une ville en Finlande] ils m’appellent Madame Lambert ils me vouvoient qu’est-ce qui est mieux ? est-ce que je dois leur transmettre à la fois ces codes culturels français donc peut-être le vouvoiement et cetera mais moi ça ne me dérange pas fondamentalement on est en Finlande (FR1-France) I wonder […] if the codes one adopts depend

on the place or the language because for instance with students in [a town in Finland] addressed me with the T form and called me Alice [in another town in Finland] they call me Mrs Lambert and address me with the V formwhich is the best? do I have to transmit to themthe French cultural codes maybe the V form and so on but it doesn’t bother me fundamentally we are in Finland

French: Choice for the T


Jean: là je suis en porte-à-faux complet par rapport à mes collègues je tutoie mes étudiants et ils font ce qu’ils veulent […] mais ils savent pertinemment et ils ont pas besoin de moi pour savoir qu’en France on vouvoie plus dans certaines situations […] mais pas partout (FR1-France)

I am at odds with my colleagues I address my students with a T form and they do whatthey want […] but they know pertinently andthey don’t need me to know that in France a V form is used in certain situations […]but not everywhere

French: Choice for the V


Marc: je vouvoie toujours tous mes étudiants […] il y a en a beaucoup aussi qui me tutoient et qui se reprennent en disant vous […] ils ont compris que moi je les ai vouvoyés mais ils ont pas le réflexe […] de me vouvoyer (FR1-France)

I always address my students with a V form[…] and many address me with a T form andthey correct themselves by saying a V form [...]they understood that I addressed them with a V form but they don’t have a reflex […] to say V to me

French: T/V obligation/choice?


Marguerite: on est obligé de vouvoyer tous les étudiants on n’a pas le droit de les tutoyer (FR3-France) one is obliged to address all the students with a V form one doesn’t have

a right to address them with a T form

Philippe: c’est pas les collègues qui décident […] moi surtout en tant qu’homme […] si dans un contexte où il y a plus de femmes qui enseignent que d’hommes […] si en plus moi je mets un vouvoiement derrière tout ça la distance c’est encore beaucoup plus grande avec mes étudiantes (FR3-France) it’s not the colleagues who decide […]

I especially as a man [...] in a context where there are more female teachers than men [...] if on top of that I use V form the distance is even much greater with my students

Finns: variation T/V in addressingstudents in France


Stella: mun mielestä oli molempii et teititeltiin ja sinuteltiin mut sit jotkut sano ihan tunnin alussa et hän sinuttelee ja sit häntäkin voi sinutella tai sit sanottiin et hän teitittelee ja häntäkin pitää teititellä (FR2-Finland) I think there were both there were the V form and the T form but then some said

in the beginning of a class that they use T form and they also can be addressed with a T form or then they said that they will use a V form and they have to be addressed with a V form

Isabella: mullon ollu joskus jotain opettajii jotka […] sinutteli ja sit ei itetienny yhtään mitä […] niille pitää sanoa […] mut kyl mä varmaan teitittelin […] ku yleensä opettajan kanssa on niin semmonen muodollinen suhde et sit jos ne sinuttelee sua niin se tuntuu vähän sillaiepäkohteliaalta (FR2-Finland) I had sometimes teachers who […] used a T form

and then I didn’t know at all what [...] to say to them [...] but I think I addressed them with a V form [...] because usually with a teacher there is kind of a formal relationship and then if they address you with a T form it feels a little bit impolite

Finns: difficulties with V in France/Belgium

Department of Modern Languages, University of Finland

Stella: se teitittely mulki mä en oo siihen niin tottunu […] mä jouduin oppimaan sen ja välil silloinkin mul tuli niinku lipsahduksia sit mä korjasin sen heti mut et se on kyl ollu sellanen hankala (FR2-Finland) the V form I am not so used to it […] I had to learn it and sometimes I made a

mistake but then I corrected it immediately but it has been difficult

Vanessa: kun se poika oli niin nuori niin mä tietenki sinuttelin sitä […] sit sen kokouksen […] jälkeen […] mä olin silleen et ou fuck et nyt mun pitää lähetellä sille joku hyvittelevä meili […] et ps. olen hyvin pahoillani että sinuttelin mutta tulen Suomesta ja meillä blaa blaa […] sit se vastas silleen et haittaa että minä tiedän että te siellä Suomessa olette kaikessa meitä paljon edellä (FR2-Finland) because that boy was so young I of course addressed

him with a T form […] then after that meeting [...] I was like oh fuck I need to make it up in an email […] like p.s. I am very sorry that I addressed you with a T form but I come from Finland and we haveblaa blaa [...] then he replied that it didn’t matter I know that you in Finland are much ahead of us in everything

Finns: difficulties with V in France

Department of Modern Languages, University of Finland

Sofia: ranskalaisten kollegojen kanssa vaikka ei tuntiskaanhyvin […] lähtökohta on et sinutellaan […] mut sit niinkukoulumaailmassa meni jonkin aikaa et sit niinku ollaan kavereita niiden vanhempien kanssa nii sitte voidaan sinutella […] yksityistilanteessa lasten ympärillä puhutaan niinku todella lapsellisista asioista niinku miks meijän pitää tässä tilanteessa niinku teititellä et se oli mulle sellanen yllättävää (FR1-Finland) with French colleagues although you wouldn’t

know them well […] the starting point is that you use a T form [...] but in the school world it took some time and then when you’re friends with the parents then you can use the T form [...] in private situations around children we’re talking about like really childish things why do we have to use a V form in this situation that was surprising to me

Results


Etic understandings of the use of nominal forms of address

French: disturbing uses of last name alone in Finland


Alain: à la télé là on interview le président ou y a un débat entre hommes politiques et le journaliste se tourne de l’un et l’autre il les appellent simplement par leur nom de famille et moi je trouve ça incroyable quoi Chirac qu’est-ce que t’en penses (FR1-France) in TV when they interview a president or there is a debate

between politicians and the journalist turns to each one of themthey call them only by their last names and I think it’s incredible Chirac what do you [T form] think

Anne: il y a une manière qui me dérange mais bon ça se fait dans certains milieux professionnels c’est d’appeler la personne par juste son nom de famille […] quand je reçois un message oui c’est […] hyväLeroy virgule (FR2-France) there is one thing that disturbs me well it happens in certain professional

environments it’s to call a person by only their last name […] when I receive a message it’s dear [...] Leroy comma

Finns: difficulties with Madame/Monsieur in France


Anna: Monsieur Madame liitteestä niin mä en itse asiassa mä opin sen vasta tosi niinku myöhään mun vaihdon aikana […] se on ollu munmielestä tosi vaikeeta ollu sanoa silleen merci merci monsieur […] koska […] Suomessa […] kiitos herra […] ei vaan ikinä tulis luontevasti (FR2-Finland) Monsieur Madame in fact I learned it like late during my exchange […] I

think it has been really difficult to say like merci merci monsieur [...] because [...] in Finland [...] thank you sir [...] would never come naturally

Anna: musta ainakin näki ulkoo päin oli se sit aksentti tai ulkonäkö et toi ei oo ranskalainen […] ja sen takii niinkun kaupan kassat ei esimerkikstykänny kyttyrää jos mä en niinku sanonu heh heh niinku Monsieur tai Madame (FR2-Finland) at least they saw from me outside was it an accent

or my look that that person is not French and because of that like cashiers for instance didn’t take it badly if I like didn’t say heh heh like Monsieur or Madame

Finns: Madame or Monsieur?


Anna: Lavie tai joku tämmönen et se ei sanonu mitään sen nimi mulle heh et onkohan tää heh mies vai nainen ja mä kirjotin sille bonjour monsieur heh […] ja sit se vastas mulle heh […] ja sinne ennen nimee madame […] Lavie heh mä olin et hupsista (FR2-Finland) Lavie or something like that it didn’t say anything to me that name heh is it a

man or a woman I wrote bonjour monsieur heh […] and then in the reply to me [...] it was written before the name madame [...] Lavie heh I was like oups

Anna: se myyjä et ekaks se oli et bonjour madame et mitä te haluatte heh ja sitte se ei vastannu sille mitää niin heh sit se kokeili et heh monsieur qu’est-ce que je peux vous servir […] sit se tajus et se on nainen heh ja sitse vaihto silleen taas madame heh […] et on näit ongelmii ranskalaisillaki(FR2-Finland) that salesperson was first like bonjour madame

what would you like heh and when there was no reply well heh then the salesperson tried like heh monsieur how can I serve you […] then the salesperson realized that it was a woman heh and changed back to madame heh [...] that also the French have these problems

Changes


In France: Sara: mä olin hämmästynyt sitä kun muistutin itselleni me mennään Ranskaa heh mun

pitää muistaa sanoa bonjour madame au revoir monsieur mut ei ne mulle sanonukkaaenää (FR1-Finland) I was surprised that when I reminded myself that we are going to France heh I have to

remember to say bonjour madame au revoir monsieur but they didn’t say it to me anymore

Daniel: varmaan se että Ranskassa ruvettais sinuttelemaan yleisesti niin se on vielä aika kaukana […] mutta se teitittely ja etunimen käyttäminen […] yleistyy koko ajan (FR1-Finland) probably that in France they would use the T form widely is yet quite far away but the

V form together with the first name […] is more and more common

In Finland: Jean: mais le vouvoiement revient quand même en Finlande [...]

but the V form is coming back to Finland Marc: dans les magasins c’est assez naturel [...] non ? […]

ça fait partie du service heh […] tu payes pour heh(FR1-France) in shops it’s quite natural, isn’t it? [...] it’s part of the service

heh [...] you pay for it heh

Conclusions / 1


Finnish T form French not (surprisingly?) disturbed by it

T does not reduce hierarchy

Finnish last names alone disturbing for the French

opposite indexical meanings: French: male, camaraderie Finnish: formal, distance

French V & Madame/Monsieur problems for the Finns

limited use in their native language

Conclusions / 2


Teacher’s problem: T or V towards the Finnish-speaking students of French?

not only a pedagogical question:

personal choice ->building rapport with students

pedagogical aspects

if a teacher uses a T form, other possibilities to learn V form(role plays, etc.)?

Bibliography / 1


Bloor, M., Frankland, J., Thomas, M. and Robson, K. (2001) Focus Groups in Social Research. London: Sage.

Clyne, M., Norrby, C.n & Warren J. 2009. Language and HumanRelations. Styles of Address in Contemporary Language.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Dervin, F. (ed.) 2015. Analyser l’identité. Les apports des focus group. L’Harmattan.

Hughson, J. 2009. Diversity and Changing Values in Address : Spanish Address Pronoun Usage in an Intercultural Immigrant Context. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang AG.

Isosävi, J. 2010. Les formes d’adresse dans un corpus de films français et leur traduction en finnois. Mémoires de la Société Néophilologique de Helsinki. Tome LXXIX. Société Néophilologique, Helsinki. https://helda.helsinki.fi/handle/10138/19243

https://helda.helsinki.fi/handle/10138/19243

Bibliography / 2


Isosävi, J. & Lappalainen, H. 2015. First names at Starbucks: a clash of cultures? In Catrin Norrby & Camilla Wide (eds.): Address practice as social action. European perspectives, 97–118 London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Kerbrat-Orecchioni, C. 1992. Les interactions verbales. Tome II. Paris: Armand Colin.

Krueger, R. A. & Casey M. A. 2015. Focus Groups A Practical Guide for Applied Research. Fifth Edition. Sage Publications, inc.

Yli-Vakkuri, V. 2005. Politeness in Finland: Evasion at All Costs. In Leo Hickey & Miranda Stewart (eds.), Politeness in Europe, 189–202. Clevedon/Buffalo/Toronto: Multilingual Matters.

Documents

Perceptions of the use of address forms in Finland by the ... · Aim Department of Modern Languages, University of Helsinki To examine outsiders’ (etic) perceptions of the use of