V forms

An abbreviation used in SOCIOLINGUISTICS as part of the study of terms of address in various LANGUAGES. Based on the distinction between tu and vous, the alternative forms of ‘you’ in French, and on similar CONTRASTS in many other languages (e.g. German du/Sie, Russian ty/vy), an OPPOSITION is set up between formal (V) and familiar (T) second-PERSON VERB and PRONOUN FORMS. Hypotheses are then developed concerning the system of FORMALITY in use in the language.