The use of address pronouns among Finnish and Finland-Swedish students

Abstract

This article examines the use and choice of address pronouns among Finnish and Finland-Swedish students in various situations. The study is based on a questionnaire on address usage distributed to university students in the city of Vaasa in Finland. The aim of the study is to investigate potential differences between the use of T and V in Finnish and Finland-Swedish and to compare the results with those of a recent study on address in Sweden-Swedish. The results reveal that the Finland-Swedish students use V somewhat less than the Finnish students. The Finland-Swedes also use V in fewer contexts, primarily in service situations and occasionally to strangers and public authorities. The Finnish students use V in the same contexts as the Finland-Swedish, but they also use V to older people.