On Tue, Apr 7, 2009 at 5:36 AM, Robert Paul <rpaul@xxxxxxxx> wrote: I think this is a metaphysical answer to what is surely (if it's anything) a > sociological or psychological problem. I have no idea what research > Heidegger did to arrive at his conclusion.... > > You feel as you feel. Perhaps the fact that we teach at different > institutions—different sorts of institutions—explains our different views. > > The book is at home, so I cannot check the exact reference; but I recall an article, I believe it was in the Dell Hymes *Language, Culture and Society* reader, that noted the similarity between professors saying to their students, "Please call X (where X is a first name)" to the French invitation to "tutoyer" (use "tu" the informal form of the second person pronoun, instead of the more formal "vous"). The comparable German distinction between "du" and "sie" was also noted.The point was that the professor was, by inviting the student to use his first name, welcoming the student to the status of colleague. The universal extension of first name usage to all students would, it was suggested, eliminate this mildly undemocratic but useful rite of passage. Would unearned familiarity then lead to contempt? That is an interesting question. Sociolinguistically speaking, an interesting complication is that the use of familiar vs. formal registers is not an unambiguous signal. The usual pattern is one in which the formal register is universally used for strangers, who are, as it were, extended the courtesy of being treated as superiors until proven otherwise. Both group boundary and hierarchy may be in play. These distinctions may also be calibrated with more than one level, as they are in Japanese. John -- John McCreery The Word Works, Ltd., Yokohama, JAPAN Tel. +81-45-314-9324 jlm@xxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.wordworks.jp/