What is inferior status?

Definition
	Inferior status is social deixis that encodes a low degree of status.

Examples (French, German)
	The second-person pronouns tu (French) and du (German) may be used to address those considered to be social inferiors.

Source
	Brown, R. and Gilman 1960 256

Concept module: inferior status
In overview module: Glossary (Linguistics): I
In modular book: Glossary of linguistic terms, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H., Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
In bookshelf: Linguistics

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 5 January 2004