Forms of Address
Although everyone in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus is required to have three names, the full three-name form is virtually never used in direct communication and is generally reserved for documents and public speeches. In the media, the three-name form could be used for highly respected persons (e.g. leaders of the Soviet Union and Russia). In most circumstances, one or two names are usually omitted. Different combinations of names denote varying levels of respect.
The choice of addressing format is closely linked to the choice of second-person pronoun. Russian language distinguishes between informal ty (ты) and formal vy (вы), the latter also being the plural of both forms, used to address a pair or group. (Respectful Vy may be capitalized, while plural vy is not.)
Read more about this topic: Eastern Slavic Naming Customs
Famous quotes containing the words forms of, forms and/or address:
“All forms of government symbolize an immortal government, common to all dynasties and independent of numbers, perfect where two men exist, perfect where there is only one man.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The catalogue of forms is endless: until every shape has found its city, new cities will continue to be born. When the forms exhaust their variety and come apart, the end of cities begins.”
—Italo Calvino (1923–1985)
“Patience, to hear frivolous, impertinent, and unreasonable applications: with address enough to refuse, without offending; or, by your manner of granting, to double the obligation: dexterity enough to conceal a truth, without telling a lie: sagacity enough to read other people’s countenances: and serenity enough not to let them discover anything by yours; a seeming frankness, with a real reserve. These are the rudiments of a politician; the world must be your grammar.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)