I didn't actually know concrete examples of three formality levels, so thank you for that, though I was vaguely thinking of (a) the complexities surrounding how you speak to different people in Japanese and (b) German, which while it only has the formal and informal, has an informal plural which you might use to a group of people you wouldn't individually call 'du'.
I have actually met Germans who still 'drink brotherhood' when offering each other the familiar (strictly speaking, it has to be the older person who offers, too) - though I think the tradition's mostly died out.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-05-19 11:12 pm (UTC)I have actually met Germans who still 'drink brotherhood' when offering each other the familiar (strictly speaking, it has to be the older person who offers, too) - though I think the tradition's mostly died out.