LESSON 4: FORMAL & INFORMAL SPEECH
In Russia, there are two ways of addressing other people: formal and informal. It depends on the level of closeness with your counterpart, age difference and situation.
The main difference between formal and informal speech is the choice of the ‘you’ pronoun (and its forms): ‘вы’ (‘вас’) for formal and ‘ты’ (‘тебя’) for informal. Below you can find some examples.
| FORMAL | INFORMAL | |
| you | вы | ты |
| What's your name? | Как вас зовут? | Как тебя зовут? |
| Hello/Hi! | Здравствуйте! | Привет! |
| Excuse me! | Извините! | Извини! |
| Good bye/Bye! | До свидания! | Пока! |
Usually, formal talk is the accepted norm:
1) with people older than you or higher in status, for example, your boss.
2) in formal situations, for example, at work with your colleagues.
3) with people you meet for the first time.
You address friends and relatives informally, as well as children and teenagers. Children and young people, on the other hand, generally use informal speech when speaking with each other, even when they first meet.
Listen to the audio to hear the correct answers
Listen to the audio to hear the correct answers
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