The use of tu, lei and voi in five regions of Italy

A study of how the use of address pronouns tu, lei and voi varies across Emilia, Umbria, Lazio, Salento and Sardinia. In this event, Dr Agnese Bresin will present some key results of her study on Italian address practices. Her research examined how the use of address pronouns tu, lei and voi varies in Italy both in frequency and in connotations. The regions selected comprise locations in the North, Centre and South of the country: Emilia, Umbria, Lazio, Salento (in Puglia) and Sardinia. The situational context analysed was the interaction between waiters and customers during their encounters in restaurants. Her study was published in 2021 with the title ‘Address Variation in Sociocultural Context – Region, power and distance in Italian service encounters’. In this interactive event, you will hear the author presenting the findings of her study and you will be able to share experiences and anecdotes.