I’ve noticed the same happen with NL and DE (which also have formal and informal words for “you”) and the North Europeans are increasingly thinking “just use the informal version” –
For instance on some Dutch youth forums where there is a dude who is these kids teacher they all call him “je” but school is very right on there – but the French still seem to want the respect/hierarchy..
The informal version of “you” in the French language – “tu” – seems to be taking over on social media, at the expense of the formal “vous”. As in many countries, online modes of address in French are more relaxed than in face-to-face encounters. But will this have a permanent effect on the French language?
Anthony Besson calls most people “vous”. As a young man, it is a sign of respect to those older than him, and he’s often meeting new people through his work in PR in Paris.
Yet this all changes on social media. “I always use ‘tu’ on Twitter,” Besson says. “And not just because it takes up fewer of the 140 characters!”
Lots of other French people do exactly the same.
BBC News – Tu and Twitter: Is it the end for ‘vous’ in French?
