What is an equivalent?

Definition
	An equivalent is a term of social deixis that expresses equality of status.

Example (French)
	In medieval times, the mutual use of the same second-person pronoun, tu or vous, by the speaker and addressee expressed their equivalent social status.

Source
	Brown and Gilman 1960:256

Concept module: equivalent
In overview module: Glossary (Linguistics): E
In modular book: Glossary of linguistic terms, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H., Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
In bookshelf: Linguistics

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 5 January 2004