Du-reformen

Common card · No. 458825

Du-reformen (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈdʉ̂ːrɛˌfɔrmɛn]), literally "the du reform," was the process of popularization of the second-person singular pronoun du as a universal form of address in Sweden that took place in the late 1960s. The use of du (cognate with English thou, French tu, and German du) replaced an intricate former system where people chiefly addressed each other in third person, with or without a preceding Mr./Mrs./Ms. (herr, fru or fröken) before the title, often omitting both surname and given name. Less respectfully, people could be addressed with Mr./Mrs./Ms. plus surname, or in a family setting, alternatively even less respectfully, with the plain name or third person pronoun han ('he') or hon ('she'). Before du-reformen, it was considered impolite to address most people without an appropriate title, although a subordinate could be addressed by name, or less respectfully as Ni or han/hon. The informal du had been used for addressing children, siblings, close friends and...

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