Second person pronouns used by Slovene and American Slovene speakers as linguistic markers of personal and social (in)equality

This paper discusses the use of second person pronouns in Slovene as linguistic markers of personal and social (in)equality in face-to-face interaction. In addition to the fundamental social dimensions of power/status and solidarity that are usually associated with the choice of a particular pronoun in such interactions, I explore some other dimensions such as formality and casualness that may also contribute to the choice. The focus is on the comparison of the use of Slovene second person pronouns in their native and diaspora contexts. While the rules for their use in Slovenia are relatively well established and observed in a fairly consistent manner, especially by older speakers, their use in the North American context is quite different. The questionnaire responses by Slovenes and their descendants living in the United States and Canada show that these pronouns are often used almost as if at random and that, especially with younger speakers, the predorninant form has become "ti". It is possible that this is due to the dirninishing knowledge of Slovene and the speakers' uncertainty as to which form to use, but also to the very strong influence of English with its exclusive use of you. The growing tendency of younger speakers in Slovenia toward ti is also addressed as a possible indication of a language change under way.