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Kalinka Posted 22 years ago
Grammar

Grammar (or functional , or stylistic) transposition

Please!!! can anyone enlighten me concerning this item... i'm trying to figure out what it means... i have just one example:
e.g. George! And why are we sleeping so long? ( here "we" is used instead of "you"). can YOU give me a decent theoretical explanation with some examples, plz??? thanx! Emotion: tongue tied
  

Top answer

This is something you might hear if someone (the speaker) was being very patronisng to George. Using the plural 1st person pronoun instead of the singular second person is a style associated with bossy nurses, or nursery school teachers (for example) ... it maybe supposed to convery a sense of kinship with George, but really it suggests superiority.

— Suzi

  • This is something you might hear if someone (the speaker) was being very patronisng to George.
  • Using the plural 1st person pronoun instead of the singular second person is a style associated with bossy nurses, or nursery school teachers (for example) ...
  • it maybe supposed to convery a sense of kinship with George, but really it suggests superiority.
  • Do not try this at home!
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2 Answers
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This is something you might hear if someone (the speaker) was being very patronisng to George. Using the plural 1st person pronoun instead of the singular second person is a style associated with bossy nurses, or nursery school teachers (for example)

... it maybe supposed to convery a sense of kinship with George, but really it suggests superiority.

Do not try this at home!
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Isn't that called the majestic use of "we". The "we" the Queen would use to refer to everyone?
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