Nominal compounds as honorific pronouns (based on Polish in Lithuania)

The Polish regiolect used by the large Polish minority in the Vilnius region is not only defined by its separate linguistic system but also by its unique linguistic behaviour, including forms of address. The goal of the present article is to demonstrate various nominal expressions conveying social distance, which are used in this community along the standard pronouns pan andpani 'mister', 'miss'. This includes: names of the degree of consanguinity (i.e. mama 'mama', chrzestny ojciec 'godfather'), titles and names of professions incorporated in compounds of the pan/parti + the title type (e.g. pan lekarz lit. 'mister doctor', pani wychowawczyni lit. 'miss teacher') or used alone (e.g. doctor 'doctor', notariusz 'notary'), occasional titles (e.g. pan sqsiad lit. 'mister neighbour') and proper names built according to the models: panlpani + the first name, pan/pani + the first name and the surname, or panlpani + the surname. The analysis is based on the material collected in an academic millieu, and reflects the current trends in forms of address in Polish of the Vilnius regionVytauto Didžiojo universitetasŠvietimo akademij