Second-person pronoun use and address strategies in on-line personal ads from Quebec

The development of various forms of computer-mediated communication has enabled many aspects of social life to occur in on-line environments, including finding and maintaining romantic relationships. Recent research on Internet dating sites has investigated motivations for joining such networks, discursive features of on-line personals, and other social aspects of Internet romance, yet there exists a noticeable lack of sociolinguistic analysis. This study analyzes the use of second-person pronouns in French-language on-line personal ads from Quebec. Two main strategies were found: singular address with tu or vous singular and plural address with vous. While a general preference for singular address—usually tu—was observed, young men tended to use plural vous fairly often. Also analyzed are the various ways in which tu and vous can be used in on-line personals in utterances such as greetings, descriptions of the desired other, and invitations to contact. This article also includes a discussion of on-line identities and relationships with regard to second-person pronoun use and provides a number of directions for future research.