Abstract
This study explores the subjective effect on the narrator by changing the grammatical subject from the first–person
pronoun to the second–person pronoun in recounting a narrative. The participants (n = 28) were asked to recount
their own past experience using either the second–person pronoun ‘you’ or the third–person pronoun ‘s/he’ instead
of ‘I’. They were then interviewed about their experience. Using these data, the researchers conducted a qualitative
analysis to compare and contrast the characteristics of using the alternative person pronouns. The findings indicate
that by using the second–person pronoun in their recounts, the narrators came to perceive their listener as ‘you’,
rather than they themselves. This created a specific form of projection of one’s own experience becoming that of
the listener. This way of recounting carries with it a sense of care and consideration for ‘you’ (the listener), which
promotes in turn a strong sense of reflexion within the narrator. This phenomenon seems to be the specific effect of
using the second–person pronoun.
