Speaking of the Hungarian translation of the Locked Tomb, a number of Choices were Made when it comes to formal and informal address. Wow this will be so hard to explain.
Quick primer: there's formal and informal address in the second person, last name basis means formal you, first name basis means informal you, except when it doesn't.
Asymmetric use of formality is pretty rare: if the other person uses informal, you can either accept it and you'll both use informal, or you can reject it and you'll both go back to formal. Children are addressed informally, but are often taught to use formal to address teachers and elderly relatives, and some people never graduate to informal with their grandma. But if there's ongoing asymmetry of address between two adults, something is probably wrong: the common term for this is "csendĆrpertu", the "policeman's informal." As in, a person in a position of power uses familiar, informal language, and the subordinate/civilian keeps using the polite formal, because returning the disrespectful informality would be seen as, well, disrespectful. Historically, employers/lords/kings(/parents) could use one-sided informality, as a status thing, but that a) wasn't actually the same formula and b) is no longer seen as acceptable.
My point is, the Hungarian translation of the Locked Tomb is full of asymmetry. Sustained asymmetric address, in very modern contemporary language, between two people who know each other, reads extremely unnatural. Nobody talks like that. I'm honestly on the fence over whether this even works, but I have to admit that it really highlights the inequality and tension within some relationships. Harrow addresses Ortus informally and Ortus responds in formal, which emphasizes that she's treating him like a servant. John addresses Harrow informally, but Harrow obviously cannot use informal to the Emperor's face. So he's showing her affection in a way that's actively stressing her out, the language equivalent of offering those biscuits. And John has the same inequality with all his Lyctors: he addresses them as friends and equals, and they respond like they know they are servants.
Harrow uses mutual formal with Palamedes (friendly respect) and mutual informal with Ianthe (fairly intimate disrespect.) I'm almost certain that Gideon has the guts to return informal address despite being technically her servant, but I can't get my hands on the first volume (all the library copies are out.)
