I read online about different usages for あなた and how it can convey meanings
and it's best to be avoided as it can come off as rude.

so I got into a situation where I was referred as anata by an older Japanese
guy who knows my name and calls me by it. I got confused.

He was complimenting my Japanese and followed it up with: あなたはとても、すごいです。I'm
not sure if あなた here conveys distance?

appreciate any explanation!
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2015-06-22T18:56:22.753
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2015-06-23T00:38:42.573
2015-06-22T19:25:13.470
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question
words second-person-pronouns
あなた when a guy says that to a girl
My real question here would be: "Would that gentleman have referred to you as
「あなた」 if you were a Japanese girl of your age?"

If that is how he usually refers to others, then that is just his speech
style. Whether that is common or not is not his concern. In all of my life as
a Japanese-speaker living in Japan since birth, I honestly have yet to
encounter a person who does that. But who knows? Your friend may be that very
rare Japanese-speaker.

Another thing I would like to mention is the fact that quite a few Japanese
people speak a "different" kind of Japanese when they speak to non-Japanese
people. This is probably not openly mentioned often but they do that. Some of
you may have noticed it as well.

The **_frequent use of pronouns_** is one big feature of this "different" kind
of Japanese that I speak of. It is also heard/seen in Japanese dubbing and
subtitles of non-Japanese films, dramas, animation, etc. Though to a lesser
extent, pronouns are more often used in fiction (than in real life) that is
originally in Japanese as well.

So, it is difficult to discuss what was intended by the short sentence
「あなたはとても、すごいです。」 taken out of the context. I personally do not really feel
that it conveys distance but that is just a feeling. He may have used 「あなた」
here because he had already used your name a few times immediately before
this.

(To be completely honest, the sentence 「あなたはとても、すごいです。」 does not flow well.
Why the comma? It looks like something a begnning J-learner would say. It
looks like it took one 3 minutes to form that sentence.)
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2015-06-23T00:38:42.573
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2015-06-23T00:38:42.573
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answer