ОСЛОВЉАВАЊЕ У ИЗАБРАНИМ КОМЕДИЈАМА ЛУДВИГА ХОЛБЕРГА

Abstract

This paper deals with address and forms of address in five selected comedies of the prominent Dano-Norwegian playwright Ludvig Holberg (1684-1754). The primary aim of the paper is to establish and describe the inventory of forms of address, i.e., the linguistic expressions a language can use to address the counterpart. The author then goes on to describe pronominal, nominal, and verbal forms Holberg used in his comedies, establishing the heterogeneity of the so-called V-forms, especially in contrast to modern language use. The author then describes and analyzes the nominal forms of address according to 9 groups, showing that some of the markers are lexically obsolete today, but that others are obsolete due to changes in social structure and culture, with forms of address being inseparable from other forms of cultural communication. The paper analyzes the factors that contribute to symmetry or asymmetry in communication, such as gender, age, social rank, and title (an important factor in a period when social standing was a more pervasive factor than in modern society), as well as context in which given address takes place. Finally, the paper considers comedic elements that specifically employ the culture of address as means of criticizing or making fun of certain societal norms or changes in perceived status that show one’s inadequacies.