A literature review of address studies from pragmatic and sociolinguistic perspectives

Abstract

Terms of address and reference1 have garnered enormous interest in the research literature, ranging from sociolinguistics and ethnolinguistics to language learning and anthropology. From a sociolinguistic perspective, address terms can be considered as the starting point to the understanding of human relationships, and how such relationships can be socially and strategically constructed (Fitch 1991; Leech 1999; Morford 1997). Terms of address and reference have therefore been well recognized as a particularly fruitful field for sociolinguistic research, in three phases: from the mid-1950s to the 1970s; through the 1980s and 1990s; and from the early 2000s to the present day. The studies conducted during these three periods have made significant contributions to the understanding of different social features of address systems, such as how they convey solidarity, politeness, and politic behavior (Brown & Ford 1961, 1964; Brown & Gilman 1960; Brown & Levinson 1978; Watts 1989) as well as pragmatic connotations such as emotion, attitude, intimacy and distance. This chapter is an attempt to provide an integrated survey of the field of address research with an eye on cross-cutting themes characterising these three periods. A special focus is placed on (a) the use of address terms to reflect social relationships, power, solidarity, and politeness, (b) address expressing personal feelings such as emotion/attitude and distance versus intimacy, and (c) the translation of these terms.