The Jordanian terms of address: Asocio-pragmatic study

Abstract

This study investigates the terms of address in Jordanian Arabic. It focuses on six major categories of address terms. The study identifies the most important forms under each category, their social meanings, and the governing factors that control their use. The participants of the study are 100 adult Jordanians who are chosen randomly from different public places. The data is collected by means of a questionnaire and participant interview. The results of the study show that Jordanian terms of address reflect the complex social relationship between the interlocutors. The choice of a given term is determined by a number of social factors such as age, gender, social status, formality, intimacy, and familiarity between the speaker and the addressee. Each category of address terms has its special uses in different social domains. The interpretation of each term is found to be context-dependent. Finally, the study concludes with restating the study objectives and the main findings of the study in addition to recommendations for further research.