Ethnopragmatic Analysis of Address Forms: A Cross-Cultural Study

Abstract

In sociolinguistics, expressions of power, solidarity, social status, and politeness have been extensively explored in second-person pronouns and honorifics (Brown and Levinson 1987, Goddard 2006, Goddard and Wierzbicka 2004). Since Modern English lacks overt/explicit use of these features, researchers in this language usually use address terms to explore role distinctions. However, much of this research falls short of a satisfactory answer as to how these roles/relationships are expressed and created, dynamically, in modem society. One way to better understand the nature of these interactions is to examine them in other societies. An interesting contrast exists, for example, between spousal address terms in American and Burundian society. In the U.S.A., as couples move from dating to marriage, mutual address terms often reflect a shift toward greater intimacy. While first names remain common, this shift frequently includes standard societal endearment terms (e.g., “honey”), and can include intimate nicknames not used around any third person. In such cases, first names can become marked so that their use indicates a special situation, e.g., another person’s presence. In this society, it is intimacy, over honour, which drives address terms. By contrast, in traditional (for lack of a better term) societies such as Burundi, there is high emphasis on honour over intimacy. Data show that in this community, calling a spouse by name is considered disrespectful Instead, an appropriate second-person pronoun is used or other terms that indicate maturity, hence wisdom, e.g., mutaama ‘elderly one, even to summon the spouse into the room, especially in the presence of peers. In this paper, we propose that, regarding address terms, the parameters of Intimacy and Honour cross-culturally vary, even directly contrast. These terms must be considered in order to effectively account for ways societies express these often conflicting constraints. As a contrastive analysis, this study allows us to delve into the in-group practices of different linguistic communities.