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Social changes and changing address norms in China*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2008

Hanquan Fang  and
J. H. Heng
Hanquan Fang
Affiliation:
Department of Foreign Languages and LiteratureJinan University
J. H. Heng
Affiliation:
Hunan Teachers' Institute
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Abstract

The paper is concerned with the changing address norms in China since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. The first part of the paper deals with the term tóngzhì ‘comrade’ as well as some other address terms relevant to it. Emphasis is on the discussion of why official titles rather than tóngzhì are preferred by certain Chinese officials. The second part focuses on how traditional address terms such as xiānsheng ‘Mr.’, tàitai ‘Mrs.’ and xiaojie ‘Miss’ have undergone changes; and the third part refers to the use of the second singular pronouns of both the regular form ní and the honorific ním. The paper also reports on the changes in some other aspects including address terms to women and some proper names relevant to address. (Address, language change, Chinese linguistics, anthropological linguistics, politics of language)

Type
Articles
Information
Language in Society , Volume 12 , Issue 4 , December 1983 , pp. 495 - 507
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1983

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References

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