Choice Of Chinese Address Terms: From The Adaptation Perspective

The use of address terms is pervasive in daily speech and the proper use of them consists of a considerable part of communicative competence. Therefore, investigation into this linguistic phenomenon is of practical importance. In addition, although many studies of address terms have been carried out since the publication of The Pronouns of Power and Solidarity (1960) by Brown and Gilman, most of them are just "refinement or completion of the system explained by Brown and Gilman" (Belz & Kinginger, 2003: 595). Such a sociolinguistic perspective observes the social factors related with address terms, but neglects other aspects such as linguistic reality as well as mental states. So there is a need to investigate address terms from other perspectives. The present research tentatively applies the Adaptation Theory proposed by Verschueren (1999) to the analysis of the use of address terms, aiming at some findings which can throw light on future studies pursuing a comprehensive and thorough account of address termsAccording to the Adaptation Theory, using language consists of the continuous making of linguistic choices. Therefore, the use of address terms, as a particular phenomenon, is also a linguistic choice-making process, in which speakers make adaptation consciously or unconsciously to approach points of satisfaction forcommunicative needs. Three properties of address terms, i.e. variability, negotiability and adaptability, are responsible for choice making. Variability of address terms is manifested in various forms available for addressing a person and it is the source of making choice. Negotiability of address terms refers to the fact that choices are not made mechanically or according to strict rules, but rather on the basis of highly flexible principles and strategies. Adaptability enables human beings to make negotiable choices from numerous address terms so as to achieve communicative goals. The three properties are hierarchically interrelated. Without both variability and negotiability, adaptability has no content. On the other hand, adaptability is at the core of the investigation of language use. Taking v4 Dream of Red Mansions as a sample, this dissertation focuses on the discussion of the adaptive objects and the salience in the choice of address terms.Referring to Yu Guodong (2000), the specific objects to which speakers adapt are categorized into linguistic reality, social conventions and psychological motivations. Considering the fact that adaptation to linguistic reality or social conventions is basically driven by communicator-external force, these two types of adaptation are called passive adaptation. By contrast, adaptation to psychological motivations is an active adaptation since it originates from communicator-internal force. First of all, adaptation to linguistic reality stands for the adaptation to linguistic existence and linguistic features. In comparison with the English language, Chinese address terms possess more complicated kinship terms and social address terms. In order to adapt to the linguistic existence, speakers have to take semantic subtlety of address terms into account and choose an appropriate form in line with addressees' identity. In addition, Chinese address terms are characterized by extension of kinship terms. Thus, as adaptation to the linguistic feature, characters in A Dream of Red Mansions always tend to choose kinship terms to address non-kinship people. Secondly, with respect to social conventions, this dissertation mainly discusses how politeness motivates the use of address terms. Speakers must first determine the degrees of politeness toward addressees in terms of power and distance, and then choose an address term that is in line with the degrees of politeness. Finally, psychological motivations also play a significant impact on the use of address terms. Different psychological motivations may lead to the choice of different strategies as well as different address terms. It should be pointed out that the three categories are not clear-cut. As a matter of fact, in many instances, the choice of an address term is the...