English Address Forms In Three Dimensions Of Register

In light of the great significance of address forms in real communication andthe important restraining role the context of situation plays in the understanding andusage of address forms, coupled with the inadequacy of past studies on address forms,especially the lack of a more systematic and macro framework, which could involvevarious contextual factors, the thesis attempts to apply the three dimensions of register,namely, field, tenor and mode, which can cover various sub-contextual factors, to thestudy of address forms in an effort to establish a new framework in which addressforms are studied.In the first place, the two basic concepts of the register and address forms areclarified,especially the definition and the denotation of the two are specified, andthen address forms are studied in the three dimensions——field, tenor and moderespectively in orderly three chapters and holistically in an independent chapter.Besides the theory of the three dimensions of register, abundant examples mainlyfrom movies and novels, are provided and analyzed to make the thesis both theoreticaland practical to a certain degree.Most importantly, the conclusion of the priority order of the three dimensionsof register in affecting the choice of address variants is reached so as to shed newlights on the three dimensions as a whole affecting the choice of address forms indifferent contexts especially when they are in conflict with each other in determiningaddress variants.