Terms Of Address: A Sociopragmatic Study

Language is closely related with society. ToA as an essential part of social interaction can best reveal the co-variation between language and society. This paper, from a sociopragmatic approach, investigates the similarities and differences between English and Chinese address behavior. It attaches great importance to the differences between English and Chinese polite address behavior, and explains further the differences from their different underlying cultural values. In addition, this research presents some implications to foreign language teaching and learning.This study is embedded in three studies of ToAs or politeness: Brown and Gilman's study of the pronouns of power and solidarity, Brown and Levinson's face theory and Gu's work on modern Chinese politeness phenomena. The two concepts of Power and Solidarity raised by Brown and Gilman have guided later researches on address in the western world. What's more, they also get involved in the calculation of the weightiness of FTAs. Here is the meeting point of sociolinguistic and pragmatic study of ToAs, on which our sociopragmatic study of ToA is based.Our main focus in this study is on the different polite address behaviors between English and Chinese. Politeness expressed by ToAs differs between English and Chinese. English polite address behavior aims to protect the addressee's positive and negative face, while Chinese polite address behavior is oriented to the harmony and orderliness of interpersonal relationship. These differences are caused by their different cultural values. The English culture lays great emphasis on equality and democracy, so its address system seems simple but practical. While the Chinese culture emphasizes the orderliness and harmony of interpersonal relationship, thus its address system seems complicated and changeable. These differences provide valuable implications for address learning and teaching. In address teaching and learning, it is necessary to raise the learner's cultural awareness.