Times Change And Appellation Evolution

American sociolinguist William Bright had put forward the theoretical proposition that "language and social structure change together".As a social phenomenon,language does change continuously at the same time as social changes.Appellation is a form of language.It plays an irreplaceable role in daily social interactions as an important communication tool,and it quietly changes in the course of times change.Appellation can be roughly divided into two systems:relational appellation and social appellation.Since the relational appellation is determined by relatives,it is less affected by social relations and rarely changed in the course of long history.Social appellations are used primarily in interactions with non-relative social members and are more susceptible to structural changes,interpersonal relationships,and social psychology.Therefore,the study used social appellations as the research object.This study selects the term "master worker" as an incision because of the complicated content of the appellation system.This study takes the social changes that occurred in the time span of about 70 years since the founding of New China in 1949 as the background of the times.Discussing the specific mechanism between the changes of the times and the evolution of appellations under the framework of social representation theory and social identity theory.Based on qualitative research methods and combining literature analysis and in-depth case interview methods.Expanding the research about "master worker" through more accurate first-hand information.First of all,I took the year of reform and opening-up(1978)and the formal establishment of the socialist market economic system(1992)as the demarcations and divided it into three stages since the founding of the New China in 1949.These two major events that changed the course of Chinese history.I describe the use of the appellation "master worker" in three different historical periods and describe the evolution of its meaning.Secondly,the appellation system is considered as a social representation since it has the characteristics of consensus knowledge shared by members of society.I analyze the shared meaning represented by "master worker" in different historical periods from four aspects of close and distant relationship,occupational distinction,gender definition and age order,and explore the constructivism and dynamic characteristics of appellation system.Third,in addition to the influence of historical and social conditions,the psychological mechanism behind appellation system can not be ignored.I continue with the social-categorization,social comparison and positive distinctiveness these three psychological processes which establishing social identity,and analyze how the "master worker" represents different social relations during the course of times change as a product of socialization and explain the reason why "master worker" is stigmatized.Finally,the dialectical relationship between social representation and social identity is elaborated.That is,social representation is the psychological basis of social identity,and identity is the precondition for the existence and function of the social representation system.Meanwhile,another example of "teacher" appellation is proposed.By comparing'teacher" with "master worker",it is found that social representation and social identity have a common shaping effect on the appellation system in the process of historical change,making the appellation system and the times change together.