Chinese Address Terms

Paper Summary:

This paper examines Chinese address terms, their grammatical nature, usage, history of their use, similarities to other languages, and the social dynamics involved in their use. Through the examination of exact terms, the author demonstrates to the reader, the different ways that these terms can be used, depending upon the audience being addressed.

From the Paper:

"The extension of kinship terms to non-kin persons like categories 6 and 7 has the goal in Chinese communities of socializing the young into respect for their elders and care for their young. Wu says, "extending the family relationships to outsiders thus fulfills the goal of "one family under the sky" (tianxia yijia)" (1989).Used by the speaker of these terms implies that the rules of behavior are extended to the addressee; or they might even by said to be imposed upon the addressee. If the addressee feels uncomfortable, he can decline the term of address applied to him in this particular relationship. This can happen when the addressee is genuinely modest or when he senses some degree of insincerity in the act. Usually the socializer who confers the address-form is a parent or a caretaker of the child (Hong 1991). But the same discomfort can occur when the term is inconsistent with the addressee's sense of camaraderie."

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