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Every day we turn to someone for some purpose. At the same time, we use appeals in speech. And how do people address each other in England or in the USA? Do they coincide with our native language or carry some new information about a foreign culture?
The English language has developed its own, special speech etiquette. Forms of address are used depending on the status and position of the addressee, the degree of acquaintance with him, gender and age. So, the official language requires strict adherence to all greeting and address formulas, a neutral style of communication (for example, with strangers, work colleagues, neighbors, etc.) can be simpler in expressions. And with friends and relatives, the British often allow a familiar style of communication, and in it the forms of addressing the interlocutor will be completely different.
Over time, any language is gradually changing: obsolete words go out of use, new modern “words” appear. So now in English the appeal to “you” is almost never used. ("thou" transcription [ðaʊ]), it was replaced by the appeal to you ( "you"). In Russia, after the October Revolution of 1917, many polite addresses left the Russian language, but not entirely pleasant ones, but clearly indicating the gender of the interlocutor “Man”, “Woman”, took firm root.
Reading books, including adapted editions in English, or watching foreign films (sometimes with subtitles or translation), especially historical ones, I have repeatedly come across various forms of characters addressing each other. The literal translation of all addresses is easy to find in dictionaries, but for some reason the impression did not leave me that there was something more behind each individual form of address. This is similar to a special kind of conditional code that is exchanged between interlocutors. I wanted to understand this issue, because, knowing the “rules” and the subtleties of references in the English language, you can see, understand the deeper thoughts that the author wanted to convey to readers in his literary work. Somewhere the appeals were used jokingly, somewhere with sarcasm or a hint, and sometimes with the aim of humiliating, insulting your counterpart - all these literary devices will remain inaccessible to us if you do not know the rules for using addresses in English.
In addition, not knowing the forms of address in a foreign language, you can easily get into an unpleasant situation yourself or confuse your interlocutor. How to address the interlocutor in English? In my scientific and practical work, I decided to explore how to address different categories of people in different situations.
Objective: establish what forms of address exist in English and Russian and how to use them in various communication situations.
Tasks:
To get acquainted with the concept of "address", to establish which lexical units are used in English and Russian when addressing an interlocutor, depending on the status and position of the addressee, the degree of acquaintance with him, gender and age;
determine the conditions for the use of various forms of address in oral and written speech in these languages;
using a questionnaire to determine what forms of address in Russian and English my classmates know and whether they use them correctly in speech and writing.
Chapter 1
Appeal- a word or combination of words that names the person to whom the speech is addressed. First of all, the names of people, the name of persons according to the degree of kinship, position in society, profession, occupation, position, rank, nationality or age, relationships of people serve as appeals. It is difficult to imagine communication without it. It is used primarily to attract the attention of the person to whom the speaker is addressing.
In speech, the appeal performs two functions, usually implemented together:
appellative (conscription) function;
expressive (evaluative-characterizing) function
In Russian, in the function of address, a noun in the nominative case or an equivalent word form is used in combination with a special vocative intonation.
The vocative case begins to die out quite early: already in the Ostromir Gospel (XI century), its confusion with the nominative is recorded. As birch bark letters show, in the XIV-XV centuries. it was preserved solely as a form of respectful appeal to persons of a higher social rank: mister! mistress! prince! brother! father!
By the middle of the XVI century. he finally disappeared from living speech, remaining only in the forms of address to the clergy (Father! Vladyko!). Until 1918, the vocative case was formally listed in grammars as the seventh case of the Russian language.
At present, the “modern vocative case” (or “new vocative”) refers to word forms with a zero ending of nouns of the first declension, like Mish, Len, Tan, Marin, Tanyush, Vanyush, grandma, mom, dad, etc., that is coinciding in form with the plural declension of the genitive case. The status of this form of the word is still the subject of controversy among scientists.
Appeal in Russian is not grammatically connected with the sentence, is not a member of the sentence, is separated by commas, can take any place in the sentence. An appeal at the beginning of a sentence can be separated with an exclamation point.
In English, the form of address indicates that you take into account such characteristics of the addressee as gender, age, level of education, etc. In English-speaking countries, it is customary to use the safe option, namely, to immediately ask how the addressee prefers to be addressed.
In Russian, the syntactic unit - address - is also a socially significant category.
From time immemorial, conversion has performed several functions. The main one is to attract the attention of the interlocutor. This is a vocative function.
Since they are used as proper names as addresses (Anna Sergeevna, Igor, Sasha), and the names of people according to the degree of kinship (father, uncle, grandfather) by position in society, by profession, position (president, general, minister, director, accountant), by age and gender (old man, boy, girl) the appeal, in addition to the vocative function, indicates the corresponding feature.
Finally, appeals can be expressive and emotionally colored, contain an assessment: Lyubochka, Marinusya, Lyubka, blockhead, dumbass, klutz, varmint, clever, beautiful. The peculiarity of such appeals lies in the fact that they characterize both the addressee and the addressee himself, the degree of his upbringing, attitude towards the interlocutor, emotional state.
The given address words are used in an informal situation, only some of them, for example, proper names (in their main form), the names of professions, positions, serve as addresses in official speech.
A distinctive feature of officially adopted appeals in Russia was the reflection of the social stratification of society, such a characteristic feature of it as veneration of rank.
Chapter 2
Appeal to strangers can begin with the formula of an apology for the trouble: Excuse me, Sorry. Then comes a question, a remark, a request.
The most commonly used form of polite address is the use of the combination Mr., Mrs., Miss + the surname of the person being addressed: "Mr. Smith".
2.1 Formal addresses to men
In English, there are many variants of polite forms of addressing a person. In relation to a man, the forms Mr, Sir, Esq are used.
Sir- this form of address does not require the name or surname of the interlocutor after itself. So they turn to strangers, to men equal or older in age, social status or position. When referring to a group of men, it is replaced by Gentlemen.
Mr(an abbreviation of the word Mister) after this word it is required to give the name or surname of the interlocutor.
Son! Sonny! Boy!- a form of addressing older people to unfamiliar young people.
Young man, youth- this is how older people address young men.
As a synonym for Mr. in England they sometimes use the form Esq . However, it is not placed before the name, but after it, and, naturally, in this case the form Mr. missing: Michael S. Johnson, Esq. This form goes back to the word esquire. In medieval England, an esquire was a knight's squire, and later this word came to mean one of the lowest noble titles. For some time this form was used in letters, but now it is becoming less and less common.
2.2 Formal addresses to women
If you need to address a woman, use: Mrs, Miss, Madam.
madam- a polite way of addressing a man to a woman. Women usually do not address each other in this way, unless it is appropriate to address the hostess this way if you are a maid or servant.
Madame (Mesdames) when addressing several women) is the most formal address to a group of women.
Mrs(an abbreviation of the word Missus) - a form of polite address to a woman. After the word Mrs, you need to give the name of the woman's husband.
Miss- a form of address to an unmarried girl, woman. Be sure to include your first or last name after the word. Miss without a first name, surnames are a form of address for a teacher, and it has also become a common form of address for service personnel.
The form Ms. (read or) is used in relation to a woman, regardless of the fact of her marital status. This form was recommended by the UN in 1974 as a result of campaigns by various organizations for the equality of women.
Dear! Dearie! Love! Ducky!- a form of addressing older people to unfamiliar girls.
2.3 Formal addresses to a group of people
ladies and gentlemen! - perhaps the most common form of addressing people.
SirsandMesdame s is a formal address for a mixed group.
Esteemed colleagues! - a form of address to colleagues at work.
Dear friends! - less formal.
guys! - more often used in a familiar sense.
2.4 Formal addresses to people holding a position
Special address words are used to address titled persons, representatives of the church, medical workers, military personnel, and people of science.
Let's consider each of the groups.
Appeal to titled persons: to the queen, the king at the presentation - your majesty("Your Majesty"), to the Queen's husband, as well as to the heirs of the monarch - Your Royal Highness("Your Royal Highness"); in the future, these titles are replaced in circulation by Ma'am and Sir. The Duke should be contacted - your grace("Your Mightiness") ; the same applies to his wife.
To the holder of a knighthood, awarded for special merits - Sir(when titled a baronet or knight, the word Sir is placed before the name or before the name and surname: Sir John or Sir John Jones);
when titling the wife of a baronet or knight, the word is used Lady along with the husband's surname: Lady Anderson, the name can be put in brackets: Lady (Barbara) Anderson.
Appeals to the representatives of the English Church: to the archbishop (governs the diocese and his bishops) your grace or my lord("Your Eminence"); to the bishop (is the head of the church-administrative territorial unit) - my lord("Your Eminence"), to the archdeacon (in charge of the administration of the diocese) - Mr. Archdeacon; to the rector of the cathedral - Mr. Dean, to the canon (he is the senior priest of the cathedral) - Canon(appeal by title); they also refer to other priests of the English church by title - Rector(parish priest) Chaplain(a military or ship priest, as well as a priest at the parliament, hospital, educational institution, etc.); a catholic priest is addressed with the word father+ name.
The Lord Mayor in Britain is addressed with the combination my lord, to the mayor of the city - Mr Mayor.
Official address to the ambassador - Your excellence or Sir+ name or Mr + surname.
Polite address to people in medicine usually involves the use of their professional titles. So, going to the doctor is doctor. As for the concept of "nurse", it provides for the following synonyms: nurse used in relation to representatives of both sexes performing the duties of junior medical personnel; a female nurse in a higher position in a hospital is appropriately addressed with the word sister; appeal matron used in relation to the older sister of the hospital.
In the armed forces, addressing military personnel typically includes their rank (with or without a family name): Admiral (Smith), General, Colonel, Major, Captain, Lieutenant, Sergeant, Corporal etc. Address in the form "title + surname" is more official.
A police officer is also referred to by his rank: Sergeant("Police Sergeant") Inspector("Police Inspector") and so on. Speaking to a police officer officer.
In the scientific world, in official cases, it is customary to address by rank: Professor, Senior, Tutor, Dean etc.
Chapter 3
Appeal to familiar people is less formal and requires other forms of address. Consider the situations of informal communication and those speech clichés that are used in them in communication.
3.1 Family contacts
The British refer to family members, calling their family affiliation. Derivatives of these words are often used, which are translated with diminutive characteristics: Grandmother, Grandma, Gran, Nanny; Grandfather, Grandpa; mother; father; Mum(my) / Mom(my); dad(dy); Aunt(ie) Kate; Uncle Ben.
Appeal father(to father) continues either in this form or in colloquial forms such as dad, daddy, pa, papa etc.
At the appeal mother(to mother) there are also many colloquial options: ma, mam, mum, mamma, non, mummy etc.
Interestingly, the appeal son(to son) is more characteristic of fathers, while address daughter(to daughter) is rarely used by parents nowadays.
Twins are often referred to with the word twins.
Individually, children are addressed by personal names, household nicknames, or affectionate words can be used for this purpose.
Children traditionally address older family members (grandparents) with the help of words. grandpa, granddad, grandma, granny etc.
The latter use personal names to address their grandchildren instead of such words as grandson or granddaughter.
Appeals to other close relatives include the words uncle(uncle), aunt(uncle), auntie(aunt), sometimes combined with personal names Uncle Jack, Aunt Margaret.
Appeals between husband, wife and children are personal names, affectionate nicknames or affectionate words.
Honey(for a child, loved one, or someone younger than you)
Dear, Sweetie, Love, Darling, Babe or Baby(for a loved one)
Pal (appeal to son or grandson)
Buddy or Bud (very colloquial between friends; sometimes used with negative connotations)
Appeals brother and sister are now rare. The personal names of brother and sister are usually used. Outside of family relations, brother and sister are used more often.
3.2 Reaching out to friends and colleagues
Numerous forms of address are very popular in modern English, expressing a positive attitude of the speaker towards the addressee. Among them can be mentioned baby, boy, dearest, dear boy, dear girl, sweatheart, sweets other.
This also includes various forms of friendly treatment with my or my dear: my precious, my dear son, my dear daughter, my dear sweet, swest heart etc.
Very characteristic of friendly treatment is the formula with old: old boy, old chap, old man(old).
Dear, angel, friend, honey(the last addresses mean "dear, dear") kid, love, lovely, sweet- the most popular words with which the British turn to their loved ones and loved ones.
And, finally, a few affectionate addresses, divided by gender (see the Appendix for a complete list): Handsome - Handsome, Sweetie - Dear, Sweetie Pie - Darling, Sun, Babe (Baby Doll, Baby Girl etc.), Tiger - Tiger, Gorgeous - Beauty, Cuddles (Cuddle Cakes, Cuddle Bunny etc.) - Cutie, etc. When choosing one or another affectionate treatment, it is important to avoid excessive familiarity.
3.3 Obsolete titles in English and Russian
The word thou (a transcription of [ðaʊ]) was formerly the second person singular pronoun in English. Subsequently, it was supplanted by the second person plural pronoun you, due to the widespread appeal to "you" (a joke is known that an Englishman even refers to his dog with "you"). To this day, the form thou has been preserved in religious texts to address the Lord, now rarely used, although it is quite common in conversation in the north of England and Scotland, and also in some places in the USA. Stands in the nominative case, oblique thee, possessive form thy or thine.
Almost all verbs related to thou end in -st and -est, for example thou goest (you are going).
In early 11th to mid-15th century England, the word thou was sometimes abbreviated by substituting a small letter u over the letter of the Anglo-Saxon alphabet Þ (thorn).
The Russian language is also characterized by the rejection of some obsolete addresses. So in tsarist Russia, such title formulas were used: a respectful and official appeal was « gracious sir, gracious sir». So they turned to strangers with a sudden cooling or aggravation of relations. In addition, all official documents began with such appeals.
Then the first syllable was dropped and the words appeared « sir, sir» . So they began to address wealthy and educated people, as a rule, strangers.
In the official environment (civilian and military), there were such rules of treatment: from the junior in rank and rank, an appeal was required to the senior in title - from " your honor" before " Your Excellency»; to the persons of the royal family - " Your Highness" and " your majesty»; the emperor and his wife were addressed " Your imperial majesty»; the grand dukes (close relatives of the emperor and his wife) were titled "imperial highness". Often the adjective "imperial" was omitted, and when communicating, only the words "majesty" and "highness" were used ("To his majesty on behalf of ...").
The princes who did not belong to the royal house, and the counts with their wives and unmarried daughters were titled "Your Excellency", the most illustrious princes - " Your Highness».
Superiors addressed subordinates with the word " mister» with the addition of a surname or rank (position). People equal in title addressed each other without a title formula (for example, "Listen, Count ...".
Commoners, who did not know the ranks and insignia, used such appeals as master, mistress, father, mother, sir, madam, to the girls - young lady. And the most respectful form of address to the master, regardless of his rank, was “ your honor».
The system of appeals in the military environment corresponded to the system of military ranks. Full generals are supposed to say Your Excellency, lieutenant generals and major generals - Your Excellency. Officers, ensigns and candidates for a class position call the chiefs and seniors of the headquarters and chief officers by rank, adding the word master, for example, Mr. Captain, Mr. Colonel, other lower ranks title staff officers and captains - Your Highness, the rest of the chief officers - Your nobility (having a count or princely title - Your Excellency).
After the October Revolution, all the old ranks and titles were abolished by a special decree. Universal equality is proclaimed. Appeals lord - mistress, gentleman - mistress, sir - madam, gracious sovereign (empress) gradually disappear. Only diplomatic language preserves the formulas of international courtesy. So, the heads of monarchical states are addressed: Your Majesty, Your Excellency; foreign diplomats continue to be called sir - madam.
Instead of all appeals that existed in Russia, starting from 1917-1918, appeals citizen and comrade. The history of these words is remarkable and instructive.
Word citizen recorded in the monuments of the XI century. It came to the Old Russian language from the Old Slavonic language and served as a phonetic version of the word city dweller. Both of them meant "resident of the city (city)". In this meaning citizen found in texts dating back to the 19th century. So A.S. Pushkin has the lines:
Not a demon - not even a gypsy, But just a citizen of the capital.
In the XVIII century, this word acquires the meaning of "a full member of society, the state."
After the October Revolution, “sir”, “madame”, “master”, “mistress” were replaced by the word « comrade» . It removed differences by gender (as they addressed both a man and a woman) and by social status (since a person with a low status could not be addressed as “sir”, “madame”). The word comrade with the surname before the revolution indicated membership in a revolutionary political party, including the communists.
The words « citizen"/"citizen » were intended for those who were not yet seen as "comrades", and to this day are associated with reporting from the courtroom, and not with the French Revolution, which introduced them into the practice of speech.
Now many of these addresses are practically not used, but it is instructive to know the history of the native language and the state.
Chapter 4. Experimental part
Interestingly, the secondary school curriculum in a foreign (in particular, English) language does not include a topic devoted to studying the issue of the correct use of references in speech and the design of this lexical unit in writing. This issue is indirectly discussed when considering individual topics, and it depends only on the interest of a particular English teacher whether to focus the attention of students on this issue. However, it is obvious that the skills of the correct use of addresses in foreign languages are an integral part of literate speech.
4.1 Designing questionnaires and conducting a survey
In order to determine the level of knowledge of students of the 6th grade of our lyceum in the field of the correct use of forms of address in English, I compiled a questionnaire that, in addition to test questions on forms of address in English, also contained questions about their use of addresses in Russian in everyday speech. Questions of the questionnaire covered the area of official and unofficial appeals. The questionnaire is given in the Appendix.
I distributed my questionnaires to 57 respondents - students of my parallel - sixth graders, answers to the questions of the questionnaire took them an average of 15-20 minutes. The survey of respondents was conducted in conditions of anonymity, since the evaluation of these answers by the usual school assessment was not supposed. I considered it unproductive to use these questionnaires in the younger grades, since I decided that the lower grades do not have sufficient knowledge in the field of English in general and in the use of addresses in particular.
Based on the results of the survey using Excel, Windows7, graphs were constructed to visualize the results obtained (see Appendix).
The number of respondents who gave one or another answer to the question of the questionnaire was calculated as a percentage according to the formula:
However, in some cases it was not necessary to give percentages of responses, it was enough to analyze the simple majority or simply evaluate the variety of options proposed by respondents, especially in the case of questions that did not offer ready-made answers.
Analysis of survey results
The survey results are presented in tables with brief comments on them.
How do you address your mother?
An analysis of the answers to this question showed that the majority of respondents use the simple address "mom" or its abbreviated version "mom". For children with a native Tatar language, it is more common to call their mothers in Tatar, while none of the respondents refers to their mother by name.
How do you address your father?
It is interesting that among the answers there are no such options as "father", "dad", addresses by name. It is sad that quite a few of the respondents, 8 people, do not communicate with their fathers, but this moment lies more in the plane of seed psychology than linguistics.
I personally find it strange that some parents and grandparents want their children/grandchildren to just call them by their first names. Perhaps this version of the appeal allows the older generation to hide their age, or it seems to them that in this way they become great friends - equals to their children / grandchildren. I am convinced that when addressing elders, it is always necessary to demonstrate your respectful attitude towards them.
In this paragraph, the respondents were not given options for answers, however, the variety of appeals in the family is not so great. The reference to the position of a family member is mainly used (grandmother, mother, uncle, aunt, etc.). Unfilled questionnaires for this item may indicate that either there is no communication in the family, or the respondent has never paid attention to what kind of address he uses in relation to relatives.
What affectionate words do you say when you address each other, in the family?
For this item of the Questionnaire, 26 blank forms were received (see Appendix). This means that the wording of this question was not entirely correct and unambiguous and requires further adjustment. Apparently, survey participants are embarrassed to name these special appeals for them. It is also alarming that 5 respondents do not use, according to their confession, any affectionate words in communication with relatives and friends (see Appendix). In addition, 5 respondents consider the address "bro" affectionate.
What polite words do you use when addressing adults?
|
Answer options |
Number of respondents |
|
hello |
|
|
Sorry |
|
|
good morning/afternoon |
|
|
please |
|
|
hello |
|
|
thanks |
|
|
Could you tell.. |
|
|
please |
|
|
young man |
|
|
sorry |
|
|
let me ask |
|
|
respected |
|
|
hi |
|
|
goodbye |
|
In this question, no answer options were offered, so there is a wide range of options proposed by the respondents themselves. However, we can make sure that the guys mentioned the most common polite words.
53% of respondents admitted that they do not know how they address relatives and strangers in England and the USA, and half of those who answered yes to this question either gave incorrect answers or doubted their knowledge
Do you think the forms of address in English differ from the forms of address in Russian?
72% of respondents are sure that the forms of address in Russian and English are different, and 16% do not know if this is so. The answer to this question also shows that most students intuitively understand the differences in the forms of address in the two languages.
What forms of address in Russian do you know?
The majority of respondents named the variant “girl/young man” among the addresses known to them in Russian. Apparently, this is due to the fact that they are most often addressed in this way. At the same time, it seems surprising that 4 respondents, having lived to the age of 12, do not know any forms of address in Russian. Almost all respondents gave several answers at the same time.
What forms of address in English do you know?
To the question: “What forms of address in English do you know?” answered that 12 people did not know any, and 11 respondents noted that they knew all the variants of appeals proposed in the questionnaire. At the same time, it is interesting to note that of those who noted all the proposed options for addressing in English, 5 people previously stated that they did not know how they address relatives and strangers in England and the USA (question No. 6 in the questionnaire).
How do you figure out what it means madam?
“What do you think, what does madam mean?”: 60% of respondents think that it means “madam” and 40% that it means “woman”, while 3 respondents noted both of these options, considering them equal.
How do you figure out what it means missus?
|
Answer options |
Number of respondents |
|
|
a) madam |
||
|
b) an unmarried woman |
||
|
c) a married woman |
||
|
d) I don't know |
When asked about the meaning of the address “missus”, 57% of the respondents answered that this is an address to a married woman, and 34% - to an unmarried woman, while 2 respondents noted two options (married and unmarried) at the same time, obviously believing that such an address does not provide accurate information and the woman's marital status.
How do you figure out what it means ladies and gentlemen?
To the question "What do you think Ladies and gentlemen mean?" 56 people answered “ladies and gentlemen” and only 1 person answered “dear friends”.
How do you figure out what it means Sir?
To the question: “How do you figure out what sir means?” 60% think it's "sir" and 40% of respondents think it's a form of address for a man. At the same time, two respondents noted two of these options in the questionnaire at once - either they do not know the correct answer or they think that both definitions are suitable. The good news is that none of the respondents consider the appeal Sir as an appeal to a woman.
How do you address a man (passerby) on the street?
To the question "How would you address a man (passerby) on the street?" the majority of respondents 72% answered Mr, 26% - Sir, and the 3 most loving sixth graders plan to address passers-by Dear (Dear), or they simply do not know the meaning of this word.
How do you contact a police officer for help?
Question: "How do you get help from a police officer?" gave 92% Officer, 8% - Sir, it's good that none of the respondents answered Professor.
How do you address a teacher in England?
Unexpectedly, some difficulties were caused by the students and the question of the questionnaire: "How do you contact a teacher in England?", 31% of the respondents answered that "Teacher". In this case, the correct way to address the teacher in English can be easily trained by offering students to address the English teacher in his lessons in this way. The children will consolidate their knowledge, in addition, some will finally find out the name of their teacher.
For the last 3 questions, two respondents gave several answers at the same time. This may indicate that they consider several treatment options to be suitable at once.
Thus, the analysis of the survey results showed that the majority of the students surveyed do not have a clear understanding of the forms of address in the English language and their correct situational application, some of them did not think about the differences between the addresses used in England and the USA and the addresses in Russian, and some respondents experience difficulties in using address in speech even in their native Russian language. The results obtained in this work testify to the relevance of this study and indicate the need to pay more attention to the study of forms of addresses, as an important tool for interpersonal communication, in foreign language lessons at school.
Results and conclusions
As a result of the work, I got acquainted with the concept of “address”, learned what lexical units are used in English and Russian when addressing an interlocutor, depending on the status and position of the addressee, the degree of acquaintance with him, gender and age.
The analysis of the literature made it possible to find out the features of the use of various forms of address in oral and written speech in Russian and English.
With the help of a survey conducted by me among 57 students of the 6th grade, it was possible to establish what forms of address in Russian and English my classmates know, and whether they use them correctly in speech and writing.
It has been experimentally established that the words “dad”, “mother” with various diminutive variants of these words, as well as abbreviated versions of these words (“dad”, “mum”) are most often used as informal addresses in the family. These forms are similar to those used in informal communication in English.
In practice, it has been found that in the case of official communication in Russian, addressing by name and patronymic to familiar people prevails, which is unusual for the English language.
The vast majority of respondents do not know how relatives and strangers are addressed in England and the USA and they themselves hesitate to use addresses in their speech.
I recommend that English teachers devote at least 1 lesson to the study of this topic, which is necessary for verbal communication. In my opinion, it is necessary that all high school students gain experience in using various forms of address in English.
Practical significance
Acquaintance with the rules of conduct, speech etiquette are important conditions for successful communication. Knowing the forms of addressing the interlocutor in English is one of the fundamental points in learning the language.
This research work allows you to get acquainted with the existing forms of address in English, as well as to establish what determines their choice in oral and written speech.
A survey of sixth-graders conducted during the work revealed a lack of knowledge of students in the field of using various forms of address in English, depending on the status and position of the addressee, the degree of acquaintance with him, gender and age.
Thus, the results of this work can be useful not only to all learners of English in order to avoid mistakes in communicating with foreigners, but also allow foreign language teachers to adjust the program of their subject, pay attention to the peculiarities of using addresses as an integral part of literate speech.
Bibliography
Baranovsky, L.S., Kozikis, D.D. Regional Studies. Great Britain: Textbook./ L.S. Baranovsky, D.D. Kozikis. - Minsk: 1990
"Polite and affectionate forms of address in English" http://www.study.ru/support/lib/note256.html
Vocal case // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907
Linguistic encyclopedic dictionary. - M., 1990.
"People in England" http://england-today.ru/lyudi-v-anglii/
“Appeals to titled persons. Victorian England" http://www.diary.ru/~citadel-club/p188638639.htm
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"Secrets of etiquette: how to behave in England" http://lifehacker.ru/2014/08/15/sekrety-etiketa-v-anglii/
"Forms of Address in English" http://time4english.ucoz.ru/publ/interesnoe_o_jazyke/a_vy_znaete/formy_obrashhenija_v_anglijskom_jazyke/22-1-0-59
"Forms of address in English" http://www.englishelp.ru/component/content/article/214.html
"Forms of addressing the interlocutor in English" http://www.englishfirst.ru/englishfirst/english-study/articles/address.aspx
Appendix 1
Questionnaire for surveying sixth graders on the topic of the project
How do you address your father?
How do you address your mother?
How do you address close relatives (uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters)?
Do you know how relatives, acquaintances and strangers are addressed in England and the USA?
What do you think, are the forms of address in English different from the forms of address in Russian. a) yes b) no c) don't know
What forms of address in Russian do you know?
a) I don’t know b) A man, a woman c) A girl, a young man
d) By name e) You, you
What forms of address in English do you know?
a) I don’t know b) A man, a woman c) A girl, a young man d) By name e) You, you
What do you think madam means? a) a girl b) a woman c) a lady
What do you think missus means? a) mistress b) unmarried woman c) married woman
What do you think Ladies and gentlemen means? a) ladies and gentlemen b) dear friends c) guys
How do you figure out what sir means? a) mister b) form of address to a man c) form of address to a woman
How do you address a man (passerby) on the street? a) Mr b) Sir c) Dear
How do you contact a police officer for help? a) Officer b) Sir c) Professor
How do you address a teacher in England? a) Mr/Ms b) Teacher c) Professor
Appendix 2
Correct answers to some of the survey questions
How do you address your father?
How do you address your mother?
How do you address close relatives (uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters)?
What affectionate words do you say when addressing each other: a) In the family: b) With friends:
What polite words do you use when addressing adults? a) To acquaintances: b) To strangers
Do you know how relatives, acquaintances and strangers are addressed in England and the USA?
What do you think, are the forms of address in English different from the forms of address in Russian. a) Yes b) no c) don't know
What forms of address in Russian do you know? a) I don't know b)Man Woman in) Girl, young man
G)By the name d)You you
What forms of address in English do you know? a) I don't know b)Man Woman in) Girl, young man G) By name e) You, you
What do you think madam means? a) girl b a) woman c) madam
What do you think missus means? a) mistress b) unmarried woman in) married woman
What do you think Ladies and gentlemen means? a a) ladies and gentlemen b) dear friends c) guys
How do you figure out what sir means? a) mister b) form of address to a man c) form of address to a woman
How do you address a man (passerby) on the street? a) Mr. b) Sir c) Dear
How do you contact a police officer for help? a) Officer b) Sir c) Professor
How do you address a teacher in England? a) Mr/Ms b) Teacher c) Professor
Annex 3
What affectionate words do you say when addressing each other, in the family?
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Answer options |
Number of respondents |
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Not filled |
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sun |
|
|
compliment |
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hello |
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nothing / nothing |
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Appendix 4
Affectionate informal addresses in English:
Handsome - Handsome
Sweetie - Darling
Sweetie Pie - Darling, Sunshine
Babe (Baby Doll, Baby Girl etc.)
Tiger - Tiger
Gorgeous - Beauty
Cuddles (Cuddle Cakes, Cuddle Bunny etc.) - Cutie
Honey Bun - Bun
Prince Charming - Prince on a white horse, handsome prince
Cookie Monster - Cookie (a character from Sesame Street)
Mr. Perfect (Mr. Amazing etc.) - Mr. Perfect
Biscuit - CookieCherry - Cherry
Honey Bear
Cupcake - Cutie
Captain - Captain
Kitten - Kitten
Lady Killer - Heartbreaker
Precious - Dear, Precious
Marshmallow - Marshmallow
Peanut - Baby
Stud - Stallion
Pumpkin - Pretty, Pretty
Teddy Bear
Snowflake - Snowflake
Sugarplum - Sweet my Sweet Cheeks - Sweet my
Superman - Superman
Dumpling - Cutie
Annex 5
Application forms. Graphical presentation of work results.
In English, married women and girls are usually addressed differently. This culture was fixed in the 17th century, and is still preserved, despite the position of modern society on the principle of gender equality.
Appeal in English miss or mrs
The norms of etiquette, which have taken root in English-speaking countries, prescribe to distinguish in speech and in writing appeals to women of different social status. When a woman introduces herself in society, she says not only her first and last name. The rules of good manners oblige her or the person who represents her to put before the name an address that characterizes the marital status.
The status of a woman in Western society is usually denoted by a special word. In Russian culture, there are no analogues to such treatment, or they are extremely weakly expressed. Addressing women with the designation of her status was characteristic of her title of nobility, if she possessed it.
In general, this division of statuses is not typical for Russian culture, therefore the English “Miss” and “Mrs.” cannot be unambiguously compared with addresses in Russian speech.
In the English-speaking society, there are norms for the use of such addresses:
- Miss- an appeal to a girl, most often used in relation to young people under the age of 18. In addition, with the prefix Miss, you can refer to a teacher, saleswoman, maid. Also, this appeal is considered the most appropriate if the status of a woman is unknown.
- Mrs.- the traditional form of addressing a married lady. At the same time, after the appeal, you can call both the woman’s own name and the name of her husband. Divorced and widowed women use their maiden name and surname after missis.
Pronunciation
Miss in transcription looks like this:
The obsolete word Mistress, which is rarely used in oral communication, is pronounced like. More often this word has the meaning of "mistress", "mistress" or "mistress".
For example:
- Mistress of thesituation - Mistress of the situation.
- Costumemistress - Chief costumer.
- The dog ran alongside his mistress - The dog ran next to the mistress.
A derivative of Mistress, which eventually turned into an independent word missis, is pronounced as follows:. Missis literally means "wife".
Usage
In spoken English, miss and mistress are used in specific situations:
- Miss is an address to an unmarried person or to a school teacher, regardless of her marital status, for example:
- He was finished at Miss A.'s - She was educated at Miss A.'s boarding house.
- Which Miss Smith do you mean? – Which Miss Smith do you mean?
- mistress or missis- a form of polite address to a married or divorced lady, as well as to a widow.
Examples of verbal appeals
On the letter, full addresses are not used, they are replaced by abbreviations:
- Miss- if it is known for sure that the lady is not married;
- Mrs- if there is confidence that the woman was married or married at the moment;
- Ms- a polite form of address in letters, which indicates a person's belonging to the female sex, but does not give a direct indication of marital status.
Accepted appeals in letters
- Dear Miss Jones! Dear Miss Jones!
- Dear Mrs. Wilson! Dear Mrs Wilson!
- Dear Ms. Smith! Dear Miss Smith!
Punctuation after abbreviation
It is customary to put punctuation marks after abbreviations in writing:
- Jane Johnson - Mrs. Jane Johnson
- John Kelly – Mrs John Kelly
There is no period after the word Miss, since the full form of the word is used:
- Miss Dana Simms - Miss Dana Simms.
A person studying a foreign language should be aware that the beauty of a language lies in its diversity. Of course, this is primarily a tool that allows us to convey our thoughts to the listener or reader, but the form is no less important than the content. Moreover, native speakers, listening to your speech, will truly appreciate your rich vocabulary. And this, you see, is a significant reason to be proud of the results of your labors. This requirement applies not only to advanced English lovers, but also to those who are just taking up English for beginners and with mute horror for the first time open a dictionary or grammar of the English language. Useful words and their synonyms should be sought out, written down, memorized and used in speech whenever possible. In this, I hope the LINGVISTOV team will provide you with all possible assistance.
I don’t know about you, but I often get bored with hackneyed “dear”, “baby”, “bro” and other platitudes. In conversational English addresses, too, there is where to expand in terms of vocabulary, which can be replenished with slang expressions heard in films in English or read in books and magazines.
But first, let's take a look at the courtesy. The most common forms are Mr.(Mister) Mrs.(Missis) and Ms.(Miss - for a young girl or unmarried woman), to which the surname of this person is added. For example, "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to DIE!" If you don't know the last name of the person you're addressing, use Sir, madam or miss; however, the latter can cause trouble if the girl is still married (tested the hard way). Very controversial is the use of Ma'am, an abbreviation for Madam:
In the UK, it is almost never used and is considered an obsolete form.
In the US, the use of "madam" is limited to very formal occasions, while "ma'am" is common in everyday speech to an adult woman who you think may already have a family and children, especially if she is older. you. In the South and Southwest of the United States, "ma'am" is an address to any woman or girl.
There are many friendly addresses, as well as affectionate ones, in the English language. Addresses to friends vary depending on which version of English you prefer, however, they are not limited to them.
british english:
chap: "Dear old chap, I've missed you!" (Old man, I missed you!)
mate(also Australia, New Zealand): “Hey, mate, you want to hit the pub?” (Man, let's go to the pub?)
pal(also popular in the US): “My most useful acting tip came from my pal John Wayne. Talk low, talk slow, and don't say too much.” - Michael Caine (The most helpful acting tip was given to me by my friend John Wayne. Speak in a low voice, speak slowly and speak little. - Michael Caine)
crony: “I"m going to the pub with me cronies” (I went to the pub with my buddies.)
mucker(Ireland): “What about ye, mucker? Are you in or out?” (So buddy? Are you in?)
american english:
homie: "Time to go, homie." (It's time to leave, buddy.)
home slice: “You’re coming with us tonight, home slice? “Sure.”
amigo: "Hey, amigo, long time no see." (Hey amigo, how many years, how many winters!)
buddy: “I'm going to have some beers with my buddy tonight.” (Today my friend and I will have a couple of drinks.)
bestie: "You and I are besties for life!" (You and I are best friends for life!)
dawg: “Waddup, dawg? “Nothing, jus’ chillin.”
fella: “Good to see you fella.” Most often used in the meaning of “guy, person (male)”: “Who are these fellas?” (Who are these people?)
dude: "Dude, where's my car?" (classic)
Affectionate appeals to close people are also very diverse. Here are some of them, in most cases used regardless of gender:
Honey (hon for short)
Sugar (also sugarplum, sugar pie, sugar cake, etc.)
And finally, a few affectionate addresses, divided by gender:
|
Nicknames for a Boyfriend |
Nicknames for a Girlfriend |
|
Handsome - Handsome |
Sweetie - Darling |
It is important to avoid excessive familiarity here, because, as one of my good friends says: "I "m not your honey, darling, sweetheart, dear, ducky, or any other diminutive creature."
In English, there are many variants of polite forms of addressing a person.
Towards man the forms Mr., Sir, Esq. are used. , and in relation to a woman - Mrs., Ms., Miss, Madam.
Now let's look at each of them separately.
The form Mr. can be used when referring to a man, regardless of his age and marital status. The only restriction is the fact that it must be followed by the last name of the person being addressed:
Dear Mr. Ivanov, Dear Mr. Ivanov!
When addressing multiple people, use Messrs, and to the surnames themselves, the ending is plural. -s is not added and no dot is placed after the politeness form:
Messrs Thomas and Smith
If the addressee's last name is unknown, use Sir(Sirs when addressing multiple people):
Dear Sirs, Dear Sirs!
As a synonym for Mr. in England they sometimes use the form Esq. However, it is not placed before the name, but after it, and, naturally, in this case the form Mr. is absent:
Michael S. Johnson, Esq.
For reference: This form goes back to the word esquire. In medieval England, an esquire was a knight's squire, and later this word came to mean one of the lowest noble titles. For some time this form was used in letters, but now it is becoming less and less common.
The form Mrs. (Mmes when referring to several women) is placed before (1) the family name or (2) before the name and surname of a married woman or (3) before the name and surname of her husband:
Mrs. Brown - Mrs. Brown
Mrs. Laura Brown - Mrs. Laura Brown
Mrs. Peter Brown - Mrs. Peter Brown
For reference:
Form is an abbreviation for mistress, which reads like . It is incorrect to assume that this is an abbreviation for missus / missis (although the readings of Mrs. and missus / missis are the same).
Why is it so?
The fact is that abbreviated forms of polite address are formed by adding the first and last letters:
Mr. = MisteR
Dr. = DoctorR
Mrs. can't be short for missus/missis because missus/missis doesn't have an r consonant, so it makes sense that
Mrs. = MistResSAt the same time, missus / missis are used in the meaning of "wife, mistress". They do not have abbreviations, since this is not a form of address that is placed before the surname. These words are typical for informal speech, for example, in a husband's speech about his wife:
I promised the missus I "d be home by eleven - I promised my wife to be home by eleven.
The form Miss used in relation to an unmarried woman and should be followed by a surname:
Dear Miss Willis, Dear Miss Willis!
The form Ms.(read or) is the language equivalent of the Mr. form, since it is used in relation to a woman, regardless of the fact of her marital status. This form was recommended by the UN in 1974 as a result of campaigns by various organizations for the equality of women. It should be noted, however, that in everyday life this form is not used as often as in official correspondence, because most women prefer to use the form Mrs. (married) or Miss (unmarried). However, modern formal and even semi-formal correspondence has a strong tendency to use the form Ms. This form must also be followed by the last name:
Ms. S. Smith
madam(Mesdames when referring to several women) is the most formal address to a woman. This form can be called the language equivalent of Sir, since it is also used when the addressee's last name is unknown:
Dear Madam, Dear Madam!
Dear Mesdames
In addition, this form is used in writing in relation to a high-ranking woman, married or unmarried, to the queen (queen), princess (princess), countess (countess), duke's daughter, maid of honor (maid of honor), as well as to a woman, holding an official position; with job title Madam Chairman, Madam Chairman!)
