Linguistic Anthropology Digest V1 #510

[Bruce Fraser]

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Linguistic Anthropology Digest wrote:

> Linguistic Anthropology Digest Wednesday, November 17 1999 Volume 01 : Number 510
>
> English address forms when name is unknown
> TIME CHANGE: 7PM Sat, Lobby
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1999 23:13:02 +0800
> From: Kerim Friedman <kerim.list at oxus.net>
> Subject: English address forms when name is unknown
>
> I am auditing a sociolinguistics class in Taiwan and they often use me as a "native informant" when discussing American speech, however I was stumped by the following rather simple question:
>
> What are the different ways we address people whose names we don't know? What are the appropriate contexts for these forms of address, and what are the implications.
>
> All I could think of is how much anxiety this situation usually causes me simply because I don't know what to do. But I did make a list and would like to see if other people basically agree with this list or not. Also, references to actual research on this topic would be much appreciated. Please e-mail me directly at <kerim.mail at oxus.net>, and I will post a summary to the list. I imagine there is a lot of variation in how people would answer this question according to age, gender, and geographic location, not to mention dialectical differences. I am very interested in that variation, but I also would like to try to provide my classmates with some generalizations about American usage that they can use as a point of comparison.
>
> Here is what I came up with:
>
> (1) I usually just ask someone their name, or try to avoid any kind of address altogether (simply using a greeting without an appelation of any sort following it ie: "hey there").
>
> (2) With a male classmate I might use "hey man" (but I couldn't think what I use for a female classmate, I think I just follow rule #1).
>
> (3) In public I might use "sir" or "mam" if, for example, someone I don't know drops something on the subway and I need to get their attention.
>
> (4) In some contexts I might use title: "waiter," "doctor," and "nurse," etc. In most professional encounters it seems that I would avoid any appelation as well. "Excuse me, could you help me?" not "Excuse me Mr/Ms/etc, could you help me?" In many cases the person will tell you their name right away, although I usually forget it.
>
> (5) I could think of no equivalent to the Chinese terms used for young children and old people that one doesn't know. Actually, I can recall hearing expressions like "little buddy" and "aunti" used in movies, but I would never use them.
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> kerim
> ________________________________________________________
> P. KERIM FRIEDMAN
>                         Anthropology, Temple University
>                         <mailto:kerim.mail at oxus.net>
>                         <http://kerim.oxus.net>
> ________________________________________________________
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1999 20:26:08 -0800 (PST)
> From: Leila Monaghan <monaghan at anthro.ucla.edu>
> Subject: TIME CHANGE: 7PM Sat, Lobby
>
> Hi.  There has been a slight time change.  Everybody should meet in the
> lobby by the 1st floor elevators at 7:00pm Saturday night, and we will
> walk to Miller's Pub for a 7:30 dinner.  1st floor is the same floor that
> the main hotel reception desk is on (what an old-fashioned hotel!).
>
> MANY THANKS to Rachel Reynolds for arranging this...her note with info is
> attached below:
>
>         We'll get a portion of the upstairs dining room with its own bar (!).
> There will be a group of tables for us.  They have 35 people listed under a
> reservation in your name and my name, for 7:30 Saturday night.  The address
> is 134 S. Wabash, phone (312) 645-5377.  Unfortunately, they'll only do a
> single check when the party is as large as this one, so we'll have to duke
> it out somehow.
>
>         Note that it's a simple 5 block walk straight north from the backside of
> the Hilton Hotel (the hotel itself is sandwiched between Michigan on the
> east side and Wabash on the west side).
>
>         About the place:  they've got marvelous Greek chicken, steak, soups,
> salads, omelettes, spanokopita, braised ribs, etc.  The average cost will
> be about 8-16 per person without drinks.  The menu's large enough that just
> about anyone will find something they can eat happily.
>
>         The place is at least 30 years old, has lovely high ceilings, done in red
> leather and hardwood, with brass fixtures and all that.  There's also a
> great collection of photographs of the owner with celebrities from all over
> the world (my favorite is Joey Heatherton circa 1970 in shimmery purple
> body-stocking).  It's sort of like a two-bit Club 22.
>
>         If people want to head out to the restaurant early and meet us there, they
> have a really great bar on the first floor.
>
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Linguistic Anthropology Digest V1 #510
> *********************************************