[Linganth] refs on use of 3rd person in direct address?

[Galey Modan]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for research on the phenomenon where a speaker references an
addressee in the 3rd person, when there is only one addressee. Here's an
example:

A patient is talking to his doctor about another doctor, and instead of
saying, "that's why they should have talked to you", he says, "That's why
they should have talked to Dr. A" (where Dr. A is the addressee and no one
else is present in the conversation).

I'd appreciate any references for research on this topic.

thanks,

Galey
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