[Lingtyp] Extended uses of terms of address/vocatives

Tue Feb 4 21:07:39 UTC 2025

Hi Andrea,

This may be on your radar already, but *bro *or *bruh *in American English
(and probably other varieties) exhibits these extended functions.
Originally a term of address for a singular male addressee (typically from
a male speaker as well), it can now be used by any speaker as an
attention-getting marker for any addressee or group of addressees, as a
stand-alone interjection expressing surprise, and as an intensifier for the
utterance that it goes with (either preceding or following).

I don't know the literature on this topic, but I observe these uses of
*bro/bruh *on a daily basis from my seven-year-old daughter and her
friends, as well as my three-year-old son, who learned it from his big
sister.

>From California,

Michael

On Tue, Feb 4, 2025 at 11:28 AM David Gil via Lingtyp <
lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org> wrote:

> Dear Andrea,
>
> A phenomenon displaying several of the features you noted (a term of
> address with plural meaning and extended functions) can be observed in many
> languages, in contemporary slang, especially that of social media,
> involving the borrowing, sometimes with high frequency, of English *guys*.
> I have heard this in, among others, varieties of African English, various
> Indo-Aryan languages, assorted Philippine languages, and also Malayic
> dialects.  For some examples from Malayic dialects see Gil (2024),
> reproduced below.
>
>
> Best,
>
>
> David
>
>
>
> (31)  *Minangkabau*
>     Gais lai pernah mancubo makan iko gais?
>          *Gais*   lai            pernah   mancubo   makan   iko
> *gais*?
>
>          guys   add.foc  exp        ag:try        eat         dem:dem.prox
> guys
>
>          'Guys, have you ever tried eating this, guys?'
>
> [https://www.instagram.com/reel/C11JuKNhuex/]
>
> (32)  *Papuan Malay*
>
>          Sabar     *gais*,   ha     mancing    dulu
>
>          patient   guys   1sg   catch.fish   first
>
>          'Wait a bit, I want to do some fishing first.'
>
>          [DGD]
>
> (57)  *Jakarta Indonesian ~ Standard Indonesian*
>
> Hay gaess. Bagaimana gaes,, kalian sudah nonton belum tadi gaes acara
> Bincang Tokoh ibu Dr. Hj. Winarti SE. MH. bersama ANTV Lampung???
>
>          Hay *gais*. Bagaimana *gais*, kalian  sudah nonton  belum
> tadi           *gais*  acara
>
>          hi     guys  how             guys 2pl      pfv     watch
> nondum pst.prox  guys  program
>
>          Bincang  Tokoh      ibu        Dr. Hj. Winarti  SE. MH.  bersama
> ANTV   Lampung
>
>          discuss   character  mother  Dr. Hj. Winarti  SE. MH.  together
> ANTV   Lampung
>
>  'Hi guys, what's up guys, have you already watched, guys, the programme
> discussing the character of Mrs. Dr. Hj. Winarti SE. MH. on ANTV Lampung?'
>
> [
> https://www.tulangbawangkab.go.id/news/read/4044/hay-gaess-bagaimana-gaes-kalian-sudah-nonton-belum-tadi-gaes-acara-bincang-tokoh-ibu-dr-hj-winarti-s
> ]
>
> (58)  *Standard Indonesian*
>
> Rudal    Tamir   sendiri    adalah   rudal     luncur   otomatis,   atau  "self-propelled",
>
>
> missile  Tamir   neg.foc cop       missile  launch   automatic  or
> self-propelled
>
> yang   berbahan         bakar   padat,  dan     dipandur    radar  yang   merancang,
>
>
> rel     dpat:material  burn     solid    and     pat:guide   radar  rel
> ag:design
>
> untuk  mencegah     target pada jarak   hingga tujuh  puluh   kilometer
> *gais*
>
> for      ag:prevent   target obl   range  until     seven ten
> kilometer   guys
>
> 'The Tamir missile itself is an automatically-launched, or self-propelled,
> missile using solid fuel and with a radar designed to defend against
> targets up to a range of seventy kilometers guys.'
>
> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2Gf32zNzcg: 2:06-2:19]
>
>
>
> Gil, David (2024) "Borrowing within Malayic: The Role of Exotericity", in
> A. Adelaar, T. Hoogervorst and S. Moeimam eds., Lexical Borrowing in Island
> Southeast Asia; History, Impact and Analysis, WACANA, Journal of the
> Humanities of Indonesia, 25.3:480-530.
>
>
>
> Available (I think ...) at:
>
> *https://scholarhub.ui.ac.id/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1793&context=wacana&fbclid=IwY2xjawIPRG1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHbvMebp1dJohe2Yfe2CYXCdcsbXM2oF388B1K8yDGChgM3QkjgPM9tgJ-w_aem_W0nMR116BUrGL9lv-6PbOg
> <https://scholarhub.ui.ac.id/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1793&context=wacana&fbclid=IwY2xjawIPRG1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHbvMebp1dJohe2Yfe2CYXCdcsbXM2oF388B1K8yDGChgM3QkjgPM9tgJ-w_aem_W0nMR116BUrGL9lv-6PbOg>*
>
> On Wed, Feb 5, 2025 at 2:01 AM Andrea Sansò via Lingtyp <
> lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org> wrote:
>
>> Dear all,
>>
>> My colleague and I are investigating an Italian term of address/vocative
>> that appears to have recently developed new functions. The term in
>> question, *raga*, is a shortened form of *ragazzi/e *(meaning
>> "boys/girls" in the plural). While our analysis and interpretation of the
>> data are still preliminary, we have observed that *raga *is no longer
>> used exclusively in its original function as an attention-getter when
>> addressing multiple interlocutors. Instead, it has acquired various
>> functions in spoken language. Below is a preliminary list of these new
>> functions:
>>
>> - Expressing the speaker’s surprise (with both positive and negative
>> nuances)
>> - Intensification/boosting
>> - Marking reported discourse
>>
>> These new functions represent significant departures from the term's
>> original, diachronically primary use. For instance, in some cases, *raga* is
>> directed at a single hearer, contradicting its original plural reference.
>> In others, the term occurs at the right periphery of an utterance,
>> contrasting with its traditional use as a vocative or attention-getter,
>> which is typically confined to the left periphery.
>>
>> We are aware of several studies addressing the pragmatic evolution of
>> terms of address in European languages. For example, in a contrastive study
>> on *güey* in Mexican Spanish and *alter* in German, Kleinknecht and
>> Sousa (2017: 257) argue that “terms of address have the potential to
>> intensify the affectivity displayed by the speaker. In this capacity, they
>> may be employed as linguistic strategies to enhance the expressive and
>> illocutionary force of utterances.” Furthermore, these expressive uses can
>> serve as the basis for more specific functions related to turn-taking and
>> information management. In Mexican Spanish, for instance, *güey* can
>> occur in the right periphery to emphasize the preceding segment, as
>> illustrated in the following example (from Kleinknecht & Sousa 2017: 275):
>>
>> [image: image.png]
>>
>> While some of the functions we have identified for *raga *align with
>> common uses of terms of address (e.g., intensification/boosting), others
>> are perhaps less conventional. To situate our research within a typological
>> framework, we would like to ask list members for examples of non-canonical
>> uses of terms of address, particularly from non-European and non-LOL
>> languages. We would especially appreciate examples involving terms with
>> inherently plural reference, such as *raga*, as well as any references
>> to relevant literature.
>>
>> I will be happy to post a summary of the responses if needed. Thank you
>> in advance for your help and insights.
>>
>> Best regards,
>> Andrea Sansò
>> _______________________________________________
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>> Lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org
>> https://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp
>>
>
>
> --
>
> David Gil
>
> Senior Scientist (Associate)
> Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution
> Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
> Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
>
> Email: dapiiiiit at gmail.com
> Mobile Phone (Israel): +972-526117713
> Mobile Phone (Indonesia): +62-082113720302
>
>
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>

-- 
Michael Fiddler
PhD candidate
Department of Linguistics
University of California, Santa Barbara
website <https://sites.google.com/view/michaelfiddler/home?authuser=0>
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