Abstract:
Address terms provide important sociolinguistic information about
interlocutors, their relationships, and their situations. Address terms in various
fields and languages have been studied from various perspectives and with
varying emphasis over the last few decades. This current study focused on the
use of address terms among students of Nusrat Jahan Ahmadiyya College of
Education. Data for this study were gathered using observation, semi-structured
interviews, questionnaire, and focus-group discussions. Personal names,
descriptive phrases, portfolio-related terms, titles, ethnic-related terms, kinship
terms, and endearment terms were found in the study. The research also
discovered how address terms reflect identities, mark politeness/respect,
indicate relationships, indicate roles and positions, and show familiarity or
unfamiliarity. The use of inappropriate address terms is a barrier to effective
and successful communication. Inappropriate address terms brings humiliation
to the addressee and diminishes his/her confidence. It also brings
embarrassment to the addresser and he/she loses public respect and recognition.
These findings have significant implications for sociolinguists on the use
address terms.
