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THE BACKGOUND OF FORMAL AND INFORMAL ADDRESSING IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH
Gulizar Hosten
The General and Russian Linguistics Department Philological Faculty Peoples' Friendship University of Russia
Miklukho-Maklay Str., 6, Moscow, Russia, 117198
The article treats the group of kinship terms both in modern English and Turkish in the aspect of addressing functions. It reveals most relevant meanings to influence a proper way of addressing dependent on the age, sex, formal or informal communication, etc.
Key words: kinship terms, addressing, formal and informal addressing, addressing form, social and individual communication.
The first rule of the proper communication is addressing the people correctly. As for intercultural communication, a lot of people suffer from the misuse of the form of addressing: How could we call the other people who we know/ we don't know? What kind of things effect the addressing form? What is the relationship between the use of names and other words in address? How could we learn or solve our addressing problem?
The age of the people, the gender, the power distance of the community, the culture, the kinship, the relationship, the social atmosphere are all effected the addressing form. Finding the best suitable addressing form we have to know the age limit and how it can change from one country to the other.
What does age limit mean? In dictionary definition of age limit there is a regulation establishing the maximum age for doing something or holding some position.
Human growth stages generally follow a pattern that corresponds with the subject's age. Erik Erikson (15 June 1902 — 12 May 1994) [1] was a Danish-German-American developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory on social development of human beings. He may be most famous for coining the phrase identity crisis. According to his studies in England [2] the names of the periods versus to age is shown below in a number of schemes:
Scheme 1.
General periods versus ages for the English people
Early The school Puberty& Young Middle Late
Infancy childhood Play age age Adolescence adulthood adulthood adulthood
birth—18 m 18m—3 ys 3—5 ys 6—12 ys 12—18 ys 18—35ys 35— 65ys—death
55/65 ys
Like in England a lot of researches were done about social developments of human beings in the Republic of Turkey. In Anadolu Universitesi, which is one of the university in the Republic of Turkey, the Education Faculty did a research about the age
periods' addressing (11). According to the research the names of the periods versus to ages shows below:
Scheme 2.
General periods versus ages for the Turkish people
First Second Young Middle Late
Baby hildhood childhood Adolescence adulthood adulthood adulthood
Birth—2 ys 2—5/6 ys 6—11 ys 11/13— 20—30 30 (middle)— 60/70—death
18/20 ys (middle) ys 60 (middle)
The general formal and informal addressing form of human beings for a male and female according to the age periods are also different for two countries in formal or informal way.
The general formal addressing forms for males and for females in Britain are summed up in Scheme 3.
Scheme 3.
Formal addressing forms versus ages for the English males
Young Man/Old
Baby/It Baby/Baby Boy/Kid Young boy Boy/Man Young man man Old man
birth—18 m 18m—3 ys 3—5 ys 6—12 ys 12—18 ys 18—35ys 35— 65ys—death
55/65 ys
The next Scheme 4 presents the same data for female.
Scheme 4.
Formal addressing forms versus ages for the English females
Baby Girl/ Young Girl/ Young Woman/ Woman/
Baby/It Girl Girl Young girl Woman Woman Old woman Old woman
birth—18 m 18m—3 ys 3—5 ys 6—12 ys 12—18 ys 18—35ys 35— 65ys—death
55/65 ys
The general formal addressing forms for males and for females in Turkey are reflected as to Scneme 5 and Scheme 6, correspondingly.
Scheme 5.
Formal addressing forms versus ages for the Turkish males
Young Man/
Baby Boy/Kid Boy/Kid Young boy Man Man/Old man Old man
Oglan-Erkek/ Adam-Erkek/
Bebek Cocuk Delikanli/Genc Delikanli/Genc Adam-Erkek Yasli Adam Yasli Adam
Birth—2 ys 2—5/6 ys
6—11 ys 11/13— 20—30 30 (middle)— 60/70—
18/20 ys (middle) ys 60 (middle) death
Scheme 6.
Formal addressing forms versus ages for the Turkish females
Young Girl/ Woman/
Baby Girl/Kid Girl/Kid Young girl Woman Old woman Old woman
Genckiz/ Kadin-Hanim/
Bebek Kiz/Cocuk Kiz/Cocuk Genckiz Kadin-Hanim Yasli Kadin Yasli Kadin
Birth—2 ys 2—5/6 ys 6—11 ys 11/13— 20—30 30 (middle)— 60/70—
18/20 ys (middle) ys 60 (middle) death
In the daily life addressings show some differences according to formal and informal usage. What does formal and informal mean? In the dictionary definition the formal means; 1) of, according to, or following established or prescribed forms, conventions, etc. (e.g.: a formal document), 2) characterized by observation of conventional forms of ceremony, behaviour, dress, etc.( e.g.: a formal dinner), 3) methodical, precise, or stiff, 4) (linguistics) denoting or characterized by idiom, vocabulary, etc., used by educated speakers and writers of a language, 5) of or relating to the appearance, form, etc., of something as distinguished from its substance, 6) (Linguistics / Grammar) denoting a second-person pronoun in some languages used when the addressee is a stranger, social superior, etc. in French the pronoun "vous'' is formal, while "tu'' is informal.
The informal ones also has different definitions; 1) not of a formal, official, or stiffly conventional nature an informal luncheon; 2) appropriate to everyday life or use informal clothes, 3) (linguistics / grammar) denoting or characterized by idiom, vocabulary, etc., appropriate to everyday conversational language rather than to formal written language; 4) (linguistics / grammar) denoting a second-person pronoun in some languages used when the addressee is regarded as a friend or social inferior In French the pronoun "tu'' is informal.
Age limit and gender play very critical and important role for addressing people formally and informally. However, the addressing forms of the countries show a lot of differences even if in the same country. The differences not only depend on the gender also they depend on the other factors like the geography, the surface culture, educational level etc. too. In the same country the geography effects the informal addressing forms. Foe example; in the north and west part of Turkey use different words for unlce. In the north part the people use "emmi" and in the west part they say "amca". The education level of the people is another factor. For example high educated people select mor kind words than low educated people. All social groups have different informal addressing, too. Moreover the time is a factor for informal addressing. The oldest people couldn't understand the youngest people or vice versa. Because of the some social sites in the internetwhich people share a lot of things or movies people learn a lot of foreign addressing forms and they love to use them. So the informal addressing forms changes very fast. Also it depends on the personal characters. The emotional people or emotional
cultures use a lot of word to emphasize their feelings. So the informal addressing forms show a lot of differences. In here only the most known informal adressing forms are used.
The illustration of the formal and informal addressing forms versus general periods and ages are shown in the table below to help to understand how they show the similarities and differences in the country and also between the counties, especially for Turkey and England.
Table 1.
Formal and informal addressing forms versus ages for the English males
Age Male Formal Informal
Birth— 18 months Baby/It It love/darling/honey/sweat heart
18 months— 3 years Baby/Baby Boy/ Kid Boy love/darling/honey/sweat heart
3 years—5 years Boy/Kid Boy love/darling/honey/sweatheart
6 years— 12 years Young boy/Kid Mr. Boy/buddy/man/mate/love/darling/honey/ sweat heart
12 years— 18years Young Boy/Man Mr./Gentleman Boy/buddy/man/mate/love/darling/honey/ sweat heart
18 years— 35 years Young Man Mr./Mister/Sir/ Gentleman Buddy/man/mate/love/darling/honey/ sweatheart
35 years— 55/65 years Man/Old Man Mr./Mister/Sir/ Gentleman Buddy/man/mate/love/darling/honey/ sweat heart
65 years— death Old Man Mr./Mister/Sir/ Gentleman Buddy/man/mate/love/darling/honey/ sweat heart
Table 2.
The formal and informal addressing forms versus ages for the English females
Age Male Formal Informal
Birth— 18 months Baby/It It love/darling/honey/ sweat heart
18 months— 3 years Baby/Baby Girl/Kid Girl love/darling/honey/ sweat heart
3 years— 5 years Girl/Kid Girl love/darling/honey/ sweat heart
6 years— 12 years Young Girl/Kid Miss. love/darling/honey/ sweat heart
12 years— 18years Young Girl/Young Woman Miss./Lady love/darling/honey/ sweat heart
18 years— 35 years Young Woman Miss./Mrs./Ms./Lady love/darling/honey/ sweat heart
35 years— 55/65 years Woman/Old woman Mrs./Ms./Lady love/darling/honey/ sweat heart
65 years— death Old Woman Mrs./Ms./Lady love/darling/honey/ sweat heart
The formal and informal addressing forms for the the Turkish people also depend on the same facts as the English or other cultures have. And here only limited number of the informal addressing forms is used, too (see: Table 3).
Table 3.
The formal and informal addressing forms versus ages for Turkish males
Age Male Formal Informal
Birth— 2 years Bebek (Baby) Bebek (Baby)/ Oglan(boy) Bebegim (my baby)/oglum(my son)/love/ darling/ honey/ sweat heart
2 years— 5/6 years Boy/Kid Oglan Cocugu(Boy)/ Erkek (Man) Oglum (my son)/love/darling/honey/ sweat heart
6 years— 11 years Boy/Kid Oglan Cocugu(Boy)/ Erkek (Man) Oglum (my son)/love/darling/honey/ sweat heart
11/13 years— 18/20 years Young boy Cocuk (Kid)/ Bey-Bay (Mr./Sir/ Gentleman ) Delikanli (young man)/Abiagabey (Big brother)/Boy/buddy/man/mate/love/ darling/honey/sweat heart
20 years— 30 (middle)years Young Man/ Man Bey-Bay (Mr./Sir/ Gentleman) Beyefendi (gentleman)/ Amca (Uncle)/ buddy/man/mate/love /darling/honey/ sweat heart
30 (middle) years— 60 (middle) years Man/Old Man Bey-Bay (Mr./Sir/Gentleman) Beyefendi (gentleman)/ Amca (Uncle)/ buddy/man/mate/love/darling/honey/ sweat heart
60 (middle) years— death Old Man Bey-Bay (Mr./Sir/Gentleman) Beyefendi (gentleman)/Amca (Uncle)/ buddy/man/mate/love/darling/honey/ sweat heart
One has to keep in mind that the English version of meaning presentation is rather an approximation that a real meaning as the cultural tradition is different, e.g., darling, sweat heart, honey just reflect a warm feeling when attribited to a man.
Table 4.
The formal and informal addressing forms versus ages for the Turkish females
Age Female Formal Informal
Birth— 2 years Baby Bebek (Baby)/ Kiz (Girl) Kizim (my daughter)/love/darling/ honey/sweat heart
2 years— 5/6 years Girl/Kid Girl Kizim (my daughter)/love/darling/ honey/sweat heart
6 years— 11 years Girl/Kid Girl Kizim (my daughter)/love/darling/ honey/sweat heart
11/13 years— 18/20 years Young Girl/ Lady Genc Kiz (Young lady) Bayan-Hanim-Hanimefendi (Miss.-Lady) Kizim (my daughter)/love/darling/ honey/sweat heart
20 years— 30 (middle) years Young Girl/ Young Woman Bayan-Hanim-Hanimefendi (Miss.-Mrs.-Ms.-Lady) Hanim (Lady) Abla (Big sister)/ Teyze (Aunt)/love/darling/honey/ sweat heart
30 (middle) years— 60 (middle) years Woman/ Old Woman Bayan-Hanim-Hanimefendi (Miss.-Mrs.-Ms.-Lady) Hanim(lady)/Abla (Big sister)/ Teyze (Aunt)/love/darling/honey/ sweatheart
60/70 years— death Old woman Bayan-Hanim-Hanimefendi (Mrs.-Ms.-Lady) Hanim(lady)/Abla (Big sister)/ Teyze (Aunt)/love/darling/honey/ sweat heart
In conclusion we have to sum up: according to the formal addressing forms, both countries use very similar meaningful words, as the formal way of addressing is rather universal and can't really depend on the culture or feelings of the people. They must be
understandable for all of the cultures to avoid from confusion, too. However, the informal addressing forms are different for countries. The cultural differences cause the differences in the informal addressing forms. The cultural dimensions bring one of the most important effects. For example, in Turkey because of the hig power distance and wide vertical relations, people don't hesitate to use kinship terms for addressing each other. The people can use some kinship terms like abla (big sister) or teyze (aunt) for an older female who could be quite a stranger. And also for older males another kinship terms like agabey (big brother) or amca (uncle) can be used by the Turkish people. The social rules effect the informal addressing like to say delikanli (boy or young man). So, informal addressing forms show a lot of differences according to addressing as a friend or a social inferior.
REFERENCES
[1] URL: http://www.ehow.com/about_5597788_human-growth-stages.html#ixzz16h2rQuee
[2] Human Growth Stages / by Nicela Crawford, healthblurbs.com
ОСНОВАНИЯ ФОРМАЛЬНЫХ И НЕФОРМАЛЬНЫХ ОБРАЩЕНИЙ В АНГЛИЙСКОМ И ТУРЕЦКОМ ЯЗЫКАХ
Гюлизар Хоштен
Кафедра общего и русского языкознания
Филологический факультет Российский университет дружбы народов ул. Миклухо-Маклая, 6, Москва, Россия, 117198
В статье рассматриваются термины родства в английском и турецком языках с точки зрения их употребления в функции обращений. В ней выделяются наиболее релевантные значения терминов родства, которые влияют на выбор соответствующей формы обращения с учетом возраста, пола, формального/неформального общения и т.д.
Ключевые слова: термины родства, обращение, формальное и неформальное обращение, форма обращения, социальное и индивидуальное общение.
