Analyzing Address Forms in Chinese and Javanese: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Chinese have their own language system to address other people in their society, and so have Javanese. The different forms of addressing terms are significant because it is the most vivid way to reveal the social relationship of the people in their society. The different ways of using address forms can be seen from various aspects, such as the use of names, titles, kinship terms, and personal pronouns. Meanwhile, the analysis of these varieties convey the issues of social distribution between the speakers, the addressee, and the culture as a whole. By presenting a comparison of address forms between Chinese and Javanese, this research would like to discover the varieties of address forms used in both cultures and the factors that may influence the choices they make. This research, however, does not only present the similarities and differences of address forms used in these two different cultures, but also the analysis of the aspects that may affect the decisions. The data used are collected from a combination of questionnaires and interviews, while the subject of this study is a diverse range of age of female and male Chinese in Taiwan and of Javanese in Java, Indonesia. The result of this research shows that the category of address forms shared by Chinese people is slightly different with the types of address forms used by Javanese people. However, address forms from both cultures of Chinese and Javanese reveal similar social distribution of power relations, solidarity that leads to intimacy, and formality. Moreover, the factors that influence the choices are varied from occupational status, gender, age, number of language, origins or living place, and the social status of both the speakers and addresses.