Understanding the Choices of Terms of Address: A Sociolinguistic Study of Malay Cultural Practices

Understanding the Choices of Terms of Address: A Sociolinguistic Study Indonesian Journal of EFL and Linguistics Vol. 3 No. 2, 2018 eISSN: 2503-4197, pISSN: 2527-5070 www. indonesian-efl-journal.org Understanding the Choices of Terms of Address: A Sociolinguistic Study of Malay Cultural Practices Nor Shahila Mansor*, Normaliza Abd Rahim, Roslina Mamat, Hazlina Abdul Halim Universiti Putra Malaysia Corresponding author*: Abstract: This paper investigates the choices of second person terms of address in the Malay culture. It examines the different patterns of address terms used in a range of communicative situations by interlocutors coming from diverse social backgrounds. The data for this study was obtained from two Malay dramas Ijab & Qabul (The solemnization of marriage) and Tiga Hari Menanti Mati (Three Days Until Death). These dramas were selected because they reflect in the usage of terms of address in an authentic social context of the Malay culture and represent various interpersonal relationships in a range of situations. This is a descriptive study with a qualitative approach. Forty-eight different second person terms of address were recorded and analysed in specific contexts based on the framework for classifying address terms established by Kroger, Wood and Kim (1984). The findings suggest that sociolinguistic elements such as interlocutors, contexts, determinants of interpersonal relationship, and intentions were determining factors influencing the choice of second person terms of address in the Malay culture. These findings have implications on the understanding of current trends in choosing the terms of address among Malay speakers Keywords: second person, address forms, Malay language, interpersonal relationship, cultural practice Indonesian Journal of EFL and Linguistics, 3(2), 2018 129 Understanding the Choices of Terms of Address: A Sociolinguistic Study 1. INTRODUCTION Numerous studies on personal address terms have been conducted by researchers around the globe. Among other definitions, address forms are identified as words or expressions used by a speaker to refer to the addressee during verbal interactions that also conveys social information (Parkinson, 1985). In social relationships, the status and intimacy between interlocutors determine the choice of address forms, however, in certain cultures, the selection of address forms is also connected to the culture’s rules of politeness. In the English culture, the most common forms of address are first name and title + last name (Brown and Ford, 1961). Meanwhile, in the Malay culture, where politeness is strictly observed, the use of titles or honorifics are often customary to indicate the social status of particular individuals (Hei, David, Kia and Soo, 2011; Gan, David and Dumanig, 2015). This is consistent with Brown and Levinson’s (1987) politeness theory which classifies address terms, among other elements, as part of the politeness strategies. By using specific terms of address, the speaker indirectly establishes the relative power and distance between the speaker and the person being spoken to (Wood and Kroger, 1991). The main objective of this study is twofold. This study aims to first investigate the current trends in the usage of address terms among Malay speakers across a range of situations and between diverse interlocutors. This study then aims to examine whether the alleged universality of Brown’s invariant norm of address (1965) extends to the Malay language. It is however, fundamental to clarify that the phrase “terms of address” in this paper only refers to vocatives that consists of terms of direct address to call a person (Chao, 1956), such as names, like Mary, titles without a name, like Sir and Doctor, or any expression used to address a person, like hey and man (Qin, 2008). In a time where intercultural interaction is becoming an essential part of communication, there is a crucial need to overcome the prevailing language barrier within the society and this has resulted in the push to cultivate and enhance linguistic competence. In response to this matter, this study pursues to contribute to the body of knowledge by attempting to comprehensively explain the present-day usage of Malay address terms and determining the social factors that regulate the selection of these terms. 2. PREVIOUS STUDIES ON TERMS OF ADDRESS In general, the usage of terms of address vary from one culture to another. In English and European cultures for example, the use of first name and title (i.e John, Sir/Madam) are considered common practice in showing respect and expressing politeness toward the hearer. Nevertheless, in Asian countries such as Malaysia, China and the Philippines, politeness and respect between interlocutors are indicated through the usage of title and kinship terms (Gaudart, 2009). In a study of Chinese address system that describes in detail the terms of address and its uses in various interpersonal relationships conducted by Chao (1956), it was revealed that the Chinese language has a complicated kinship system compared to other languages. However, a similar condition can be observed in the Malay Indonesian Journal of EFL and Linguistics, 3(2), 2018 130 Understanding the Choices of Terms of Address: A Sociolinguistic Study language. The complex principle in naming and addressing family members and other relatives is as follows: The complex principle in naming and addressing Family members Birth order sibling - brother first / eldest middle / second oldest last / youngest sibling - sister first / eldest middle / second oldest last / youngest uncle parent’s eldest brother parent’s second oldest brother parent’s youngest brother generic aunt parent’s eldest sister parent’s second oldest sister parent’s youngest sister generic Kinship terms abang long / along abang ngah / angah abang cik / acik / adik kaklong / along kakngah / angah kakcik / acik / adik pak long pak ngah pak su / pak busu pakcik mak long mak ngah mak su / mak usu makcik This list shows the kinship terms of two generations: parent’s generation and child’s generation. For siblings, with the exception of ‘adik’ (little brother or little sister), gender is indicated and reflected in all of the terms. Among the family members, the children are addressed following their birth order. The eldest is called ‘sulung’, the second oldest is ‘tengah’ and the youngest is ‘bongsu’. While ‘abang’ means brother and ‘kakak’ is sister. The same applies to kinship terms for the parent’s generation. The forms ‘pak’ (father) and ‘mak’ (mother) followed by an expression indicating the birth order ‘sulung’, ‘tengah’ and ‘bongsu’ are used when addressing uncles and aunts. ‘Makcik’ and ‘pakcik’ are generic terms to address elderly individuals perceived as being within the same age range as the speakers’ parents including strangers such as an elderly taxi or bus driver. All of these expressions are normally used in a non-formal setting (...truncated)