School Principal : What were you doing today, Ray?
Ray : My teacher kept me again this morning.
School Principal : What is the name of the teacher who kept you?
Ray : Mr. Sutton.
Holmes, 2001: 2 Here, Ray used Mr. Sutton to address the teacher whom is not present in the
conversation. Mr. Sutton is used because Ray wants to show respect the one who has taught him at the school. Mr. Sutton has higher status as a teacher that should be
respected by the students. Moreover, they were in a formal occasion and institution that required a formal language use to honor all the participants. In conclusion, the
same message may be expressed very differently to different people. People use different styles in different social context.
a. Types of Address Terms
In the daily activities, people use language differently when they communicate with others. This depends on the situation whether it is formal or
informal. Tillitt and Bruder 1985: 15 explain that there are specific language features in every language which marks the relationship between the speakers. This
relationship is marked by the use of address terms. For people who have not yet known each other and have different status, they will use a formal address term or
title plus last name family name. Meanwhile, for those who have known each other
well, they will use first name for both formal and informal situations.
There are several types of address terms which now are being used in the entire world. According to Chaika 1982: 47-50, the types of address terms are first
name FN, title plus name TLN, title only T, last name LN, and special name SN which often used among close friends. In addition, Wardaugh 2006: 268 has
his own types of address terms. He states that the types of address terms are first name FN, title plus last name TLN, title alone T, last name LN, pet name PN,
and kinship term KT. 1
First name FN
First name is mainly used to call the younger person by the older one or to call a child by hisher parents. This type is used to address other people by hisher name.
According to Wardaugh 2006: 268, the use of first name in communication indicates equality, familiarity, and intimacy. In the same time, it also shows an effort
to assert some power to other people. This kind of type can be shown in the following
example.
Christina Bella : Sorry, Angela. I’ve got to go now.
Angela Christie : Alright Christina. Good bye, see you tomorrow.
Christina Bella : Bye, Angela. See you soon.
The above example is a conversation between two friends named Christina and
Angela. The topic of the conversation is about Christina who excuses herself to go first when she and Angela are in the middle of conversation. It ends up with saying
good bye to each other. They used first name FN in addressing one another to show an intimacy between them as friends.
