Address in intercultural communication across languages

Through migration, travel, globalization, and new technologies, languages and their address systems are increasingly in contact. Modes of address are both fundamental to expressing human relations and closely linked to cultural value systems. In European languages these modes may include a pronoun, first name [FN], honorific and/or title + last name [LN] (Herr or Herr Professor Kecskés), or other formal mode (sir/madam) or informal mode (mate, dear). They enable people to include and exclude and to express common ground and degrees of social distance. However, the interaction of languages and cultures presents both opportunities and challenges. I will first introduce an address model arrived at through a large-scale study of variation and change in address in four European languages. Participants' reports on the effects of language contact on address will be included. I will then discuss some email in intercultural professional contexts focusing on switches between address modes.