ABSTRACT
Language use can reflect the social and linguistic background of its speakers and addressees, be it the gender of the participants (see the preceding chapter), their age, status, education, regional background, race, religion or whatever. Also relevant is the social situation, where the emotional content, number of participants or nature and purpose of the occasion may influence the type of language employed. One of the most illuminating ways to show the multiplicity of factors involved is to observe how people address each other. Put in other words: ‘Personal address is a sociolinguistic subject par excellence’ (Philipsen and Huspek 1985:94).
