The Norms of Address Terms in Arabic: The Case of Saudi Speech Community

Abstract

This paper investigates the address norms used in the Saudi Arabic speech community. The study examines address term usage in five different contexts: family, neighbors, workplace, school and strangers. The study seeks answers for two questions: (1) What address forms do Saudi Arabic speakers use to address each other? (2) What factors cause a difference in use of one term over another? Responses were collected from 40 Saudi speakers of Arabic who were divided evenly based on age and gender. The findings reveal nine key categories as fundamental techniques used by Saudi Arabic speakers to address one another including first names, teknonyms, common names, kin terms, kin term along with first name, terms of endearment, titles, occupation and address by gender (boy/girl). Social factors like age, gender, socio-economic status, level of formality as well as degree of intimacy and occupation were also essential in determining form usage.