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Volume 20, Issue 3
  • ISSN 1018-2101
  • E-ISSN: 2406-4238
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Abstract

This article investigates forms of address, in particular the T/V distinction in German, in conversational interviews with German-speaking immigrants to English-speaking Canada and their descendants. From among 77 interviews conducted in two urban areas in Canada, we discuss instances of both the interactional use of and metalinguistic comments on forms of address. Our analysis is largely guided by conversation analysis and interactional sociolinguistics (e.g. Goodwin & Heritage 1990). Using Clyne, Norrby and Warren’s (2009) model of address as a backdrop, we investigate the construction of group identity and group socialization through the lens of positioning theory (e.g. van Langenhove and Harré 1993; Dailey-O’Cain and Liebscher 2009). This combination of analytical tools can explain shifts in both usage of and attitudes toward the T/V distinction that cannot be explained through language attrition arguments alone.

© 2010 International Pragmatics Association
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/content/journals/10.1075/prag.20.3.04lie
2010-01-01
2024-12-08

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/content/journals/10.1075/prag.20.3.04lie
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): Conversation analysis; Du vs. Sie; Forms of address; German in Canada; Interviews; Language attitudes; Migration studies; North American migration; T/V distinction

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