全屏显示专题章节

Nonnative speakers of English as well as native speakers of English from countries other than America often express their surprise at the wide use or distribution of reciprocal first naming among people in the United States．This change from an address form employed to define intimate relationshipswithin a family of among close friends or business associates to the one used to define general relationships between strangers，between people of asymmetrical age and occupational status，between students and professors，and between young people and their seniors，has been quite a recent development which has naturally stimulated cross—cultural studies of first naming in different countries．My own observation and investigation of Chinese first naming demonstrate that there are more differences than similarities in first naming between the Chinese and American addressing systems．This paper attempts to draw a cross-cultural comparison of first naming between Chinese and American English．I have based my research first on earlier studies of address forms carried out by linguists such as Brown and Ford，Ervin-Tripp，Burling，French，etc．，in American English，and then onmy own observation and investigation through data collected from modern Chinese novels and plays，and from the daily interaction between Chinese in real life situations．My comparison will focus on three areas：form，usage and function．

First naming address forms in Chinese and American English are quite different because they are derived from dissimilar linguistic systems．Each has a number of distinctive variant forms of its own．The Chinese firstnaming address forms seem to outnumber the American ones．Yet the fact that they all possessmore than one variant form is a significant similarity which is thought-provoking and worth exploring．The following is a representation of the first naming address forms in both Chinese and American English．

The American first naming address forms

1．one-word first name：

Mary，Jane，John，Bill，etc．；

2．compound first name：

Mary-Jean，Ervin-Tripp，etc，；

3．endearment first name：

“Liz”for Elizabeth，“Jan”for Jane，“Jim”for James，“Dick”for Richard，etc．；

4．generic first name：

Jack，Mack，Buddy，etc．；

“Shorty”for a tall man，“Happy”for a person who never Smiles，“Carrot”for a red-haired person，“Fatty”for a fat person，etc．

Though I have listed five variant address forms of first name in American English，the frequencieswith which they are used in daily life are obviously not the same．It is clear that Numbers 1 and 3 are themost frequently employed ones．Itmight seem odd forme to include nickname in the American first naming address forms here．This is not so because Robbins Burling（1970）believes that a nickname even when based on one’s last name，unquestionably acts as the equivalent of a name．The generic first name in 4 is a special form invented for people to address a person whose first name is unknown or who is a stranger．In contrast，the Chinese language findsmore variant address forms in first naming．

Chinese first naming address forms：

1．one-character first name：

Fang（芳），Xiao（晓），Ren（仁），Yi（毅），etc．；

2．two-character first name：

Wenli（文莉），Ruifang（瑞芳），Xinghua（兴华），Hongzhi（宏志），etc；

3．one-character first name＋er（儿）：

Minger（明儿），Lier（丽儿），Fenger（峰儿），Zhonger（忠儿），etc；

4．two-character first namemade by the reduplication of a one-character first name：

Qianqian←Qian（倩倩←倩），

Fangfang←Fang（芳芳←芳），

Mingming←Ming（明明←明），

Tongtong←Tong（同同←同），etc．

5．one-character name made by just keeping the second word of a two-word first name （also but rarely by keeping the first character of a two-character first name）；

Xia←Hongxia（霞←红霞），

Ting←Yaoting（庭←耀庭），

Shan←Haishan（山←海山），etc．

6．two-character first namemade by putting A/a：/before a one-character first name：

A-hui（阿惠），A-dan（阿丹），A-long（阿龙），A-gen（阿根），etc．；

7．two-character first name made by putting Xiao（young）before a one-character first name：

Xiaoli（小丽），Xiaolan（小兰），Xiaohong（小红），Xiaodong（小东），etc．

8．two-character surname used as first name：

Ouyang（欧阳），Situ（司徒），Sima（司马），Shangguan（上官），etc．

Maomao（毛毛），Manchang（满场），Guyu（谷雨），Laifu（来福），etc．

Hongyan-er（红眼儿），Baimao-er（白毛儿），Xianbuzhu（闲不住），Dunang（嘟囔），etc．

Among the Chinese first naming address forms，the most frequently used ones are undoubtedly Numbers 1，2 and 4．The A＋one-character first name is a form employed mainly in south China．The Xiao＋one-character first name has a restricted usage，too．The infant name，though regarded here as a first name，is found mostly used in Chinese small towns or rural areas before a child goes to school．The nickname is chiefly used among friends or associates．

In the American usage，the reciprocal and nonreciprocal use of first name is regulated or conditioned by a number of factors such as age，sex，occupational status，etc．Robbins Burling （1970）well summarizes the traditional American usage of this particular address form．She says that themost common pattern is for two peoplemutually to use first names．Americans are even a bit proud at the speed with which they get on“first name basis”，though this does notmean that Americans are friendlier than people of other nations，but only that they use first names in situations where many Europeans would continue to use a more formal address form．In situationswhere the addressee’s first name is unknown，Americansmay even substitute a sort of generic first name：Mack，Jack，Buddy．Between newly introduced adults，title and last name are generally used symmetrically，but only a small increment of intimacy needs to develop before first names are of first names between casual acquaintances，some peoplemove quickly to do so for their own reasons．Towards this linguistic phenomenon，she has the following observation tomake：

Younger people probably move to first namesmore rapidly than older people，and those of the same sex move more rapidly than those of the opposite．A common occupation or nationality，or any common experience at all，encourages the rapid use of first names．

The nonreciprocal pattern is employed only when people differmarkedly in either age or occupational status．Children are often expected to address as Mr．or Mrs．so and so，but they themselves are always addressed by first names．Adults address those who are 15 years older than themselves by title and last name，though they are often called by first names．Asymmetrical address may also occur between master and servant，employer and employee，officer and enlistedmen，or professor and student．Even after the two people have come to know each other well enough to allow the person of superior rank to use other person’s first name，the difference in status can tillmake it difficult or impossible for the junior-ranking person to reciprocate．

Burling also observes that age alone or occupation alone can be enough to force an asymmetrical address pattern，but when the two criteria are in conflict，the occupational criterion seems to predominate．For instance，in the rare home that still has a servant，an adolescent girlmight call the family’smiddle-aged cook by her first name but be addressed in turn by a title．The navy officermay address themiddle-aged enlisted man by his first name，but he can expect a title in return．And the same asymmetrical pattern occurs between a young executive and an elderly janitor when they interact verbally．But the nonreciprocal pattern is most common when age and occupational status point the same way．

Ibelieve it is appropriate for us to call this American usage formulated by Burling as traditional because it has now under-gone considerable change，although its rules or principles are not entirely outmoded．Nessa Wolfson（1989）noted this rapid change by saying that the American addressmodel proposed by Brown and Ford，elaborated by Ervin-Tripp and others has been changing in the direction of ever increasing use of first names between strangers and between people of asymmetrical age and status．It is now quite common to hear employees first naming their bosses，students their professors，and young people their seniors．Another striking change has been taking place in the frequencieswith which strangers introduce themselves by first name alone．It has been noticed that service personnel in stores，car agencies，restaurants，and similar places now often identify themselves to clients and customers by giving only their first names．While such usage undoubtedly varies with geographical area and social class，the movement away from title and last name appearswide spread in the United States．

What can be seen through this discussion is that there are actually two kinds of American usage for first naming in operation：traditional and modern．This is a clear indication of a last moving linguistic change，reflecting in one dimension the change of social relationships．

In the Chinese usage are found both symmetrical and asymmetrical patterns of use to occur in verbal interaction．In the Chinese family，relationships that denote solidarity generally encourage the symmetrical use of first name．We find，therefore，in daily interaction husband and wife，brothers，sisters，brother and sister，and cousins reciprocate each other’s first name．Husband and wife can do so irrespective of their age difference．Brothers，brother and sister，sisters，and cousins can first name each other provided that their age difference is almost minimal or the family allows a nonreciprocal use of firstname in spite of the age difference．The symmetrical pattern is also found to occur between lovers or boy and girl friends，close friends，class-or schoolmates and associates．Lovers or boy and girl friends form a special type of intimate relationship outside the family，which calls for words of affection to keep them constantly close together．When this dyad of people first name each other，age difference does not affect the symmetrical nature of the pattern．Furthermore，theymay select themost intimate address form to first name his or her bosom friend．Close friends can address each other by first name on condition that their age difference is not great．As for the relationship between close class-or schoolmates，close work or business associates，age difference does not affect the symmetrical use of first names．Yet in Chinese society，sexmay affect the use of first name．If a man and woman of general relationship first name each other，theymay be suspected of having a very intimate relationship．

Generation difference in China was and still is a very important factor in determining the use of address forms．On account of this，elder members of a family such as grandparents，parents，uncles and aunts，etc．can generally first name family members of the younger generation，yet the latter can not reciprocate．Age difference can also force an asymmetrical pattern on members of the same generation within a Chinese family．We find，therefore，elder brothers，elder sisters and elder cousins can first name their younger brothers，younger sisters and younger cousins，but the latter can not reciprocate unless the family allows a symmetrical usage．

There are always exceptions to the rules．One obvious exception is that among brothers，sisters，cousins，close friends，close class-or schoolmates，close work or business associates，one-character first names are seldom reciprocated because they are generally used by elder members of a family in addressing the youngermembers or by lovers or boy and girl friends in addressing each other．Even between a husband and a wife，lovers or boy and girl friends one-character first names are seldom exchanged in the presence of others．Herewemight generalize by saying that setting may affect the use of first names．Besides，between male and female friends or associates first names are generally avoided in the presence of others for fear that doing somight leave on others an impression of intimate relationship between the interactants．

In discussing the Chinese usage，we should not overlook one marked difference between the two addressing systems．Chineses first names，especially the one-character and two-character first names can be followed by other address forms．This is less seen in American English or any other variety of English．Let’s look at the following instances．

In discussing the Chinese usage，we should not overlook one marked difference between the two addressing systems．Chinese first names，especially the one-character and two-character first names can be followed by other address forms．This is less in American English or any other variety of English．Let’s look at the following instances．

Quan elder brother Minghua younger brother Elder Brother Quan Younger Brother Minghua

This peculiar Chinese usage adds politeness，a new dimension ofmeaning to intimacy，which shows once again the deferential features of Chinese speech．The M anipulation of First Names

In both Chinese and American societies，first name are generally used to define personal relationships，especially intimate ones．Chinese researchers have found that first names were employed in China to define only intimate relationshipswithin a family，butwere later extended to address people of close relationships a family．It seems that the American usage has developed in the same direction．Yet Americans use it farmorewidely both within and outside a family，whereas Chinese still confine it to intimate relationships．As discussed early on，Nessa Wolfson（1989）observes that in modern America，first names are exchanged symmetrically between strangers and between people of asymmetrical age and status．This is obviously in opposition to traditional American usage．Chinese researchers have not recorded such an extension of the usage．Ihavemyself searched famouswritings by renowned authors such as Cao Yu，Lao She，Qian Zhongshu，etc．and have also made keen observations on daily interactions between people，but have failed to see such a change．How do we account for such differences in the two addressing systems？Katherine French（1981）carried out an investigation of this linguistic change in American English and examined the way in which service personnel，often total strangers to their customers，not only introduce themselves by first name，but request that they be so addressed．According to French，the reasons for this usage given by interviewees were that the use of first namewas friendlier，that it simplified the interaction since last names are often difficult to understand to understand or remember，and such usage provided the employee with anonymity．Thus，with no manifestation of the difference in status，both participants to the interaction are puton an equal footing．Sowe see here once again the idea of solidarity ismanifested and stressed．As for the Chinese usage which has not changed much，it has its own reasons．Due to traditional Chinese culture，whether inside or outside a family，from ancient times to the present day，personal relationships have been well defined in variousways．And the Chinese arewell aware of these relationships，and they don’twant to confuse them by themisuse of address terms．The Chinese are culturally trained to be deferential．They do not think it appropriate or polite enough to address a person with whom he has no close relationship by first naming him or her in their encounter．Traditional Chinese values teach people to respect the old and repress the young．This also prevents young people from addressing the elderly by first names．

Living in a society，a person has quite complex personal relationshipswith others，ranging from the general to the intimate．The use of first name address forms in everyday interaction reflects this social reality．One commentmade by Robins Burling（1970）proves this to be true．

ƻfor those with whom we are most intimate，we can use several alternative names，and in a sense we are not only able to set them off from all other people but give names to their various facets．The alternative names would seem to indicate the variety and complexity of our relationshipswith these people．

Ibelieve this comment applies to the Chinese usage，too．What strikes us as peculiar is that Chinese often manipulate first naming as a powerful and convenient device to achieve personal ends．We find in real life situations an unmarried young lady who has several admirers may address the one man she loves most by first naming him，thus，setting him off from all others as the most intimate friend．The love affairs of young people often witness a gradual development of their relationship demonstrated in the use of the variant address forms．At the beginning of their relationship they often address each other by full name or by full name＋title such as tongzhi（comrade）or xiansheng（Mr．）．For instance，Xia Hongmei or Xia Hongmei tongzhi（Xia hongmei or Comrade Xiao Hongmei）．As their relationship deepens in intimacy，they try to show their affection to each other by first dropping the addressee’s family name （Hongmei or comrade Hongmei），then dropping the address term tongzhi（Hongmei），then turning the 2-character first name into a one-character first name（mei）．The last variant is the most intimate，showing the shortest distance between the two but the greatest affection for each other．There are also instanceswhen husband and wife，sweethearts or lovers fall outwhen their relationships deteriorate，they often switch immediately from first naming to full naming in addressing each other，which signals no affection at all but demonstrates the longest distance between them．

（Xuezeng Du．A Tentative Comparison of First Naming Between Chinese　and　American　English，in　Aspects　of Intercultural Communication—Proceedings ofChina’s 2nd Conference on Intercultural Communication．Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press，1999，p．p207-219）