Japanese Ways of Addressing People

This paper presents some Japanese forms of address. The use of correct forms of address in Japanese requires linguistic as well as social knowledge. Japanese people seem to avoid employing pronouns as address forms, employing other nouns instead. Family terms, place names, occupations, company names, shop names are popularly used as forms of address in everyday life. An important factor in choosing an appropriate form of address is the relationship between interlocutors. Thus, address forms can represent a referent’s position in their society. The grammatical category of person is not exactly the same as its practical use.