Chapter 8. A comparative study of nominal forms of address in metropolitan French and British English service encounters

Abstract

This chapter investigates nominal forms of address in metropolitan French and British English service encounters. The study considers the different pragmatic functions they play in interaction, examining their relational and organisational properties, combining a politeness theoretic framework and a conversation analytic one. Nominal forms of address play an important part in the management of the interpersonal relationship between customer and shopkeeper. As attention-getting devices, they can be used to delineate different phases of the interaction. Although they frequently have the same function in both linguacultures, they index different positions within the social order.