Languages, Volume 11, Issue 5
2026 May - 27 articles
Cover Story: This study addresses the often indeterminate grammatical and functional status of vocatives and vocative-like NPs by proposing a prototype-based classification. It explores the socio-pragmatic functions of different vocative types from a variationist perspective, considering macro- and micro-social factors that influence their use and their role in managing interpersonal relationships. Based on data from an online questionnaire featuring Discourse Completion Tasks by over 3000 participants in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the findings show that vocative types serve distinct functions, from signaling positive politeness to heightening the face-threatening potential of an utterance, depending on the communicative task. Their use and function also vary according to speakers’ regional background, gender, age, and personality traits. View this paper
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Languages - ISSN 2226-471X