(Pro)nominale aanspreekvormen in Tom Lanoyes "Mefisto For Ever"

Abstrakt

The study of terms of address has always been an interesting and very popular topic among sociolinguists. The aim of this paper is to show the importance of the research in this area by means of an analysis of address forms in Tom Lanoye’s play as an example of personal address and address behaviour in contemporary Dutch. In the paper the term forms of address is being used not only in terms of the second-person singular pronoun T and V, but it also comprises first and last names, titles and offensive terms. The purpose is also to show how the use of forms of address can be determined by such elements as sex, age, social background of the speaker. It has been chosen for a dramatic text as it seems to provide the best information on colloquial language of the period.