Sociolinguistic Characteristics and Verbal Strategies for Selecting the Appropriate Form of Address for Women in Northern India Within the Context of Hindi-English Bilingualism
- Posted
- Server
- Preprints.org
- DOI
- 10.20944/preprints202507.0371.v1
The issue concerning the appropriate manner of addressing women in contemporary Northern India serves as a reflection of the response of established socio-cultural norms to the evolving role of women within Indian society. The primary objective of this study is to ascertain the patterns associated with the selection of both traditional and borrowed forms of address for women in present-day Northern Indian society, examined through the lens of linguistic affiliation. The specific research objectives include: the compilation of samples of forms of address for women that are prevalent in the Hindu-speaking regions of Northern India, specifically within the states of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh; the analysis of the sociolinguistic characteristics pertaining to the contexts in which traditional and borrowed forms of address for women are utilized; and the development of a classification scheme for these forms of address based on their type (traditional, hybrid, borrowed). Furthermore, utilizing both the sociolinguistic characteristics of the context and formal classification, algorithms for the application of forms of address to women within a multilingual context will be constructed.The methods employed in the research were systematically implemented in stages. In the initial stage, a diagnostic survey was conducted to gather samples of the linguistic units employed in etiquette for addressing women. The subsequent stage involved the analysis of language materials. Two types of materials were utilized: questionnaires and video recordings. The analysis of the video materials revealed a notable discrepancy between the formally stated list of address forms and the actual etiquette units employed in addressing women. This discrepancy is primarily characterized by the observation that certain forms of address initially identified by speakers as intended for men are also used to address women. This trend was consistently observed across all three formal categories of address: traditional, hybrid, and borrowed.In the Hindi-speaking regions of Northern India, forms of address for women comprise a diverse array of lexemes, including those from Hindi as well as hybrid forms integrating English vocabulary. The choice of address directed towards women is influenced by the type of addressee and the social context, which may be formal, informal, friendly, or familial. The inclination to amalgamate lexical units into words of a ‘common gender’ represents a linguistic strategy that reflects the new social roles of women in contemporary Northern Indian society. This trend may be regarded as one of several mechanisms for the linguistic representation of women's social roles within the domain of etiquette.