Analysis of Address Terms from the Perspective of Prototype Theory
Shang Lian · Journal of Lanzhou Institute of Technology · 2013
Address terms,as the language used in social communication,plays an important part in the language communication system.The meanings expressed by language are under the restriction of context.In different communicative contexts,different address terms of the same object can convey various affective meanings.Through the prototype theory proposed by psychologist Eleanor Rosch in 1970s,this paper attempts to analyze the switch of address terms in kinship address terms and social address terms under different communicative contexts,and to reveal the cognitive mechanism behind the switch of address terms.