Addressing a Person with Animal Names in Thai
A Semantic and Pragmatic Study
Keywords:
Thai usage, address terms, pragmatics, animals, semanticsAbstract
Addressing a person with animal names is an interesting action among Thai people. The objectives of this study were to analyze structures, meanings, and communicative functions of addressing a person with animal names in Thai based on semantic and pragmatic approaches. Questionnaires, interviews, and non-participant observations were used to collect data from 800 informants. The findings revealed that 95 kinds of animals were used to address others. In terms of structure, two structures were found: single structure and compound structure. In addition, two types of meanings were found: 14 general meanings and 81 specific meanings, each of which was created from metaphorical mechanisms. Furthermore, five communicative functions were found: 1) conveying vivid meanings, 2) verbal bullying, 3) lessening harsh meanings of utterances, 4) teasing, and 5) building close relationships. These findings indicate that addressing a person with animal names in Thai shows the integration of meanings between “animals” and “persons” in a harmonious way. The interaction of addressing a person with animal names might be considered impolite. However, addressing a person with animal names can serve the opposite function.That is, addressing a person with animal names could develop a close relationship and/or promote solidarity among group members. Therefore, a good language user should take contexts and/or communicative situations into consideration for effective communication.
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