Deferential address terms in Jamaica and Trinidad

Bibliographic Data

ID22416605
AuthorsMatthias Klumm (0000-0002-4828-7421, University of Augsburg, corresponding author)
Year2026
Publication date2026-07-09
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueWorld Englishes (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0883-2919 • E-ISSN: 1467-971X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/weng.70033
OpenAlexW7167916609
LanguageEN
References cited31

This article examines how Jamaicans and Trinidadians show deference to their addressees through the use of nominal address, focusing on titles on their own (such as Sir or Ma'am ), titles in combination with the addressee's last name (such as Mr Smith ) or first name (such as Miss Mary ) and kinship terms for non‐kin (such as Uncle or Auntie ). Based on quantitative and qualitative fieldwork data (written questionnaires and semi‐structured interviews), the study shows that deferential address terms are used strategically by Jamaicans and Trinidadians to express varying degrees of deference, depending on (i) social factors (the speaker's/addressee's sex, age, social class and ethnicity), (ii) the relationship between the speaker and the addressee and (iii) the formality of the speech situation. Ultimately, the findings suggest that the overt linguistic marking of hierarchical structures through nominal address (still) plays a crucial role in the anglophone Caribbean.

Class (philosophy) · Deference · Formality · Kinship · Proposition · Social class · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Names, Identity, and Discrimination Research

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