Study on Addressing Terms and Relevant Culture in America and China

When racial or social rank is important in society, the address terms that show respect and hierarchy will be preferred; while in society which claims to be egalitarian, address terms may not be considered so important. [...]there is a close relation between address terms and culture. The system of kinship terms in China belongs to Sultan system that gives more weight to males than females and has terms for both paternal and maternal sides; both the nuclear family and the extended family are emphasized. Since the kinship system in China is generation- and age- oriented one, there are hierarchical relationships between family members. In many cases, the wrong use of address terms is worse than fuse. [...]people prefer fuse when they are not certain about one's age, social status, occupation or marital status. fuse is a safer way in the communication. Both of the culture values will reflect into the language using fields. [...]they will influence on the available situations of addressing terms.