Social Factors Involved in The Choice of Address Terms Used by Punjabi Spouses

Abstract

The main aim of this study is to investigate social factors involved in the choice of different address terms by the spouses. And identify variations in the choices of address terms used by Punjabi husbands and wives, and also to analyze social behaviors reflected by Punjabi spouses with the variant use of address terms (first name, nickname, and respect name) according to distinctive contexts between spouses (together alone, in the presence of the children, in the presence of husband/wife's parents, in the presence of their cousins and friends, and public) like "Sidra," "Idrees," "my love," "honey," and "Sidra jee." Data was collected through a mixed-method approach, and a descriptive research design is used. Interviews and a questionnaire are used to gather data. 200 Punjabi spouses were selected, and they were married and had children. Participants are divided into six groups according to their social variables such as age, gender, locality, occupation, number of years of married life, and educational level. The respondents are selected through a convenient sampling technique. Two hundred respondents from Gujrat district, Pakistan, are selected for a survey and interview. According to the findings, 60% of the respondents address their spouses by their first name in front of their families, 25% address their spouses by their respective names, and the remaining 15% address their spouses by their nicknames. 50% of respondents address their spouse with their dear terms like "my love," "honey," "Jaan," etc., when they are together alone, 40% of respondents address their spouses by their first name, and 10% of respondents address their spouses with their respect name while speaking Punjabi. 70% of the respondents address their spouses by their first name in the presence of their children, 15% of respondents address their spouses with respectful names, and 15% of respondents address their spouses by their nicknames in the presence of their children. The results show that most spouses use their first names to address them while speaking Punjabi. As a result, the study's findings support the notion that language is a social context because it determines the choice of address terms in their personality or relationship while standing in society.