Forms of Address as Marker of Status

Social status can also be a factor in adopting a particular form of address. As mentioned earlier, in Taiwan aborigine society, elderly people are held in high esteem and people use kinship term (e.g., grandpa, or grandma) to show deference to them. Some cultural groups, like Bunun and Seediq, do not have strict social hierarchical system. In other words, there is no tribal leader in Bunun and Seediq and those have the right to make decisions for the groups are normally accorded high tribal status. Also, since church is one of the places that aborigines gather and socialize, those who are devoted to their church acquire higher tribal status and they are called as church elders or presbyters. As a marker of respect to these individuals or one who has made a great contribution to the tribe or the church, Bunun and Seediq use kinship terms (e.g., Dama ‘father’ or Dama rudan ‘grandfather’). It is noted that Bunun and Seediq use different address forms based on patrilineal line and most of people who has higher tribal status are male. Also, one who deals with affairs in the tribe may be addressed with a job title such as 村長 cun-zhang (“village head”), which sounds more formal and respectful to the addressee. The adoption of this term no doubt is due to exposure to Han culture.

In addition, aborigines use different address forms in different situations. For instance, one of the Bunun informants speaking the Takivatan dialect addresses the elderly as

Matateyan (“the elderly”) in formal situation while he addresses them as Aki (“grandfather”)

when they meet them in private. With respect to Seediq, a tribal teacher indicated that she might address the elderly as Bukung (“leader”) in the meeting while she uses Dama Rudan (“grandfather”) in private. The first sounds formal while the latter sounds more intimate.

In contrast, the Amis have specific terms to address people of different tribal status. The Amis informants speaking Haian dialect indicated that the one who deals with the ceremony and tribal affairs will be accorded the higher tribal status and hence, addressed with Chinese head title, 頭目 tou-mu (“chieftain”) and an Amis teacher who speaks the Guanfu dialect also addresses the leader with his name followed by the head title, Tomok (“chieftain”). On the other hand, according to an Amis informant speaking the Malan dialect, since there is no strict social hierarchical system in his tribe, people who deals with tribal affairs are Tabong (“local gentry”) and they are addressed as Akong (“grandfather”) which sounds intimate and also respectful. Although Amis is known to be a matrilineal society, men are assigned to handle things in the tribe while women focus on dealing with house affairs. The use of address forms to people with higher tribal status is also based on the patrilineal line. In sum, the use of head titles in Amis is a courteous gesture while the use of kinship terms

demonstrates closeness to the addressee.

In aboriginal groups, there were tribal doctors, who used some divine ceremonies or herbs, to deal with patients’ problems. However, with the occurrence of western doctors, most of the tribal doctors no longer exist in the Taiwan aborigine society. The form used to address tribal doctors can’t be confirmed. The status of tribal doctors is different among three groups. In Bunun culture, they are regarded as people with low status, but in Amis and Seediq, they are treated as divine human with high tribal status. Most of aborigines avoid

interrupting tribal doctors, who have divine power, and thus aborigines don’t address them if needed.

Within the work context, there are also forms of address for a boss or a subordinate.

Here, the influence of Han culture is salient, as the relevant forms are generally borrowed from Han words. In Bunun and Amis, one can address the boss as Tauki and Tawki, respectively, which sound similar to Taiwanese word, 頭家 tou-jia (“boss”). As for subordinates or colleagues, address forms via given names are preferred. In particular to individuals with high occupational status—such as doctors, and teachers—the forms of address are also borrowings from Japanese. Bunun, Amis, and Seediq address doctors as Ising, which is borrowed from the Japanese term, Ishi. Moreover, the forms of address to teachers are Singsi, and Sangsay, respectively, and the form is homophonous with the Japanese term, Sensei. Table 5 represents the forms of address to doctors, teachers, and pastors of three groups.

Table 5. Forms of Address to Doctors, Teachers, and Religious Leaders

Bunun Amis Seediq

*Note 3: The reason that choosing the three jobs is that aboriginals may in contact with these people frequently in their daily lives.

Aborigines use three address forms to address teachers. Young aborigines indicated that they use tribal titles if they were asked to speak the tribal language. When they address their own teachers, they use either the Japanese or Chinese form. The adoption of Japanese and Chinese titles shows the enormous influence of foreign cultures on aborigines. Tribal teachers also address another teacher with job title to show their respect when they ask them questions.

Although most of the pastors in tribes are also aborigines, people prefer to address them with job titles, rather than kinship terms. As mentioned earlier, the use of formal job titles shows more respect to the addressee.

Moreover, the job status of the addressee is also a crucial factor that determines the use of address forms for aboriginals. For instance, when addressing a 70-year-old retired female doctor, kinship terms (e.g., grandma) are preferred over her job title, since they think she was retired.

In summary, aboriginals use either job titles or head titles to address people of different social or tribal status. The use of formal and informal address forms is determined by the speech context. However, social status rather than age is a more important factor that influences the use of address forms among aboriginals. When addressing the tribal leader or people with higher social rank, the use of head or job titles expresses aboriginals’ respect to those who deal with tribal affairs or have professional skills. Also, Chinese titles are often used to address contemporary professionals.