Adressaten

Adressaten are the plural of Adressat in German and refer to the person or group to whom a message, text, or communication is directed. The singular Adressat designates a single recipient, while Adressaten denotes the collective recipients in a given instance. The term is used across fields such as linguistics, communication studies, marketing, journalism, and education.

In communication theory, the Adressat is the intended receiver of a message. Content, tone, and media are often tailored to the Adressat's presumed knowledge, needs, and attitudes. The concept is distinct from Zielgruppe (target group), which denotes a broader segment, whereas Adressat refers to the concrete or defined recipient of a specific communication.

In rhetorical and literary contexts, the Adressat may be the imagined listener or reader, sometimes called the audience the text addresses. This imagined Adressat shapes how arguments are constructed and which examples or terms are used.

Practical applications include marketing, public relations, and journalism, where identifying the Adressat guides language, framing, and information density. In education, materials are designed with an assumed Adressat’s prior knowledge in mind. Researchers analyze whether a message effectively reaches and persuades its Adressaten.

Notes on usage: Adressat is masculine; the plural Adressaten is standard in modern German; the term emphasizes the receiver rather than the source. It is commonly used alongside related concepts such as Empfänger (receiver) and Adressatenkreis (addressable audience).