politeaddress

Politeaddress is the system and practice of using respectful forms of reference to another person in speech and writing. It includes titles, kinship terms, pronouns, and other markers of status, formality, or deference. Politeaddress helps signal social distance, hierarchy, or courtesy, and varies greatly across languages, communities, and historical periods.

In sociolinguistics, politeaddress is analyzed as part of politeness theory, which describes strategies to avoid imposition (negative politeness) or to express solidarity (positive politeness). Choices depend on factors such as age, rank, relationship, setting, and cultural norms.

Examples by language illustrate the range of politeaddress practices. English commonly uses honorifics with surnames (Mr., Mrs., Dr.) and occasional use of first names in informal settings. Japanese uses keigo, with forms such as -san for general respect, -sama for higher respect, and specific verb endings; pronouns are often omitted. Korean employs honorifics such as -nim and titles like seonsaengnim. German distinguishes Sie (formal) from du (informal). French contrasts vous and tu. Spanish uses usted versus tú. Mandarin Chinese uses nin (您) for polite you and nǐ for informal; titles plus surname are common. Indian languages often use forms such as aap or aapki to express respect.

In modern communication, politeaddress remains central in formal domains such as education, law, and diplomacy, while globalization and digital formats demand context-aware choices and ongoing evolution of polite norms.