National variation in address in pluricentric languages: The examples of Swedish and German

Abstract

This study contributes to the pragmatic dimension of pluricentric languages, an aspect that to date has been studied to a lesser extent than their lexis, morphosyntax and phonology. It compares patterns of address and perceptions of what constitutes "appropriate" address in Swedish and German, two pluricentric languages each with a clearly dominant variety. German and Swedish data were collected at five urban locations (Gothenburg in Sweden, Vasa/Vaasa in Finland, Mannheim and Leipzig in Germany and Vienna in Austria) with focus group meetings and questionnaire-based network interviews. Also, a modified questionnaire was posted in Internet forums in Swedish and German that had discussion thr..