The Phenomenon of Naming: Maintaining and Defining Relationships

Abstract

This study of terms of address focuses on the use of naming in interpersonal conversation. Many individuals in the speech community of this American university in Spain use naming to refer to each other in interpersonal communication. Methods used to gather data on this practice were participant observation and informal interviews under the framework of ethnography of communication. It was found that participants used naming in order to get attention with emphasis, accentuate a joke, and bring the other interlocutor closer physically and relationally. These results imply that participants increase and maintain solidarity and intimacy relationally specifically through the use of naming.