台灣學術辦公室稱謂語使用之跨文化個案研究

Use of Address Forms in an Intercultural Academic Office: A Case Study in Taiwan

本研究探討台灣跨文化學術辦公室中文及英文共同使用的環境下稱謂語的使用，資料收集方法包括民族誌參與和觀察以及訪談。研究結果顯示在具階級及多元文化的職場裡，稱謂語的選擇是由談話兩方認定之人際關係及文化標準而定，就區別台灣本地教師和秘書以及來自美國文化之外籍教師使用稱謂語之因素而言，前者因年資及職等具有之階級權力關係勝過彼此之熟稔程度，而就後者而言，與談話者彼此熟悉原則勝過階級觀念。然而此研究也發現由於談話雙方相互社會適應及折衷策略也讓稱謂語使用產生重要改變，此改變發生於兩方文化之語言共同範圍，特別在頭銜和姓氏與頭銜和名字之替換使用上。

This study reports on the use of address forms in the intercultural environment of an academic office in Taiwan where both Chinese and English are in common use. The methods of collecting data included ethnographic participant observation and interviews. The findings showed that in the workplace which is both hierarchical and multicultural, the choice of address forms is determined mainly by the interpersonal relationship the speaker deems to have with the hearer and by cultural norms. In the distinction between teachers and secretaries from Taiwan and teachers from American cultures, hierarchical power relations based on seniority and rank override familiarity in the former while the principle of familiarity overrides hierarchy in the later. However, significant changes in address forms due to mutual social accommodation and compromising strategies were found to occur at the language interface between these two cultures, especially in the variant usage of title and last name as opposed to title and first name.