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In:“You can say you to me”: Address in German
Edited by Heinz L. Kretzenbacher, Horst J. Simon and Christa Dürscheid
[Topics in Address Research 7] 2026
► pp. 134–156

Chapter 7
The use of German nominal address forms in institutional interaction

A comparative study across medical encounters, driving lessons, and oral examinations

This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
By employing Conversation Analysis (Sacks et al. 1974) and Ethnographic Discourse Analysis (Deppermann 2000), this chapter examines the use of nominal terms of address by doctors, driving instructors, and university professors. These professionals perform similar communicative tasks, including opening and closing conversations, requesting and providing knowledge, and ensuring interactional progressivity through knowledge transfer. Based on 34 recorded conversations, the chapter analyzes nominal address terms in situations requiring subjective, theoretical, or practical knowledge of co-participants. The analysis shows that driving instructors and doctors utilize nominal terms of address in a potentially berating manner when faced with significant threats to the lives of co-participants or others.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical background
    • 2.1Address forms
    • 2.2Institutional interaction
      • 2.2.1Medical consultations
      • 2.2.2Driving school instructions
      • 2.2.3Oral examinations
  • 3.Methodological framework and data
    • 3.1CA and ethnographic discourse Analysis
    • 3.2Data
  • 4.Findings
    • 4.1Greeting and opening sequences
    • 4.2Face-threatening acts
  • 5.Discussion and conclusion
  • Author queries
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix
References (53)
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