Complex address practices in Finland Swedish: Actual and reported use of address in service encounters

Abstract

<p>This chapter compares actual address in service situations with reported use and perceptions of address. We focus on Finland-Swedish and compare it with Sweden-Swedish to highlight typical features of Finland-Swedish address practices. Our data come from two sources: observations of address practices in service encounters and responses to a questionnaire administered to Finland-Swedish speakers, which explored address use in service situations. Findings show that Finland-Swedish address practices go beyond a conventional T/V dichotomy. T address dominates, but V address still occurs to some extent in service contexts. Nevertheless, some speakers find V address highly inappropriate. Furthermore, plural V and absence of direct address are common in service contexts. Our results confirm the non-binary character of the Finland-Swedish address system.</p>