ABSTRACT
This paper first explores the previous researches at home and abroad. It then elaborates the comparative study on kinship terms and social terms from semantic and pragmatic perspectives, which show great differences between Chinese and western cultures in social system, family structure, hierarchy system and values. It finally discusses the significance of the study, that is, promoting the communication between China and English speaking countries and improving the learning and communicative skills of English learners.
Keywords：address forms; differences; culture
Contents
1. Introduction 1
2. General review of address forms 2
2.1 Previous studies on address forms at home 2
2.2 Previous studies on address forms abroad 3
3. The comparative study of usages between Chinese and English address forms 4
3.1 Comparative study of kinship terms 4
3.2 Comparative study of social terms 6
4. The differences between Chinese and Western culture reflected on address forms 9
4.1 Differences on social system and family structure 9
4.2 Differences on hierarchy system 11
4.3 Differences on values 11
5. The significance of the study 14
6. Conclusion 14
Acknowledgements 15
References 17
