Forms of address in Finnish in the context of dynamic politeness norms

The aim of this thesis is to describe the current state of select politeness phenomena in Finnish which are expressed through language structure, namely the forms of address. My main research questions were: How do Finnish native speakers use T- and V-forms? Has there been any perceived development in the use of address forms in Finnish in the past ten years? Are there any special situations, occasions, places or institutions (...) in which speakers expect particular form of address? Have they experienced any recent changes? How is the possible rise in use of the V-form connected to the use of other politeness expressions in Finnish? The thesis begins with a general description of the most significant theoretical approaches to politeness. It, then, defines a place of forms of address within the linguistic politeness. The main theoretical basis for the thesis is linguistic pragmatics, in which politeness is seen as a dynamic interpersonal activity. Not only is politeness a linguistic phenomenon but it is also a matter of social behaviour. Therefore, it differs culturally but also situationally. In the second chapter, I examine the Finnish forms of address as a linguistic phenomenon. First, I consider nominal and pronominal forms of address, second, I explain the grammatical base for Finnish..