Saudi Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (SJHSS)
Volume-3 | Issue-08 | 1051-1058
Original Research Article
A Comparative Study on Women’s Courtesy Titles in Mainland China and Taiwan
Wang Feng, Zu Yun, Ni Chuanbin
Published : Aug. 30, 2018
Abstract
Based on Lillian’s (2008) and Chen’s (2016) studies on women’s courtesy
titles, this study makes a comparison and contrast of women’s courtesy titles in
mainland China and Taiwan, with reference to those in the Whites and Blacks. It is
based on a survey of a questionnaire, which is almost the same as the one used in Chen
(2016) that was modelled on the one used in Lillian (2008). The results confirmed that
age is an influential factor in the selection of courtesy titles for women of different marital
status. It also confirmed Lillian’s observation that a woman’s occupational status may
outweigh her marital status. However, even mainland China and Taiwan belong to the
same Chinese community, they have statistically significant difference in women’s
courtesy titles, especially in the use of XJ (Miss). Its fill-in-the-blank method of
collecting women’s courtesy titles, rather than fixed-choices method, also seems to be
effective.