This paper analyzes the Bulgariаn kinship terms as terms of address. The analysis of a corpus of oral and written data shows that the pluralistic conception and perception of kinship in Bulgarian impacts on the frequency as well as the functions of kinship terms. This article focuses on the „inverse addresses“ and their formal features such as loss of referential properties, which demonstrate that these addresses are characterized as a discursive markers notwithstanding their appellative origins.
Key words: kinship terms, family communication, colloquial speech, national culture, the Bulgarian language
