How adressing to people works in lang-s (General discussion) Language Learning Forum

How adressing to people works in lang-s
Tags: Polite/Informal Forms
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Language Learning Forum : General discussion

27 messages over 4 pages: 1 2 3 4

AlexTG
Diglot
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Australia
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Speaks: English*, French
Studies: Latin, German, Spanish, Japanese

Message 25 of 27

22 November 2014 at 4:05am | IP Logged

Miss. vs Mrs. has the same problem, but Ms. (pronounced "Mzz") is age and marriage
neutral so it can be used for all women. In professional contexts I always use Ms. unless
I know a woman refers to herself with another title.

edit: There's an additional risk with "miss" that "signorina" doesn't seem to possess
which is that it can sound a bit infantilizing and thus, in certain contexts,
disrespectful.

Edited by AlexTG on 24 November 2014 at 2:13am
3 persons have voted this message useful

Xenops
Senior Member
United States
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Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish, Japanese

Message 26 of 27

22 November 2014 at 7:50am | IP Logged

If I may contribute on the American English usage,

"Miss" means that the person is single, whether she is 15 or 90.

"Ms." (as AlexTG pronounces it) is pretty age and status neutral. In the south-eastern part of the States, it is commonly used with the woman's first name as a term of endearment.

"Mrs." refers to marital status only. If a young woman is married and you call her a "Ms." she will vehemently correct you (as if it's an accomplishment she snagged a man, and you better acknowledge it).

As for Spanish, I'm certain that everyone here is familiar with it, but I will contribute what I know about Latino Spanish:

"Tu" (with an accent) refers to someone you are familiar with. I think it is not generally used with folk older than you, but you can use it that way if you are bosom friends.

"Usted" and the plural "Ustedes" are the polite forms, coming from the shortening of "Vuestra Merced" (Your Mercy). In Latin America, since they do not use the specialized pronoun for " you all", they use "ustedes", even for a group of people they are familiar with.

"Vosotros" is the "you all" pronoun that Iberian Spanish uses.
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Siberiano
Tetraglot
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Russian Federation
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Message 27 of 27

24 November 2014 at 1:56am | IP Logged

drygramul wrote:

Siberiano wrote:

I was called "fotógrafo" in the street, because I carried a big camera. At first I
thought this was irrespective, but remembered it was another country and changed my
mind.

I'm sorry, but that was actually rude. He should have addressed you with "Signore" if he
was calling you, or at least with "Signor fotografo". And if you're addressing a judge,
you should say "Signor giudice", you use the judge+surname when he's not directly
addressed but mentioned.

Ok, thanks for clarifying.

1 person has voted this message useful

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