How to address a stranger in English. Appeal to a woman in English
AT English language it is customary to address married women and girls differently. This culture took root in the 17th century, and is still preserved, despite the position modern society principle of gender equality.
Appeal in English miss or mrs
The norms of etiquette, which have taken root in English-speaking countries, prescribe to distinguish in speech and in writing appeals to women of different social status. When a woman introduces herself in society, she says not only her first and last name. The rules of good manners oblige her or the person who represents her to put before the name an address that characterizes the marital status.
The status of a woman in Western society is usually denoted by a special word. In Russian culture, there are no analogues to such treatment, or they are extremely weakly expressed. Appeal to women with the designation of her status was characteristic of her title of nobility if she had it.
In general, this division of statuses is not typical for Russian culture, so the English “Miss” and “Mrs.” cannot be unambiguously compared with addresses in Russian speech.
In the English-speaking society, there are norms for the use of such addresses:
- Miss- an appeal to a girl, most often used in relation to young people under the age of 18. In addition, with the prefix Miss, you can refer to a teacher, saleswoman, maid. Also, this appeal is considered the most appropriate if the status of a woman is unknown.
- Mrs.- the traditional form of addressing a married lady. In this case, after the call, you can call as given name women, and the name of her husband. Divorced and widowed women use their maiden name and surname after missis.
Pronunciation
Miss in transcription looks like this:
The obsolete word Mistress, which is rarely used in oral communication, is pronounced like. More often this word has the meaning of "mistress", "mistress" or "mistress".
For example:
- Mistress of the situation - Mistress of the situation.
- Costume mistress - Main dresser.
- The dog ran alongside his mistress - The dog ran next to the mistress.
A derivative of Mistress, which eventually turned into an independent word missis, is pronounced as follows:. Missis literally means "wife".
Usage
In spoken English, miss and mistress are used in specific situations:
- Miss is an address to an unmarried person or to a school teacher, regardless of her marital status, for example:
- He was finished at Miss A.'s - She was educated at Miss A.'s boarding house.
- Which Miss Smith do you mean? – Which Miss Smith do you mean?
- mistress or missis- a form of polite address to a married or divorced lady, as well as to a widow.
Examples of verbal appeals
On the letter, full addresses are not used, they are replaced by abbreviations:
- Miss- if it is known for sure that the lady is not married;
- Mrs- if there is confidence that the woman was married or married at the moment;
- Ms- a polite form of address in letters, which indicates a person's belonging to the female sex, but does not give a direct indication of marital status.
Accepted appeals in letters
- Dear Miss Jones! Dear Miss Jones!
- Dear Mrs. Wilson! Dear Mrs Wilson!
- Dear Ms. Smith! Dear Miss Smith!
Punctuation after abbreviation
It is customary to put punctuation marks after abbreviations in writing:
- Jane Johnson - Mrs. Jane Johnson
- John Kelly – Mrs John Kelly
After Miss words dot is not put, because the full form of the word is used:
- Miss Dana Simms - Miss Dana Simms.
A person studying a foreign language should be aware that the beauty of a language lies in its diversity. Of course, this is primarily a tool that allows us to convey our thoughts to the listener or reader, but the form is no less important than the content. Moreover, native speakers, listening to your speech, will truly appreciate your rich vocabulary. And this, you see, is a significant reason to be proud of the results of your labors. This requirement applies not only to advanced English lovers, but also to those who only take up English for beginners and, with mute horror, open an English dictionary or grammar for the first time. Useful words and their synonyms should be sought out, written down, memorized and used in speech whenever possible. In this, I hope the LINGVISTOV team will provide you with all possible assistance.
I don’t know about you, but I often get bored with hackneyed “dear”, “baby”, “bro” and other platitudes. In conversational English appeals, too, there is where to expand in terms of vocabulary, which can be replenished with slang expressions heard in films in English or read in books and magazines.
But first, let's take a look at the courtesy. The most common forms are Mr.(Mister) Mrs.(Missis) and Ms.(Miss - for a young girl or unmarried woman), to which the surname of this person is added. For example, "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to DIE!" If you don't know the last name of the person you're addressing, use Sir, madam or miss; however, the latter can cause trouble if the girl is still married (tested the hard way). Very controversial is the use of Ma'am, an abbreviation for Madam:
In the UK, it is almost never used and is considered an obsolete form.
In the US, the use of "madam" is limited to very formal occasions, while "ma'am" is common in everyday speech to an adult woman who you think may already have a family and children, especially if she is older. you. In the South and Southwest of the United States, "ma'am" is an address to any woman or girl.
There are many friendly addresses, as well as affectionate ones, in the English language. Addresses to friends vary depending on which version of English you prefer, however, they are not limited to them.
british english:
chap: "Dear old chap, I've missed you!" (Old man, I missed you!)
mate(also Australia, New Zealand): “Hey, mate, do you want to hit the pub?” (Man, let's go to the pub?)
pal(also popular in the US): “My most useful acting tip came from my pal John Wayne. Talk low, talk slow, and don't say too much.” - Michael Caine (The most helpful acting tip was given to me by my friend John Wayne. Speak in a low voice, speak slowly and speak little. - Michael Caine)
crony: “I"m going to the pub with me cronies” (I went to the pub with my buddies.)
mucker(Ireland): “What about ye, mucker? Are you in or out?” (So buddy? Are you in?)
american english:
homie: "Time to go, homie." (It's time to leave, buddy.)
home slice: “You’re coming with us tonight, home slice? “Sure.”
amigo: "Hey, amigo, long time no see." (Hey amigo, how many years, how many winters!)
buddy: “I'm going to have some beers with my buddy tonight.” (Today my friend and I will have a couple of drinks.)
bestie: "You and I are besties for life!" (You and I are best friends for life!)
dawg: “Waddup, dawg? “Nothing, jus’ chillin.”
fella: “Good to see you fella.” Most often used in the meaning of “guy, person (male)”: “Who are these fellas?” (Who are these people?)
dude: "Dude, where's my car?" (classic)
Affectionate appeals to close people are also very diverse. Here are some of them, in most cases used regardless of gender:
Honey (hon for short)
Sugar (also sugarplum, sugar pie, sugar cake, etc.)
And finally, a few affectionate addresses, divided by gender:
|
Nicknames for a Boyfriend |
Nicknames for a Girlfriend |
|
Handsome - Handsome |
Sweetie - Darling |
It is important to avoid excessive familiarity here, because, as one of my good friends says: "I "m not your honey, darling, sweetheart, dear, ducky, or any other diminutive creature."
Depending on the situation, we address the people around us in different ways. An address is understood as an intonationally and grammatically separate independent component, which is used to designate a person or (less often) an object that acts as the addressee of a speech. Here are some examples of invocations in English:
| Excuse me Sir, could you tell me where the nearest bank is? | Sorry, sir Can you tell me where is the nearest bank? |
| John , please tell my parents I will be late. | John Please tell my parents that I will be late. |
| Mr. Adams , there is some important information for you. | Mr. Adams , there is important information for you. |
| Dear Ann
,
I was really happy when your letter arrived… |
Dear Ann
,
I was really happy when your letter arrived... |
As you can see from the examples above, the type of address depends on many factors, in particular, on how formal or, conversely, informal the situation of communication is, on whether the form of communication is oral or written, and also on your and the interlocutor's age, gender , social status, profession and subordination relations.
Official forms of addressing one person in English
To address a person in a formal situation, English offers several polite forms. For example, to address a man, the following options apply:
| Writing an appeal | Transcription | Translation of the example | |
| Mr. | [ˈmɪstə(r)] | Mr. Thompson, could you repeat your requests, please. | Mr. Thompson, could you repeat your request, please. |
| Sir | I'm afraid, Sir, our headmaster is on holiday at the moment. | I'm afraid, sir, our director is currently on leave. | |
| Esq. | [ɪˈskwʌɪə] | John S. Brown, Esq., come into the office, please! | Mr. John S. Brown, come into the office, please! |
With regard to each of the above forms, it is worth noting the following:
- the appeal can be applied to any man, whatever his age, social status and marital status; such an appeal is placed before the name of the addressee, for example: Mr. Johnson - Mr. Johnson;
- the appeal Sir should be chosen if the addressee's surname remains unnamed or unknown; in rarer but more honorific cases, Sir is an address to a person holding a knighthood (in the United Kingdom) and is placed either before the given name, for example - Sir Richard / Sir Richard, or before the full name and surname, for example - Sir Elton John / Sir Elton John;
- the appeal is placed after the full name. Message from Mr. in such cases, it should not be used anymore, since it will be redundant. This appeal has its roots in the medieval term Esquire (Esquire), which first denoted the knight's squire, and only later belonging to the lower strata of the nobility. The form is currently used quite rarely, more often in the written version.
To address a woman in a formal setting, the following forms are applicable:
| Writing an appeal | Transcription | An example of the use of address | Translation of the example |
| Mrs. | [‘mɪsɪz] | Mrs. Smith, can you speak during the meeting? | Mrs. Smith, could you make a speech at the meeting? |
| Ms. | [‘mɪz] | Ms. Johns, our company are very sorry about this mistake and offer you some discounts on other goods you need for your business. | Ms. Jones, our company regrets this mistake and offers you some discounts on other products that you need for your business. |
| Miss | [‘mɪz] | Miss Huston, you are a very promising young teacher! | Miss Houston, you are a very promising young teacher! |
| madam | [ˈmadəm] | I'm sorry, Madam, could you follow me, please! | Excuse me madam, could you follow me please? |
The differences between the above forms of addressing a woman are sometimes very significant, in particular:
- appeal Mrs. sometimes addressed to a married woman and requires after her last name / first name and last name / first name and last name of her spouse, for example: Stevenson / Mrs. Jane Stevenson / Mrs. Paul Stevenson. The last option will seem rather unusual to a Russian person, but there is a simple explanation for this, because the form of Mrs. - this is an appeal expressing belonging to a particular man (Mrs. as a form of the possessive case from Mr.);
- the address Miss is applicable to an unmarried girl and requires a surname after herself, for example - Miss Brown, less often - a first name, for example Miss Alice;
- appeal Ms. occurs more often in business correspondence, while in oral speech one of the two forms indicated above is preferred. This appeal, applicable to any woman regardless of her marriage, is the result of numerous campaigns for women's equality. After the address Ms., recommended in 1974 by the United Nations, it is necessary to use the surname, for example - J. Simpson;
- the address Madam is used if the addressee's surname is not called or unknown, for example - Dear Madam / Dear Madam. In addition, the address Madam is also typical for use in relation to a high-ranking female person, while after it the position she holds can also be called, for example: Madam Managing Director / Madam General Director.
Formal address to several addressees
When verbally addressing a heterosexual audience, the most typical and acceptable form is Ladies and gentlemen! - which is translated into Russian as "Ladies and Gentlemen!" . In a less formal situation, you can find such formulations as Dear friends! - "Dear friends!"; Dear colleagues! - "Dear Colleagues!" or Esteemed colleagues! - "Dear colleagues!" .
In an official written appeal to several persons (presumably mostly males), whose names are unknown, the wording is used Sirs / Lord , for example:
If there is a written appeal to a group of women whose names and surnames are unknown, the wording is applied Mesdames () / Ladies (Mistresses) , for example:
If the appeal in the correspondence is aimed at several addressees, and their names are known, you can use the wording Messrs ( [ˈmes.əz]) / Lord , after which these names are indicated, for example: MessrsJohnson, Smith and Robinson — Gentlemen Johnson, Smith and Robinson. However, this wording is now considered somewhat outdated.
Informal appeal
If you do not go far from the topic of the appeal in the letter, then it should be noted that when referring to a friend or good acquaintance, it is enough to call him by name or address by the wording Dear + name (Dear…) or Hello/Hi+ name (Hello, ...) .
In oral speech, it is also considered the most acceptable treatment by name. In this case, the diminutive form of the name can also be used, as in Russian, for example:
| Robert (Robert) | Rob(Rob)Bob (Bean) , BobbyBobby), Robbie(Robbie) |
| Susan(Susan) | Sue(Sue) |
However, such forms do not exist for all names, and the treatment of naming the full name is still more common.
Another issue is that, unlike the Russian patronymic name, in English-speaking countries people sometimes have several names, which is associated with Catholic tradition"attach" to one name the name of the patron saint or some relative. At the same time, there is no patronymic in English. But of the several names given to a person at baptism, the first one does not always become the one that a person perceives as the main thing and would like to be called that way. For example: William Bradley Pitt is better known as Brad Pitt.
But in order to avoid misunderstandings associated with addressing by name, it is worth checking with the interlocutor: “ What should I call you ?” "What should I call you?" .
Be polite and friendly in communication and the necessary forms of address will certainly serve you in good stead.
When writing a letter, the beginning, that is, the appeal to the addressee, plays an important role. Contacting English writing significantly different from the treatment in Russian. Therefore, in order to write a letter that is correct from the point of view of etiquette, you need to know some rules.
Always remember that the form of address in a letter depends on the degree of acquaintance or family ties with the person to whom you are addressing the letter.
General circulation model:
Dear /My dear+ recipient's name (with or without courtesy) + colon
Dear /My dear+ recipient's name (with or without courtesy) + comma,
where polite address is formsMr., Mrs., Miss, Ms., Sir, Madam, which are used only with the surname (periods after the forms Mr., Mrs., Ms., as a rule, are put).
Basic rules of address in English writing.
1. Letters that are strictly formal in tone and content should begin with Dear/My dear and courtesy:
2. In official letters to strangers whose names you do not know, the following polite forms are used:
The last two addresses are used for both married and unmarried women. The combination Dear Miss is not used as an address in English.
3. In less formal and semi-official correspondence, you can find the following forms:
4. If you do not know the name of the addressee, you should not use phrases To whom it may concern(To whom it concerns). Instead, you should indicate the position or greeting of a general nature:
Dear Recruiter:
Dear Claims Adjustor:
Dear Sir or Madame:
5. If you don't know the recipient's gender, write their full name, omitting the polite title:
Dear Dana Simms:
Dear T.K. Spinazola:
6. If you are in doubt about the choice of addressing a woman (Miss or Mrs.), Use the neutral Ms.
7. If you are writing to two people, be sure to include both names in the greeting:
Dear Mr. Trujillo and Ms. Donne:
Dear Alex and Jill:
8. Never write the following courtesy in full:
Mr., Ms., Mrs. and Dr.:
These appeals, on the contrary, should not be reduced:
Professor, Dean, Sister, Rabbi, Imam, Senator, Governor, Captain, Admiral, Judge
9. If you are writing a letter not to a particular person, but to an organization, use its name in circulation:
Dear Syntax Training:
10. In simplified business letters, don't use the greeting at all. Instead, you need to specify the subject in capital letters, after which the body of the letter will go.
WAYS TO BEGIN A BUSINESS LETTER
I am writing to share information about standard letter openings to…
(A simplified form of a business letter is rarely used.)
11. When greeting a letter to unfamiliar or unfamiliar people, a polite address and surname should be used.
12. In informal situations, i.e. when referring to acquaintances, relatives, friends, only names are used (without polite address):
| Dear John, | Dear John! |
| my dear john, | My dear John! |
| john, | John! |
| dearest, | Expensive! |
| my darling, | My dear! |
Polite AddressesMy dear Sir, My dear Madam, Sir, Madam are strictly official. Dear Sir, Dear Madam somewhat less formal. However, all these forms are used in official situations.
As you can see from the previous examples, both a comma and a colon can appear after the conversion. The comma is in accordance with the British tradition, and the colon in accordance with the American one, but at present this distinction is hardly observed. In addition, a comma is used in less formal letters (social letters), which include letters of sympathy, gratitude, personal congratulations (on a wedding, birthday, promotion, etc.), and a colon in strictly formal letters.
13. Appeal to a woman
When addressing a woman, her preferences regarding this issue should be taken into account. That is, a married woman can leave her name and take her husband's surname, she can take her husband's full name and surname, etc. It is recommended to find out about such preferences in advance (for example, from friends or from a signature in a letter). See the table below for details.
| Unmarried | Ms. Jane Johnson Miss Jane Johnson (usually when referring to girls under 18) |
| Married, keeping her first and maiden name | Ms. Jane Johnson |
| Married, taking her husband's surname | Mrs. John Kelly (a married woman may choose to take her husband's first and last name in full - John Kelly) Mrs. Jane Kelly (a married woman may choose to keep her first name, Jane, and take her husband's last name, Kelly) Today, the variant Ms. Jane Kelly |
| divorced | A divorced woman, as a rule, takes her first name, but she can leave both her own and her husband's last name. Mrs. Jane Kelly Ms. Jane Kelly Ms. Jane Johnson (maiden name) |
| Undivorced, but living separately from her husband | In this case, options are also possible, depending on the preferences of the woman. Mrs. John Kelly Mrs. Jane Kelly Ms. Jane Kelly |
| Widow | A widow, as a rule, considers herself married, she leaves her husband's surname, but the name can take both her own and her husband's Mrs. John Kelly (if the widow's preferences are not known, this is the most acceptable, unmistakable and neutral option) Mrs. Jane Kelly Ms. Jane Kelly |
14. Appeal to a couple (husband and wife)
| Married, wife uses husband's name | Mr. and Mrs. John Kelly Note - on the envelope in the address traditionally woman's name precedes the male and then the surname is written (Jane and John Kelly). Today, the order of names has become unimportant, any option is acceptable, except when one of the spouses is clearly superior in rank - then the name of the spouse who is higher in rank is written first. |
| Married, wife prefers Ms. | Mr. John Kelly and Ms. Jane Kelly Ms. Jane Kelly and Mr. John Kelly (do not use Ms. with the husband's name, i.e. it is incorrect to write Mr. and Ms. John Kelly) |
| Married, informal writing | Jane and John Kelly John and Jane Kelly |
| Married, wife prefers maiden name | Mr. John Kelly and Ms. Jane Johnson Ms. Jane Johnson and Mr. John Kelly Mr. John Kelly and Ms. Jane Johnson (the order of the names doesn't matter) |
| Unmarried but living together (civil marriage) | Mr. John Kelly & Ms. Jane Johnson (mandatory on one line) |
| A wife is superior in rank to her husband: elective or military office | The Honorable Jane Kelly and Mr. John Kelly If both names do not fit on one line: |
| A wife is superior in rank to her husband: academic degree | Dr. Jane Kelly and Mr. John Kelly |
| Both spouses of a doctor (Ph.D. or doctors) and use the same last name | The Doctors Kelly (omit first names) Drs. Jane and John Kelly / Drs. John and Jane Kelly Dr. John Kelly and Dr. Jane Kelly / Dr. Jane Kelly and Dr. John Kelly |
| Both spouses are doctors (Ph.D. or physicians), wife uses maiden name | Dr. Jane Johnson and Dr. John Kelly Dr. John Kelly and Dr. Jane Johnson |
Rules for writing Email in English
To write a formal style email (business email), follow all of the formal style rules listed above (points 1-11). An informal email usually starts like this.
Dear Han,
Hi, Ivan,
Hi, Kate,
Sue, Brooke:
Good morning Kitty
hello homer,
Or just start the first sentence with a name:
Bart, you were absolutely right about the matter.
Summary table of appeals in letters in English.
| Style | unit number | Mn. number |
|---|---|---|
| Formal and strictly official
| My dear Sir / Sir My dear Madam / Madam | |
| Strictly official | Sir / My dear Mr. Smith Madame / My dear Mrs. Smith | |
| Official | Dear Sir Dear madam | Dear Sirs/ Sirs Dear Mesdames/ Mesdames Gentlemen Ladies |
| Less formal(if there is a previous correspondence) | Dear Mr. Jones Dear Mrs. Jones | Dear Messrs. Jones and Smith |
Dmitry Sokolov
"“English learning is a vast realm of discovery. As a teacher, I may know the shortcut, but it’s the students who have to make their own way to the destination. I just make sure I provide them with the right road signs”"
work experience
- I started my teaching career at the Orsha State Gymnasium No. 1, where I began to learn the basics of teaching. He combined his work at the school with teaching at the foreign language courses "Castello Studi" and tutoring in Orsha. I have always liked working with older students more because the results of my work were more obvious to me.
- After working 2 years of distribution at school, I entered the MSLU master's program, and then taught for another 3 years at the Department of Education foreign languages at MSLU. During this time, I have gained valuable experience in teaching various groups of students, including corporate, foreign and VIP groups, and got acquainted with advanced methods of teaching foreign languages.
- Having received the second higher education majoring in finance at the IBMT BSU, got a job as an analyst at the Research Institute of Economics of the Ministry of Economics, where I still work. However, teaching for me has become not just a job or a craft, but an art that I am not going to give up under any circumstances. Now, as a specialist in a narrower field, I can effectively teach business English, English in foreign economic activity, accounting, banking, auditing, etc.
Hobbies and interests
I prefer active leisure: tourism, practical shooting, chess, car races, cycling
Personal qualities
Active, meticulous, restless, I always strive to learn new things, a good organizer.