Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Interesting. Do you call your doctor by his or her first name?
Here, we use titles with some professions regularly - doctors, the military, the police, professors. It's not so much a sign of DEFERENCE on our part, but more of simply respect for their job and rank. It doesn't denote that they are superior to US - but just that they have a certain degree or rank within their particular profession. (For instance, I would call a private in the military "Private So and So" though he may be 30 years younger than me - it simply denotes his rank within the military.)
If my doctor's office calls me to schedule an appointment, they may address me as Mrs. Aragon - but face to face, my doctor would generally address me by my first name after we got to know each other.
First name. Titles are usually used only formal situations, like in official documents and introductions. For example we called high-school headmaster with his nickname. Civilians don't have to call police by their rank, but I use to out of respect. It's completely accepted to call them by their last name too. In the university world we call everyone with their first name.
In the military it's of course a completely different story, but I called my fellow NCO's I knew well with their first name and other NCO's I didn't know well and my subordinates with their last name without "Private" because they were all privates anyway. My team I allowed to call me with my surname and not say "Mr. Sergeant" when no "outsider" was listening. This is quite normal. My superiors were of course called "Mr. Liutenant" (we don't have a sir-equivalent).
Doctors call people like Arieteson without Mr./Mrs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neuling
In some countries it is even an offense to refer to civil servants, policemen etc by their first names or 'du'
I know. You must call everyone what is appropriate in every culture. I'm not saying our way is better.
I think I explained the reason why we call doctors, or military personnel, or professors by their titles very clearly - and I made it very clear that it isn't because they are "more special" than us or outrank us. So please excuse me but I'm not going to repeat myself. Reread my post and if you're still confused, maybe rephrase the question - because I never said or implied that a doctor is someone "so special."
Well, actually my first name isn't Kathryn and my last name isn't Aragon.
I do like the name Aragon, though, and if that really was my last name, I might be more inclined to go by Ms Aragon - LOL.
I can thank my parents for giving me a very melodic and pleasantly feminine first name that's not all that common. My last name is the name of a country, so it sounds a bit odd to me to be addressed as a country. I much prefer to be called by my first name, which I very much like anyway.
For awhile, I thought you might have some Spanish ancestry. The name KathrynAragon makes me think of Queen Catherine of Aragon, a Spanish queen.
First name. Titles are usually used only formal situations, like in official documents and introductions. For example we called high-school headmaster with his nickname. Civilians don't have to call police by their rank, but I use to out of respect. It's completely accepted to call them by their last name too. In the university world we call everyone with their first name.
In the military it's of course a completely different story, but I called my fellow NCO's I knew well with their first name and other NCO's I didn't know well and my subordinates with their last name without "Private" because they were all privates anyway. My team I allowed to call me with my surname and not say "Mr. Sergeant" when no "outsider" was listening. This is quite normal. My superiors were of course called "Mr. Liutenant" (we don't have a sir-equivalent).
Doctors call people like Arieteson without Mr./Mrs.
That's very interesting. Thanks for the clarification.
There are some similarities. Within the military (and I believe the police force as well) peers - fellow officers or NCOs - often call each other by simply their last name. If they are friends, of course they call each other by their first names sometimes. In fact, the military protocol sounds basically identical between my country and yours.
Civilians don't have to call police officers by their rank either - and in fact they often won't know their rank and often default to "Officer So and So." Rarely would they call a police officer by their first name or last name only.
For awhile, I thought you might have some Spanish ancestry. The name KathrynAragon makes me think of Queen Catherine of Aragon, a Spanish queen.
She is one of my personal favorite heroines in history which is why I chose this screen name! I have always admired her integrity and resolve - as well as her bravery and her commitment to her faith.
I think I explained the reason why we call doctors, or military personnel, or professors by their titles very clearly - and I made it very clear that it isn't because they are "more special" than us or outrank us. So please excuse me but I'm not going to repeat myself. Reread my post and if you're still confused, maybe rephrase the question - because I never said or implied that a doctor is someone "so special."
Alright Definately a cultural difference between Europe and USA.
I never use any titles. I just look at people and say you (or the formal equivalent in other languages).
In Finland that "formal equivalent" is also very rare. Maybe some service people use that for their customers
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Definately a cultural difference between Europe and USA.
In Finland you don't use titles almost ever.
