Re: Addressing people in America

In article <ut1f3391b7v3tud3ten3dhqt4a9v4h102c@xxxxxxx>,
Hatunen <hatunen@xxxxxxx> wrote:
On 1 May 2007 11:43:37 GMT, blmblm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blmblm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

[ snip ]

Anyway, here is another data point:

I teach classes at a university and have a PhD. By local
custom (i.e., within the university) students and staff
usually address and refer to faculty as "Dr." or "Professor".

How much more accurate in German with the likes of Herr Professor
Doktor Schmidt.

True. By the way, I was remiss in not making it clear that
I was talking about a US university. Put it down to typical
US-centric thinking if you like, though I do know better.

[ snip ]

Where they earned it, they should be allowed to reer to
themselves as "Doctor"; it probably took a lot of work. The word
originated as a term meaning "teacher" and came to mean "learned
one". It's the physicians who appropriated the term, probably
because the local physician was probably the only learned man in
the community. In the context of the meaning of the word, it's
the physicians who are being a bit pretentious.

my own preference is to be
addressed as "Ms." when some formality is needed and by my
first name otherwise.

Chacun a son gout. Thank y for the data point.

Happy to be of service. For the record, if I was sending
social snail mail to someone with a PhD who I thought wanted
to be addressed as "Dr.", I would honor that preference.
As you say, if it's an earned degree it usually does represent
a significant investment of time and trouble.

--
Decline To State
(But the e-mail address in the header is real.)
.

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