How to address a woman in England. Affectionate and polite forms of address in English

Probably everyone, even those who have not yet begun to learn English, know that both "you" and "you" will be YOU. “Now, the English-speaking countries have not thought about how to address an adult or a group of people, because “you” and “you” sound the same, Russians will think. But no, it wasn't always like that. We will not delve into the difficult history of the English language, but I will say that there used to be a word in English language, denoting our "you".

But do not think that now you can turn to any British, American, etc. to "you", because their forms of address are much more complicated and wiser than in Russian. If in our country you can address the seller like this: "Girl, help me choose this or that ...", then this will not work in English. You need to know the whole system of addresses: who are you addressing, who is he by profession, rank, what age is he, in what family / friendly relations with you, and so on.

So, let's begin.

Appeal Sir| madam(required with a capital letter and without adding surnames!). These appeals can be called universal: they are used both in official speech and in everyday life. They are translated into Russian approximately as "Mr. / Mrs.".
Mr|Mrs|Miss|Ms.(These addresses are always used with the surname after them!) Mr (mister) is used in relation to a man. Mrs is used for a married woman. Miss is used in relation to an unmarried girl, a girl. But there is one twist: some women prefer to be addressed as Ms (Ms) - something between Mrs and Miss. The United Nations recorded this form of address as early as 1974. But in most cases, you can contact Mrs-Mrs.
LadiesandGentlemen. This polite form of address is used in relation to several people at once. (Most often it is used at various shows, concerts, and simply where there are a lot of people).
Adults address young people like we do in Russia like this: young man|young lady-young man| young woman. And the elderly can be treated affectionately (in principle, this also occurs in Russia): Dear! Dearie! Ducky! Love!(daughter); Son! Sonny! Boy!(son).
There are also colloquial forms of address in English: friend(friend); pal/ mate/ buddychum(Buddy). As a rule, they imply that the person who is addressing you is not very respectful of you. Old man/boy/chap! (old man, buddy) old girl/sister! (old lady, sister) Brother! Buddy! Mate!(bro dude!)
When we turn to a dear, close, beloved person, we can say baby, kid(baby, baby) honey, sweet(cute,
sweet), dearboy| dear girl(dear boy/dear girl) and also love, sweetheart, angel, precious(my love, beloved, angel, precious).
Sometimes it is useful to know such calls: Your Majesty-Your Majesty Your Highness-Your Highness, Your Lordship(Your Grace) - When addressing a Lord or a Justice of the Supreme Court, Your Honor(Your Honor) - When addressing a lower court judge.
Soldiers are usually referred to by their ranks.
You can contact the police like this: - officer, constable, inspector.
We address doctors, nurses, doctors as follows: - Dr+surname, Doctor (doctor), Nurse/Matron/Sister (nurse).

In English, 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 who have 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. Addressing women with the designation of her status was characteristic of her title of nobility, if she possessed 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. At the same time, after the appeal, you can call both the woman’s own name 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 instance:

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 the word Miss, the dot is not put, as it is used long form the words:

Miss Dana Simms - Miss Dana Simms.

Very often inexperienced users foreign language ask the question: “How to contact new acquaintances? What forms to use? After all, it is known that depending on the status and position of the addressee, the forms of appeal vary. Therefore, we decided to clarify and once and for all figure out how and in what situations to address different categories of people.

The status is indicated on the letter:
Mr. - Mister (addressing a man)
Mrs. - Misses (appeal to a married woman)
Miss - Miss (appeal to an unmarried woman)
Ms - Mizz (appeal to both married and unmarried women)

Before we begin, you need to remember: the form of address indicates that you take into account such characteristics of the addressee as gender, age, level of education, etc.

So, let's start with the safest option, namely, ask yourself how the addressee prefers to be addressed.

What should I call you? - What should I call you?
What should I call your mum / the teacher / the manager? - What should I call your mother/teacher/manager?
Can I call you? - May I call you [Name]?
Is it okay if I call you? - Is it okay if I call you [Friendly Name]?
What's your name? - What's your name?

If you heard one of these questions in your address, then you can answer like this:

Please, call me - Please, call me [name]
You can call me - You can call me [nickname or short name]

To grab the recipient's attention, use expressions
Excuse me, Sir/ Madam
Pardon me, Sir/ Madam

If you are in a formal setting, such as a business meeting, negotiation or presentation, then it's okay to have a couple of formal addresses up your sleeve.

Sir(for an adult male)
madam(for adult woman)
Mr + last name(for any man)
Mrs + last name(for a married woman who uses her husband's last name)
Ms + last name(for a married or unmarried woman; common in business)
Miss + last name(for an unmarried woman)
Dr + last name(for some doctors, at their request, they use not the last name, but the first name)
Professor + last name(at university/institute)

Sometimes it happens that an official after a while asks you to call him by his name. In English this is called ‘on a first name basis’ or ‘on first name terms’. This is the name of a relationship that seems official only at first glance, but in fact is closer.

But most often, of course, we use appeals not in the business world, but in the everyday world. For example, how to address your soul mate, mother or child? Here are some suggestions.

Honey (for a child, loved one, or someone younger than you)
sweetie
Darling
Babe or Baby (for a loved one)
Pal (appeal to son or grandson)
Buddy or Bud (very colloquial between friends; sometimes used with negative connotations)

On the one hand, it may seem that the addresses in English are not particularly complicated: Mr., Mrs., Miss. However, even here there are difficulties that should not be overlooked, but, on the contrary, to disassemble and understand all the subtleties of English addresses.

Remember how differently you can address people in Russian. After all, the closeness of communication and social status depend on how you address them. You are more likely to call the boss Ivan Ivanovich, the best friend - Vanya, and the five-year-old child - Vanka. After all, we greet people in completely different ways.

The same thing happens in English. The English are known to be quite polite in communication. Let's try to figure out what forms of address exist in English.

Ask the interlocutor how to contact him

The safest and reliable option the right way to address a person is to ask him himself what his name should be. In English, a similar phrase is built something like this:

What should I call you? - What should I call you?
Should I call you by your first name? Should I call you by your first name?
What should I call your mother/brother/teacher? - What should I call your mother/your brother/your teacher? (You can substitute any word for a person here.)

The previous three options are polite and formal. And in order to build a more friendly, informal phrase, you should refer to it like this:

What's your name? - What's your name?
Can I call you... - Can I call you...
Is it okay if I call you... - It's okay if I call you...

And if you are asked how to contact you, you can answer as follows:

You can call me... - You can call me...
Please, call me... - Please, call me...
Just call me... - Just call me...

Are the addresses in English stand out?

You probably know that in Russian all addresses are separated by commas. What about addresses in English: does this rule work here?

At school they would tell you: yes, it works. However, many English speakers simply ignore the rule mother tongue. Although, of course, in the case when the appeal is at the very beginning, a comma is placed after it:

Mike, do you play tennis? - Mike, do you play tennis?

However, if the address had been at the end, many English people would have written:

Do you play tennis Mike? - Do you play tennis, Mike?

In real life, an Englishman would simply not put a comma before a treatment in English. However, this punctuation rule is taught in all Russian schools and other textbooks. Therefore, if you are taking any exam or test, write an essay or an essay, remember: the address in English is separated by commas.

Do you play tennis, Mike? - Do you play tennis, Mike?
May I come in, Alice? - May I come in, Alice?
Wow, you are really good at it, dude! - Wow, you're really good at this, man!

Politeness in English

With strangers and in a business style, you should address adults like this: Sir [se] (sir; for a man), Madam [´madem] (madame, for a woman). If your interlocutor asks to address you differently, call him the way he asked.

Sir is an address for an adult male.
Madam is an address for an adult woman. Usually this is what men call a woman, the representatives of the weaker sex rarely refer to each other like that. The only exception is the appeal of the servant to his mistress.

Let's bring simple examples:

Sir, you dropped your wallet! - Sir, you dropped your wallet!
You are so beautiful, madam! - You are so beautiful, madam!

Mister, missis, miss

In English, there are three popular addresses that absolutely everyone probably knows: mister, missis, miss. But we will explain once again in what cases they are used.

At the very beginning, it is worthwhile to understand that all these three appeals are used only together with the surname after the appeal itself. If you call a man, for example, just mister, it will sound quite rude. Something like: "Hey mister!" We advise you to avoid this if you do not want to become rude.

Mister (surname) - this is how they refer to a man. (abbreviated as Mr)
Missis (surname) - address to a married woman. (Mrs)
Miss (surname) - addressing a young or unmarried woman. (MS)

Here are some simple examples in which these words are used:

Mr. Jones is sick, please come later. - Mr. Jones is ill, please come back later.
Sorry, Mr. Smith, I think I "ve forgotten my chemistry homework ... - Sorry, Mr. Smith, I think I forgot my chemistry homework.
Mrs. Collins called us for dinner. - Mrs. Collins invited us to dinner.
Ms. Brown was crossing the road, when I saw her. - Miss Brown was crossing the road when I saw her.
Mrs. Carter was always too kind... - Mrs. Carter was always so kind...

How else can you turn to a stranger?

In addition to the usual "Mr" and "Mrs", there are other addresses that you can use in relation to an unfamiliar man or woman.

Let's find out what appeals can be used to unfamiliar men:

Son, sonny, boy - this is how older people like to address young guys.
Young man - a young man. As in the previous example, this address is used mainly by older people in relation to young men.

And to women:

Miss can also be used without a surname, unlike "Mr" and "Mrs." Usually this is addressed to the teacher or staff.
Dearie, Dear, Love, Ducky - this is how older people quite often turn to young girls.

How to address a person in a letter?

There are several ways you can address the person at the very beginning of the letter. In a business letter, the following word is usually added: dear (dear, respected). This is the most common letter in English.

If you do not know the name of the person you are addressing, you should address the person like this: Dear Sir (dear sir; for a man); Dear Madam (dear madam; for a woman)
If you know the name of the person you are addressing, you can say: Dear and the name. For example, Dear Alex - dear Alex, dear Alex.
In a business letter, it's okay to address a person by their first name only if you've already communicated before.
You can also address a person using Mr, Mrs, Ms. Remember that this official address should always be shortened.

In less formal correspondence, the following addresses can be used:

Dear Colleague - Dear / Dear Colleague!
Dear Editor - Dear/Dear Editor!
Dear Publisher - Dear Publisher!
Dear Reader - Dear / Dear reader!

Appeals to people holding a position

In English, there are and which are based on their position or profession.

Your Majesty - Your Majesty. This title is used for kings and queens.
Your Highness - your highness. Used for dukes, princes.
Your Lordship is used for a lord and also for a judge of the Supreme Court.
Your Honor is your honor. Such an appeal is also available in Russian, so it is not difficult to understand that in English it is also used in relation to a judge.
General - general, used mainly with a surname.
Captain - captain, used with a surname.
Officer - an officer, used in relation to the police and also with a surname.
Professor - professor. In the UK, this is only addressed to those who have a degree or the title of professor. But in the United States of America, this is how you can contact a teacher of any higher educational institution.

Here are various examples with all the above words:

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. - Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
His Highness wants you to see. - His highness wants to see you.
You Honor, I should tell you what really happened. - Your part, I should tell you how it really happened.
They chose Adamson as their captain. - They chose Adamson as their captain.
Captain Bell, I want to see you in my cabinet. - Captain Bell, I would like to see you in my office.
Officer Janson, there is misunderstanding! - Officer Jenson, there is a misunderstanding here!
Professor Robinson entered the class and we all stopped talking. - Professor Robinson came into the classroom and we all stopped talking.

Addressing a group of people

It also happens that you need to turn to a group of people, a whole team, and not an individual person. In Russian, we say: "guys!", "class!", "colleagues!". And English has its own words that you need to know.

Ladies and gentlemen! - This is probably one of the most popular English addresses that absolutely everyone knows. It translates, you guessed it, like this: ladies and gentlemen.
Guys! - Guys! Used in informal settings.
Dear friends! - informal appeal: dear friends!
Esteemed colleagues! - So in English they turn to their colleagues at work.

Most often, we use various addresses in an informal setting. We call people close to us cute, kind, suns and so on. English also has cute appeals.

Honey - can be translated in different ways: dear, beloved, dear. It is very which can be used in relation to a loved one or a child.
Sweetie - sweet, sweet. For a loved one or child.
Sweetheart - also for a loved one.
Darling - expensive / expensive.
Baby - of course, many people know this appeal. It translates as "baby".
Sunshine - literal translation: "sunshine", "sunshine". In Russian there is a similar word-address: "sun".

In English, there are a huge number of informal, everyday addresses with which you can turn to a friend, friend or person close to you. However, it is important to know that American and British English spellings are completely different. To use a British word in an American environment or vice versa would be quite embarrassing!

Let's start with British appeals:

Chap - old man, old man, buddy.
Mate - This term is also popular in Australia and New Zealand.
Crony is a friend.
Pal is also a popular address in the United States, which can be translated as follows: friend.

Now let's move on to American appeals. As you know, the American language is more informal than English, so there are more "cheeky" references.

Homie - a friend, a friend, a friend that is quite close to you.
Amigo - amigo, friend.
Dude - dude, buddy - a pretty classic appeal in the American environment.
Bestie is the best friend.

Pronoun Thou: referring to God

Let's talk about turning to God in English. Have you heard of the pronoun "thou"?

In general, this pronoun was familiar to Great Britain and its inhabitants until about the 17th century and was translated as the pronoun "you". Now it can only be found in the works of early classical literature and various sonnets:

thou - you;
thy - yours;
thee - you, you.

Now, with the help of the pronoun "Thou" you need to refer to God, moreover, you need to write it with a capital letter.