-
1 Form of ...
-
2 Discussion
-
3 Listening
-
4 Further Study
Hello, everybody. In this section, we’ll talk about the right ways of addressing others in English culture.
Have you ever got a native English speaker as your teacher？If yes, how did you address them? Mr…? Mrs…? Or you just use the term"Teacher"? In Chinese culture, it’s acceptable and even popular for a student to call his or her teacher Laoshi (teacher), while it is not appropriate in English Culture. Why? It sounds as if you do not know your teacher's name at all. You wouldn't want to be called "Student", right?
English learners often feel confused about how to address others properly. It might be the first problem connected with interpersonal relationship.
Both English and Chinese people have two kinds of personal names — a surname (family name, last name) and a given name (first name). For example, in Chinese we have He Xiangu, Wang Chuan, and in English we have the names like Andrew Lewis, William Shakespeare, and son on. But the order of these names and their use are somewhat different. In Chinese the surname comes first and is followed by the given name, just like in HeXiangu, He is the surname, Xiangu is the given name; in Wang Chuan, Wang is the surname, Chuan is the given name. But in English the order is reversed, for example, in a name Andrew Lewis, Andrew is the given name, while Lewis is the surname. (PPT, Table 1)
Although most Chinese speakers know the order of English names well, they frequently make mistakes when addressing foreigners. Take Andrew Lewis as an example, the most common mistakes are Lewis, Mr. Andrew, Teacher Lewis and Teacher. (PPT)
Why are there such mistakes? One possible reason is that these addresses conform to the Chinese concept of being intimate and showing respect in daily verbal communication. In China, if a student calls his Chinese professor directly by the given name, or a quick reprimand would follow. So, a name plus a title might be a good choice for them to keep the balance. It is actually a Chinese form of compromise.
Many English-speaking people, especially Americans, tend to address others by their given names, even when meeting for the first time. This applies not only to people of the same age, but also of different ages and of different social status. It is not uncommon for a child to call a much older person, even the parents or grandparents, Joe, Ben, Mary, etc. It won’t be regarded as a sign of disrespect as in America, instead, it indicates that the elder one is affable. In English, the given name alone, whether it be for man or woman, would be ordinarily enough. The main exceptions are addressing of one’s parents (Dad, Mom, Mum, or Mother), one’s grandparents (Grandpa, Grandma) and sometimes older relatives (Aunt Mary or Uncle Joe).
In Chinese, the most common forms of addressing usually involves one’s age, job, education, status or position at workplace in relation to yours. For example, He Dajie (何大姐), He Laoshi (何老师), He Xiaozhang (何校长), He Jingli (何经理). However, formal address with one’s surname and titles are only used in business situation. Furthermore, not all the titles can be addressed directly in English. Only a few occupations or titles such as Doctor, Judge, Governor, Mayor, Professor, Nurse and ranks in the armed forces like Captain are used when addressing someone. These can be used either singly or with the person’s surname.
Since English is a language, rather than a culture, it is difficult to teach English learners exactly how to address people. There will always be some people and some professions that require more formality than others. Here are some tips:
1. If you are not sure how to call someone, you’d better use a formal address or simply ask one of these questions:
● What should I call you?
● Can I call you [first name]?
● Is it okay if I call you [the nickname you've heard others use]?
● What's your name? (used in a casual situation like a party or classroom where first names are used)
2. How you address people may also change depending on situations. If you are unsure, use a formal address. If your form of address is too formal, the other person will invite you to use an alternative form of address, such as a first name.
