Re: "Madam"/"Madame" Chair/man/person (was: Umlauts)

Steg Belsky scripsit:

> I thought the plural of Mr. is 'Misters' or 'Messers'.  I don't
> remember where i've seen them though.
"Messrs." is the standard abbreviation for "Messieurs", and there are
people who pronounce it ['mEs@(r\)z].  For that matter, there are people
who pronounce "M." and "Mlle." before French names as [Em] and ['mIli]!

BTW, how do French people know whether "M. Foo" is title+surname or
initial+surname?  I've always wondered that.

--
John Cowan  jcowan@reutershealth.com  www.ccil.org/~cowan  www.reutershealth.com
"If I have not seen as far as others, it is because giants were standing
on my shoulders."
        --Hal Abelson

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