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

En réponse à John Cowan :


>BTW, how do French people know whether "M. Foo" is title+surname or
>initial+surname?  I've always wondered that.
Context and custom. The point is, situations where we would use 
initial+surname are so specific that there's actually no ambiguity. 
Initial+surname isn't used alone except in lists, where title+surname is 
just not an option. And in addressing people (for instance in letters), 
initial+surname would never be used *without* the title in front of it, so 
here again no ambiguity. And anyway using title+initial+surname in 
addressing is extremely rare. It's whether title+surname or title+first 
name+surname.

Christophe Grandsire.

http://rainbow.conlang.free.fr

You need a straight mind to invent a twisted conlang.