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

From:Christophe Grandsire <christophe.grandsire@...>
Date:Friday, October 31, 2003, 21:27
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.