SC was properly upbraided by David Elworthy for referring to him as "Mr." when "Dr." is in fact the correct title. SC is a stickler for this sort of thing, and in spite of having been to Dr. Elworthy's site and seeing this on his resume, we goofed.
If SC was prone to the sort of uninterested-in-correctness attitude that has recently been attributed to journalists in these pages, he would plead that he was simply following the New York Times' style guide. The NYT's claimed standards are that Ph.D.s are referred to as "Mr.", while M.D.s are referred to as "Dr.", but that if a Ph.D. being cited requests it, they will refer to them as "Dr.". Andrew Sullivan has provided evidence that the Times is inconsistent on this point, but it was long enough ago that SC doesn't feel like searching for it. The informal SC style guide has been that people (not grad students) working at universities are "Prof.", and everybody else is "Mr.", "Ms." or "Mrs." as appropriate. However, SC appreciates (within limits) the right of people to be referred to as they desire.
Hence, SC requests that any readers who have been annoyed by the Unofficial Semantic Compositions style guide let him know if they have a preferred form of address. All requests will be honored, except for one:
New York Jets wide receiver Laveranues Coles insists that his first name is pronounced as though it was spelled "lavernius". Aside from the obligatory wisecrack to inquire if he has a sister named "Shiralues", SC doesn't much like the idea of taking this sort of total disconnect between spelling and pronunciation seriously. Arsenio Hall once riffed on this point: "My name is b-o-b, but I pronounce it 'linoleum'". SC does, however, recognize that this represents a cultural issue for many people, and has no intention of calling anyone by something other than their name.
(edited on 2/9/04 at 9:09 pm)
(edited again on 2/9/04 at 9:17 pm) Some SC readers may have noticed a changed remark on the subject of names. After a few moments' reflection, it was decided that the comment was unnecessarily intemperate. Although SC feels there is something decidedly unfair about expecting people to know that you want your name pronounced in a way which a typical speaker of your language cannot reasonably infer from the spelling, it was an unfortunate choice, and SC retracts the statement.
I prefer to be referred to as Grand Kaimakam and Hospodar of Upper and Lower Blogovia. Form of address is "Your Ineffableness," accompanied by a bow low enough to bring the tip of the nose below the level of the belt buckle. Don't try to omit the bow: I will know.
Posted by: language hat | February 10, 2004 at 05:22 PM