Ex. 1. Read and translate the text. What is the right way to address people in English?

What is the right way to address people in English?

When we know a person well, it’s easy, we just call him by his first name. But if we are speaking to someone we know less we use Mr/Mrs/Miss followed by the surname, e.g. Mr. Brown, Mrs. Brown,Miss Brown. Mister or Missus alone, without the surname, are sometimes used, but are not polite, although Miss is generally accepted as a form of address to a woman-teacher by primary-school children.

Sir and madam, on the other hand, are never followed by a name except in the special case when sir is a title, such as Sir Christopher Wren. Sir and madam used alone show respect for position and seniority. Shop assistants and waiters call their customers sir or madam. Schoolchildren call their male teachers sir, though women teachers are never called madam. Sir is also used in the armed forces to address an officer, but in ordinary life soldiers, sailors and airmen call them Colonel, Capitan or Commander. Young men often call older men sir as a mark of respect. But madam is not used in the same way by young women speaking to older ones.

Doctor is used alone only to medical practitioners. When addressing a person with the degree of Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor of Science, for example, the surname is always included, e.g. Dr. Madison.

Professor is used either with or without the surname; depending on how formal or informal you want to be (simply Professor is more formal).

Ladies and gentlemen is used to address an audience. Waiter, Waitress, Porter, Nurse, ets is a possible form of address to people in certain occupations. However, this usage is now becoming rare. Instead, people simply try to catch the waiter’s eyes or say Excuse me. The more usual way to address a stranger is Excuse me, please.

There are some other, less common forms of address:

Your Majesty – to a king or queen;

Your Highness – to a prince or duke;

Your Lordship – to a lord or a High Court judge;

Your Honor – to a magistrate

In the family, children call their parents Mom and Dad, or Mummy and Daddy, sometimes Mother and Father (by adults mostly). Grandparents are addressed as Granny (sometimes Nanny) and Grandpa. Aunts and uncles are called as Auntie or Aunt and Uncle usually with the first name, e.g. Auntie Mary or Aunt Marry, Uncle Michael.