[ExI] Ms. vs. Dr.

[Damien Broderick]

At 01:09 AM 7/28/2009 +0200, Dr. Vaj wrote:

>BTW, in Italy anybody with a chair would be offended unless you him or
>her Professor, rather than Doctor. Still, you would have to call a
>lady a lady, not a doctor or a professor, in any non-professional
>context. The same is not applicable to men, to whom academic or
>professional title must be used even in social, but formal, contexts,
>unless they enjoy a knighthood or aristocracy status.

Yes, it's endlessly tricky. The only close friend I have with a 
doctorate has two, but he's rarely addressed as "Doctor Doctor." :)

My wife has more degrees than I do, including a Juris Doctorate, but 
apparently USians don't regard that as worthy of the "Doctor" 
appellation. In Australia, medical practitioners with just bachelor 
degrees in medicine and surgery have long been accorded the courtesy 
title "Dr." as are, increasingly, dentists, and even vets (or is that 
just in the US?), not to mention chiropractors.

Professors, as you say, can be indignant if addressed as "Doctor." On 
the other hand, I get the impression that many instructors in the US 
are called "Professor" so that the title has become somewhat devalued.

Peacock tails...

Damien Broderick






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