Gary Turner wrote:
Ah, I understand. I was distracted by comparing the situation to my native language, where the word for 'Miss' is archaic and all women can be addressed with the former equivalent of 'Mrs', which has lost its original meaning.Ivo Wever wrote:Gary Turner wrote:I will applaud the introduction of "Ms," to the written language, since in the South, at least, the oral honorific of "Miz" has long solved the question of the marital state of the lady you're addressing.I absolutely do not understand the need to address someone with their correct marital status. I don't behave differently towards an unmarried woman than I do towards a married woman, so why on earth should I do so in writing?Precisely the point. In English, the honorific "Miss" has denoted an unmarried woman, while "Mrs." (an abbreviation of Mistress) indicated a married woman. Thus the southern (U.S.) oral tradition of addressing a lady as "Miz Whoever" averted the chance of a social error. Until the feminist movement sponsored "Ms," there was no written equivalent.
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