barryg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Barry Gold) (01/26/85)
Milord and Milady may have been good for the old Normans, but few of us speak Middle English any more (OR use the British class structure). (An acquaintance of mine was in London and had a native push her out of the way to get on a bus. "You're no gentleman," she said. "Blimey, of course not," he replied.") Nowadays Milord/Milady sound as if the speaker is putting you up on a pedestal, an awkward position from which to operate effectively. In any case, I DON'T want to receive form letters addressed "Dear Milord or Milady." (And I ESPECIALLY don't want to receive letters addressed "Dear Milord," given I happen to be female. I'd like an all-gender honorific.) In my own informal way, I sometimes address letters to recipients of unknown sex (e.g. complaint letters) to "Dear People." And of course there's the old "To Whom It May Concern." But both of those imply you don't know the person's name, rather than knowing the name but being unsure (and really not giving a damn) about the person's sex. A third option is to use "honorable" (e.g. To the Honorable Lee Gold). Yes, I know this has a specific meaning within the British rank system, but again that shouldn't bother most of us too much. (And after repeated complaint letters, it could be fun to address the thing off to "Undear Dishonorable [Name].") --Lee Gold
colonel@gloria.UUCP (George Sicherman) (02/10/85)
> Milord and Milady may have been good for the old Normans, but few of us > speak Middle English any more (OR use the British class structure). (An > acquaintance of mine was in London and had a native push her out of the way > to get on a bus. "You're no gentleman," she said. "Blimey, of course not," > he replied.") Nowadays Milord/Milady sound as if the speaker is putting > you up on a pedestal, an awkward position from which to operate effectively. > > In any case, I DON'T want to receive form letters addressed "Dear Milord or > Milady." (And I ESPECIALLY don't want to receive letters addressed "Dear > Milord," given I happen to be female. I'd like an all-gender honorific.) "Dear Milord" is presumptuous. A more appropriate salutation would be "May it please your Lordship." I'm always glad to get a letter that starts that way. -- Col. G. L. Sicherman ...decvax!sunybcs!gloria!colonel