Titles, Honorifics, and Styles
Only some titles are honorifics. For example, it is customary to address people holding those positions as Alderman, Chairman, or General Secretary; but these titles are not honorific. Other titles, such as Ma'am, Doctor, or Lord — and sometimes also Ms. or Professor—are both titles and honorifics. As a rough guide, an honorific can often stand alone or be prefixed to another title (such as Mr. Mayor, Mister President, or Your Honor) as terms of address, without an attached surname.
A certain class of honorifics are known as styles. Styles are generally accompanied by a pronoun or article, pertain to holders of royal, religious, or political positions, and contain a descriptive term. The description attached within a style is of an attribute the holder of the style is purported to have. For example, "the Right Honourable John Smith", "the Rev. John Doe", or "His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI." Styles are generally not thought of as titles and usually cannot be used without the full name (i.e. "Right Honourable Smith", "Reverend Doe"). One style, "The Learned" must, however, be used with an honorific, for example "The Learned Mr. Smith" or "The Learned Dr. John G. Doe, B.L." The style of "The Learned" however, is merely a mark of respect used to address barristers in the United Kingdom and Ireland but should be used in all professional writing.
Read more about this topic: Use Of Courtesy Titles And Honorifics In Professional Writing
Famous quotes containing the word styles:
“For the introduction of a new kind of music must be shunned as imperiling the whole state; since styles of music are never disturbed without affecting the most important political institutions.”
—Plato (c. 427–347 B.C.)