Entitlements

Giving things their due title and place seems important in the German language. For example, native speakers have a strict set of rules to determine the order of words in a sentence.  Thus verbs not used in imperatives always come second - preceded or followed by their subjects according to what comes first - except in subordinate clauses where they come last, and their subjects come first after the conjunction.  Misplacing them or any other word is a solecism that goes beyond the merely grammatical and borders on the social, an affront to logic and Germany.

No wonder, then, that the Germans set great store by honorific titles.  If you have them, you do not choose one, but use them all.  Thus exotic beasts such as Frau Doktor Doktor Schmitt are not just possible but obligatory in Teutonic circles.

No wonder, either, that by contrast in the understated world of hints and irony inhabited by the British, titles are regarded as rather pompous and self-promoting.  Most German managers have a doctorate in something, and bear it proudly like a blazon; in the United Kingdom only academics ever bother brandishing them, and even then there is always a suggestion of a desperate - and forlorn - bid for respect.

Ironically the one title that is universally acknowledged in Britain is the medical doctor.  Ironic because it remains a courtesy title, used without justification, unlike the official but almost universally ignored doctorate of the PhD.  And there is another such curiosity within the medical profession.  Once someone becomes a Fellow of the College of Surgeons, he or she is entitled - as a privilege - to be addressed henceforth not as Dr, but Mr, or any of its feminine equivalents. 

Nor is this the only example of the Briton's love of a subtle rhythm in the ebb and flow of honorifics.  At one level they can be used to indicate degrees of recognition.  Referring in a conversation with a third party to 'Smith' on its own would suggest - if no value judgements were involved - that the name is more or less unknown to the speaker and possibly the audience too.  'Mrs Smith', on the other hand, implies a recognition by at least one of the parties.  Beyond this lies 'Smith' - pronounced very slightly differently - who is somebody famous, or at least a woman known to all concerned, and needing no further introduction.

When recognition is not an issue, there is another set of many-layered niceties in the play among 'Smith', 'Mr Smith' and the first name - John, say - which are indicative of the speaker's opinion of that person. So, for example, in the mouth of a Briton, nothing could be more scathing than the heavily emphasised 'Mr' of 'Mr Smith'.  In comparison, 'Smith', is almost studiedly neutral. 'Mr Smith' - spoken without acerbity - represents a more respectful salutation, while 'John' implies familiarity, a friend or colleague.  Then comes 'Smith', as in 'I saw Smith today' – a jocular and affectionate way of describing a good friend, or a close colleague.  Beyond these lie impossibly subtle gradations and alternations of all three, used by only the most intimate of family, friends and lovers.  But we are not, of course, entitled to discuss them here.
 
(26.12.91)

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