Hi everyone! My name's Arnel, and today, let's learn about names and titles in English. We have Mr,
Mrs, Ms, Miss, Madam, Ma'am and Sir. It's good to know all of these to increase your vocabulary,
but there's also a cultural difference between American English and British English.
You know this topic, titles, is actually the number one performing post on my blog!
So after this lesson go over to my blog and check it out. I'll leave the link down below for you.
I have two names: John Franklin Jones for a man. And Kate Rebecca Miller for a woman. First name.
Middle name. Last name.
Your first name can also be called your given name. Normally we say first name but sometimes
on a formal document, like a visa application, you might see the word given - given name. A person's
middle name isn't really used. Again, it's something you'll see on paper. Your last name can also be
your family name, or your surname. Three options. All of your names together is called your full name.
What's your name? Hazel. What's your full name? Hazel Grace Lancaster. So, what's your full name.
JFJ. KRM. These are your initials, initials. It's like the writer of Harry Potter.
On all of her books you'll see her first two initials: J K and then her last name,
Rowling. I'm curious, in your country how many names does a person typically have?
On a form, you might see this: Please initial here, or initials here. We have the verb
and the noun. So on a form, you will usually see: first name, last name. Maybe
middle name. And then here: Title. Your drop down options are: Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms or Doctor (Dr).
So, why do we have titles? We use a person's title plus their full name or their last
name, to show respect and be polite. A person's title often depends on their marital status.
A marital status means: are you single?
Married? Divorced? Or widowed? If a person is widowed it means their husband or wife has died.
Why is it important if someone is married? We'll get to that later.
Okay, you can see we have more titles for women than men. Mrs, Mrs Jones. When we use Mrs, it's clear
the woman is married. Traditionally a woman takes her husband's last name.
For example, if she was Kate Rebecca Miller, after marriage she becomes: Kate Rebecca
Jones. A woman's original last name is called her maiden name. This is
important because, again, if you're filling out a form you might see: maiden name.
An ice-cream truck! What does ice-cream have to do with today's lesson? One, everybody loves ice-
cream. Two, the modifier ice-cream has a hyphen. That little line between two words is called
a hyphen. Some people have a hyphenated last name. Hyphenated is the adjective.
So, if a woman doesn't want to change her name, she can: a) Not change her name. Or, b) She
might choose to have a hyphenated last name. She could become: Kate Rebecca Miller-Jones.
In your country are hyphenated last names common?
Miss, Miss Jones. When we use Miss we're usually referring to a young unmarried woman.
Miss Robbins can help you if you have any questions.
Right, about a minute ago I said...
Why is it important if someone is married?
If a person's marital status is not important, or unknown, we use Ms, Ms Jones.
Ms is the equivalent of Mr for men, the marital status is unknown, unimportant.
So if you're not sure what title to use for a woman, use Ms. You can't go wrong.
Last title here, Dr (Doctor). We can call someone Dr if they are a medical doctor, or if someone has
completed their PHD. Both of them can be referred to as Dr Jones. Let's compare the pronunciation
of these three words because they're so similar. Okay. Mrs, Mrs sounds like kisses. Mrs, Mrs, misses.
Miss sounds like the name, Chris. Miss, Miss, Miss.
Ms. Notice that z, z sound. Ms, sounds like his. Ms, Ms, Ms.
Okay, I have two columns. Do you notice any differences? Anything really small?
Right, generally in American punctuation you'll see
a period after the title. That doesn't really happen with British punctuation.
You'll also notice Miss doesn't have a period. Normally it never needs a period, confusing I know.
Friends and family, colleagues and customers, and clients.
It's clear we do not need to use a title with friends and family.
Colleagues. Nowadays, it's common for people to be on a first name basis at work.
If you are on a first name basis, this means you just call each other by your first name.
I've known Mr. Pennington for three years, but we are not on a first name basis.
I still call him Mr. Pennington. But how do you address your boss? Or what if you have an
interview? It depends on the company, it's always good to first address someone using their title
and last name. Normally that other person will just say: call me... and their first name. I don't know
how you did it dressed as a garbage man but you really pulled it off in there. Thank you very much
Mr. Twistle. Hey, now you can call me Jay. All right, we'll talk to you soon. Serving a customer or a
client - what's the difference between customer and client? A customer is someone who buys a product,
a client is someone who buys a service. Customers buy clothes, groceries, makeup et cetera. Clients buy
legal services, architectural services, accounting services etc... Have a wonderful day Ms Nicholson.
I hope to see you soon Mr. Howard. But in kind of more casual places like at Starbucks,
the first name is used, isn't it? If you go to Starbucks the person serving you will write
your name on your cup, which is a nice personal touch. When I go to Starbucks I just say my name is
Anne, because if I say Arnel they don't know what I'm saying.
Sir. Madam. Ma'am. Sir is for men. Madam and Ma'am are for women.
Sometimes in the comments, people call me sir...
Okay. If you're writing a formal email or letter, you already know this beginning: Dear Sir or Madam.
That's very polite. Do you know the person you are writing? No. Are you being formal and polite?
Yes. But the word Madam isn't very common, especially in spoken English.
If you do hear madam it is old-fashioned, or unusual. Good afternoon class.
So this teacher's name is Madame Hooch. But remember, this is a fantasy story
about wizards, so it's definitely not common. If someone were to walk into an office and say:
Good morning Madame Jones. Oh, it's noticeable. It's really not used. Okay, let's go to the USA.
In the US, using Sir and Ma'am day to day is very common. Ma'am is a contracted form
of Madam, but nobody says Madam. Sir and Ma'am is used to be polite with someone you don't know.
Cashier to shopper: Have a wonderful day Ma'am! Someone you don't know on the street: Excuse me Sir,
are these bags yours? Or on the phone: Please call us back if you have any questions Ma'am.
And you can see if sir is not part of a title it's not capitalized sir and mam do not need to be
capitalized. Yes, in some parts of the US sir and mam are a lot more common. Like
in the south. But in any English-speaking country you go to, you'll hear what people use.
A lot of you call me ma'am in the comments.
I like ma'am, better than sir, but you can actually just call me Arnel.
In the UK, sir and ma'am is not common. You really wouldn't hear day to day.
You might hear ma'am in exceptionally formal situations like if you're speaking to the queen.
The party is about to start your majesty.
Happy Jubilee Ma'am. That's a really cute clip. Okay. Happy Jubilee Ma'am, and a Jubilee is a large
celebration. Happy Jubilee. Right, let's end this lesson with something fun. Do you have a nickname?
Or, did you have a nickname? A nickname is something fun you call your family members or friends.
So you know my name is Arnel. My big sister, I have one big sister, she calls me Arnellie.
And when I was in university, my nickname was Arnie. Some nicknames can be really fun like Big Dave,
or something completely random like Peanut. Do you have a nickname? In the comments below can
you give me any information about names and titles in your language and culture? I would
love to learn something new! Thank you so much for watching this lesson, I'll see you next time! Bye!