Don't call me Liz, BITCH.
Possible

political_wank? I'm posting it here, since the "politics" are largely incidental. So-and-so asks Jim McDermott's secretary for an audience, and addresses her poorly ('Liz' rather than 'Elizabeth'). HOLY SHIT, you did not just go there!

A few weeks ago, the assistant e-mailed Becton seeking a meeting with McDermott and a client, JPMorgan Chase. Days later, the assistant checked back in and unfortunately began the e-mail with “Hi Liz.”

Becton curtly replied, “Who is Liz?”

When the assistant wrote back with an apology, Becton turned up the heat. “I do not go by Liz. Where did you get your information?” she asked.

The back-and-forth went on for 19 e-mails, with the assistant apologizing six times if she had “offended” Becton, while Becton lectured about name-calling.

Please, please check out the email exchange hosted on Politico.

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honorh
2009-06-18 11:58 am UTC (link)

Much easier in Japan, too. "-san" is a gender-neutral honorific and is pretty much safe in all situations. If you know the person is a doctor, teacher or Christian clergy (not sure about other religious personnel), you attach "-sensei" to the family name. If you want to be really formal, you can address the other as "-sama"

I suppose the equivalent of using a nickname would be attaching "-kun" for adult men or "-chan" for adult women whom you don't know well. Those are used with children or affectionately among friends.

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	jaseroque 2009-06-18 04:06 pm UTC (link)
	Or calling them by their first name rather than their last name, perhaps. Japanese name politics are all a bit complicated. =_= (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	ayezur 2009-06-18 05:24 pm UTC (link)
	'lastname-san' unless and until told otherwise is how I got along. But I had leeway in that I was American and not expected to know otherwise. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	jaseroque 2009-06-18 05:28 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah, I basically go with calling people by the name I'm introduced to them as, or defaulting to lastname-san. (Reply to this)(Parent)

honorh
2009-06-19 01:48 pm UTC (link)

You're not joking. In the teachers' rooms at the schools I work at, even among the teachers who have worked together for years and are friends, they address each other by "-sensei" after the given name or family name. (I use "family name" and "given name" because Japanese names are in reverse order from Western names--"Familyname Givenname" as opposed to "Givenname Familyname.") "Given name-sensei" is less formal, in a very Japanese way. It's a habit I've picked up. I have to admit I like being called "Katie-sensei."

Another bit of Japanese-ness: you never refer to yourself as sensei. When telling someone what you do, if you're a teacher, you use the term kyoshi (eigo no kyoshi in my case--English teacher). Sensei is an honorific along with a job description, and among the Japanese, you just don't claim any honor for yourself. You let others honor you.

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	beachlass 2009-06-18 06:12 pm UTC (link)
	Christian clery have a sensei honorific? That just made my day. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	honorh 2009-06-19 01:37 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah, my little Protestant congregation calls our pastor Yanagiya-sensei or, more familiarly, Yuusuke-sensei. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	lirazel 2009-06-19 03:38 pm UTC (link)
	Makes more sense than the "brother" and "sister" appellations commonly used amongst Protestants in my part of the U.S. would. I can't imagine calling my pastor "Wilson-oniisama." (Reply to this)(Parent)

	dragonfangirl 2009-06-21 08:07 am UTC (link)
	In some ways I was very grateful for my position at the bottom of the pecking order. because I could just address everyone at my workplace as "sensei" indiscriminately -- even if I didn't know their names, which I often didn't. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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