Yes, I'd be willing to bet it originated in the South--the same place where
young children are taught by their parents to call the parents' closest
friends "Aunt [FIRST NAME]" and "Uncle [FIRST NAME]."
I'm not kidding. The added familiarity suggests fondness and great respect.
Nancy L. Tuten, PhD
Professor of English
Director of the Writing-across-the-Curriculum Program
Columbia College
Columbia, South Carolina
[log in to unmask]
803-786-3706
-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of April Fitz
Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2007 3:52 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Mr. + first name
I think you are overanalyzing a bit as far as what this usage means. It is
neither a "dig" nor a "guise of respect". Mr./Mrs. plus last name is too
formal; first name only is too familiar, especially with older people. It is
simply respect. Personally, I don't like it when parents instruct their
children to call me "Miss" April. When I tell the children that it's OK call
me by my first name, the children always say "I was taught to say that; I
was taught that shows respect." Well, I hate it. It sounds like the way
children are taught to address really old people, and I'm not really old by
a long shot.
My guess about the origin would be the south.
April Fitz
Master's student
Georgia State University
>
> From: "Katz, Seth" <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 2007/05/31 Thu PM 02:55:52 EDT
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Mr. + first name
>
> I was wondering if any of you have observed this particular usage, and if
you might know anything about its origins and distribution.
>
> One of my students, named Nate Smith, works at his father's business and
has observed that African American workers in the business refer to him as
"Mr. Nate" and refer to his father as "Mr. Mike." Nate has observed the
same usage among his African American co-workers in a campus cafeteria
kitchen--where he is not the boss's son, but a fellow dishwasher.
>
> On brief reflection, I realized that this usage appears in a number of
contexts: the care-providers in child-care facilities are often referred to
by the children as Mr. or Ms. + first name. The staff in the pediatrician's
office does the same thing: it's "Dr. Lori," not "Dr. + last name" (though
sometimes they just refer to the physician as "Doctor"; I've heard the same
with Catholic priests being referred to as "Father," though I've also heard
them referred to by Father + first name). In some congregations, I have
heard the clergy person called Rabbi Sam (instead of Rabbi Schwartz) or
Pastor Tom (instead of Pastor Eckhart). Then there are nationally syndicated
figures like Dr. Laura and Dr. Phil.
>
> Does anyone know the origin of this usage--honorific + first name? Does it
originate in Black English? I'm thinking of "Mistah Charlie," for example,
as a generic reference to the boss(es) or White men with power. In the odd
mix of intimacy (first name use) and distance (honorific), might I detect
some derisive irony--an opportunity to get in a dig (by being overly
familiar) while maintaining the guise of respect (by using the honorific)?
If derision was implied in its origin, my sense is that that feature has
been lost as the usage has spread: that it has become a sort of 'cutism' to
make figures of authority (physicians, clergy, employers) seem more
approachable.
>
> I myself find the usage grating for the most part, though it is cute when
my 4-year-old neighbor calls me "Mr. Seth" and I call him "Mr. John."
>
> Any information or opinions would be welcome.
>
> Seth
>
> Dr. Seth Katz
> Assistant Professor | Faculty Advisor
> Department of English | Bradley University Hillel
> Bradley University |
>
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