VOA慢速英语2020--Hello, Teacher!

This week, we received a question from Agnaldo, a teacher in Brazil. He asks,

Question:

I've seen recently that we shouldn't call a teacher "Teacher." We should call him or her by their name. Is that true? Why? Is it the same for professors? -- Agnaldo, Brazil.

Answer:

Dear Agnaldo,

This is a great question. I have taught in many countries where the common practice is for students to call me Teacher. It always sounded a little strange to me. Most Americans do not use Teacher to address a teacher in English. Sometimes Americans do use titles this way, however. For example, they might address a medical doctor as simply Doctor, a religious leader as Reverend or a judge, as Your Honor.

What should I call my teacher?

So, how should students address their teacher?

Most American teachers of children are addressed using the honorifics Miss, Mizz, Missus or Mister, with their family or last name. The last three are shortened¹ in writing to Ms., Mrs. and Mr. The honorific Miss does not have a shortened version.

At the beginning of a school term, a teacher should tell students how to address her or him.

Suppose the teacher's name is Elissa Brown. She most likely will tell her students to call her Ms. Brown.

For men, Mr. is used.

The honorifics Miss and Mrs. identify if a woman is unmarried or married. These terms are less common in the modern world as they provide unnecessary, personal information. There is no English honorific that communicates if a man is married or single.

Colleges and universities

You also asked about professors. Generally, they also choose how they want to be addressed. It is not unusual for a professor to be addressed as Professor, however, especially in the learning setting. Here is an example sentence:

Professor, what is the difference between Mr. and Ms.?

Most university professors in America hold doctoral degrees and many of them use the title of Doctor.

Why not say "teacher?"

The second part of your question was about why "Teacher" is not a good name to call your teacher. In many cultures, using the word "Teacher" shows great respect. But for many American teachers, including me, "Teacher" is an impersonal² term.

The good news is teachers of English as a second language expect cultural differences between themselves and their students. We understand our students are trying to show respect when they address us.

That's Ask a Teacher for this week.

Your questions

What questions do you have about English? Send us an email at [email protected].

I'm Jill Robbins.

Words in This Story

practice – n. something that is done often or regularly

address – v. to use a specified³ name or title when speaking or writing to (someone)

honorific – n. word that is in a class of grammatical⁴ forms used in speaking to or about a social superior

impersonal – adj. having or showing no interest in individual people or their feelings : lacking emotional warmth

1 shortened   

v.弄短，缩短( shorten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shortened the skirt by an inch. 她把裙子缩短了一英寸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Vacations have lengthened and the work week has shortened. 假期延长，工作周就缩短了。 来自辞典例句

2 impersonal   

adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的

参考例句：

• Even his children found him strangely distant and impersonal.他的孩子们也认为他跟其他人很疏远，没有人情味。
• His manner seemed rather stiff and impersonal.他的态度似乎很生硬冷淡。

3 specified   

adj.特定的

参考例句：

• The architect specified oak for the wood trim. 那位建筑师指定用橡木做木饰条。
• It is generated by some specified means. 这是由某些未加说明的方法产生的。

4 grammatical   

adj.语法的，符合语法规则的

参考例句：

• His composition is excellent except for some grammatical mistakes.他的作文写得很好，只有几处语法错误。
• He can barely form a grammatical sentence.他几乎造不出合乎语法的句子。