How names are treated and what is considered an appropriate form of address can vary greatly from one language to another and even within a single language. The UOC offers the following guidelines for English.
In running text, do not combine the use of a title with a person's first name or initial. Instead, use the person's full name on first mention without a title and use Mr or Ms followed by only the surname thereafter. Examples:
First mention: Noam Chomsky [not Professor Noam Chomsky]
Subsequent mentions: Professor Chomsky
Use Ms when referring to a woman, unless you are sure that she prefers otherwise. This is because Mrs refers to a married woman and could thus be construed as presumptuous, while Miss has traditionally been used for young, unmarried women and could thus sound condescending. In contrast, Ms denotes neither a specific age range nor a specific marital status and is thus acceptable in all contexts except where another title is explicitly preferred.
When choosing between Ms and Mr in conjunction with an unfamiliar foreign name, make sure that you are certain of the gender of the person in question.
Finally, when mentioning both a man and a woman in a single text, be sure to use the same treatment with regard to forms of address for both. Example:
Mr Kent and Ms Lane [not Mr Kent and Lois Lane]
For more detailed information on gender and language, see the Gender section.
In most cases, maintain the title Dr when it is used in the source language, even if it refers to a doctor of something other than medicine. Remember, unlike in Catalan, in English the same title is used whether the person in question is man or a woman. Examples:
Dra Garcés Dr Garcés
Dr Armayones Dr Armayones
The same is true of many other gendered titles in Catalan:
rector/rectora Rector
professor/professora Professor
As an exception to maintaining the title Dr, for appropriate recognition of a person's (higher) academic rank, use Professor (or Prof.) if they are a full professor.
Avoid foreign titles that are not customary in English (e.g. Dipl.-Ing. (from the German Diplom-Ingenieur) or Ir. (from the French Ingénieur)), replacing them with Mr or Ms, where necessary.
Honorifics are used less frequently in English than in Catalan and can usually be safely omitted in translations. Compare, for instance, the following references to the mayor of Barcelona, as they might be used in the programme for a conference:
Excel·lentíssima senyora Ada Colau, alcaldessa de Barcelona
Ms Ada Colau, mayor of Barcelona
Common exceptions to this rule include the use of honorifics with royalty and certain high-ranking judiciary, political and religious figures, particularly in formal and/or ceremonious contexts. In most other contexts, especially with regard to political figures, a simple Ms or Mr will suffice. Examples:
Her Majesty the Queen
the Honourable Judge Baltasar Garzón
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
On rare occasions, and only when strictly requested by the Office of the Rector, the UOC's rector should be referred to as Her/His Excellency. For example, where so instructed, the following phrasing might be used on the programme for a formal institutional event:
Opening remarks by Her Excellency Àngels Fitó, rector of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC)
