COURTESY OF TITLES

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 53, Issue 3813, 25 September 1936, Page 10

COURTESY OF TITLES

UNKNOWN IN GAELIC. Titles of address are unknown in Gaelic, and it has no equivalents for Mrs, Miss, M*r or Sir. In these later days we try to eke out this supposed deficiency by mintages which are somewhat wanting in taste and elegance, writes a contributor in the Weekly Scotsman. “Mrs” we try to represent by a phrase meaning “The Gentlewoman,” and “Miss” by a term meaning “Maiden” or “Virgin.” Both devices are decidedly clumsy, and should never be used by discerning speakers. “Mrs” John Macrae should be rendered, “Bean lain Mhic Rath” (John Macrae’s wife), as is done in nine cases out of ten except by those who incline to Gaelic finicalness. On the other hand, anything resembling “Miss” should be entirely omitted before the name of an unmarried woman, and “Miss” Margaret Mackay should be simply “Mairghread Nic Aoidh.” “Sir,” has no Gaelic counterpart, and should never be used except in its English form. “St” as a courtesy title is foreign to the genius of our Celtic tongue, and the translators of the New Testament ignored it completely in giving the names of the four Gospels. So also did the founders of St Columba Church, Glasgow, one of the oldest religious edifices named in Gaelic after a saint—they called it, and it is still known as “Eaglais Chaluim Chille.” Why, then, go out of our way to put “Naomh” as a sign post before such names as “St Andrew’s Hall” or “St Coval’s Crescent ? ” i These lines are not meant to be a

lesson in good form, but rather a warning that we are leaning either to pedantry or a slavish compliance with English usages. Let us ( leave “Mrs” and “Miss” alone, but I we can commandeer “Mr” if we like!