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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I read with interest
Dr./Mr./Prof. Rumsey<SPAN class=796102816-21072003>'s </SPAN>account of forms of
address at the U. of Chicago<SPAN class=796102816-21072003> as well as Laura
Miller's, Hal Schiffman's and Peter Patrick's comments</SPAN>. I think that
there is another interesting dimension <SPAN
class=796102816-21072003>o</SPAN>f the usage described<SPAN
class=796102816-21072003> (this is also suggested by Peter)</SPAN>. At the same
time as reciprocal TLN may have been indexing shared membership in a community
of high-powered scholars (downplaying internal status hierarchy) it surely also
served to differentiate that community from other academic communities that used
the (normative) Dr. or Professor. The choice of less hierarchy-laden terms
act<SPAN class=796102816-21072003>ed</SPAN> as a powerful assertion of high
status in the broader field of American Universities precisely by downplaying
the need for display of power. That is, only the professionally insecure (and
second-rate) would need to hear their professorial titles. </P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN class=796102816-21072003>I
concur with Laura's comment on "Mrs." used with female academics. My sense
is, though I have no real evidence to back this up, that in an institution where
the use of "Dr." is the norm, students are more likely to use "Mrs." with women
than they are to use "Mr." with men. </SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Arial><FONT
size=2>Alexandra Jaffe<SPAN
class=796102816-21072003> </SPAN></FONT></FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial
size=2>Department of Linguistics</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>California
State, Long Beach</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>1250 Bellflower
Boulevard</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>Long Beach, CA 90840
</FONT></P></DIV>
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