"Leader DeLay"??? What's up with that?

[Dennis R. Preston]

An old study (source forgotten) relates "Dr." and "Professor" titles
to prestige of institution. More prestige, less doctoring and
professoring.

dInIs

>Sounds like more and more people want that honorific.   I've heard of
>District Attorney Smith, but not Lawyer or Attorney Smith.  But my
>brother-in-law
>just told me that in the school his kids go to in Quakertown Pa (a Friends
>School) Their teachers are "Teacher Annie" and "Teacher Beth."    In Germany
>everyone loves a title--so if you're Professor Schmitt, then you're
>wife is Frau
>Professor Schmitt. Or the wife of that fellow mentioned earlier would be Frau
>Professor Doktor Doktor General Friedrick August Freiherr von der Heydt.
>My dissertation adviser didn't want to be addressed as Dr. or as Professor,
>but simply as Mr. which always reminds me of George Washington
>turning down the
>stupendous titles they were trying to foist on him, and settling simply for
>Mr. President.


--
Dennis R. Preston
University Distinguished Professor
Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic,
        Asian and African Languages
Wells Hall A-740
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1027 USA
Office: (517) 353-0740
Fax: (517) 432-2736