"Obsolete," but still in use

[Charles Doyle]

Wilson is right (as usual!); Southern white folks also could--and still CAN--refer to an adult woman, married or not, (and somewhat formally) as "Miss <given name>."

Also, it was normal Southernese to pronounce the honorific "Mrs." as /mIz/, thus--at a later point in history--conflating "Mrs." and "Ms."

--Charlie
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---- Original message ----
>Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2006 12:27:26 -0400
>From: Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
>Subject: "Obsolete," but still in use
>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>>
>On The People's Court, a twenty-ish black male defendant continually addresses or refers to the forty-ish black female plaintiff as "Miss Audrey" before immediately correcting himself to "Mizz Johnson," to such an extent that even the judge inadvertently says, "Miss Audrey, Mrs. Johnson." The courtroom environment probably interferes with the man''s use of the usual format. Both people are from Florida.
>
>I remember "Miss [woman's first name]" as the standard way of formally addressing or referring to a woman, whether black or white, down home in Texas. I think that this locution is / was also used by Southern whites, though not when speaking to or of black women, of course.
>
>-Wilson

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