Quote:
Originally Posted by NutBrnHair
I think you use "Ms." for all if you don't know their marital status.
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by ThetaDancer
Ahhh ok thanks! I have to admit that I never quite knew the proper use.
|
I would say the proper use is more that one uses Miss, Mrs. or Ms. depending on the preference of the woman in question. Using Ms. is usually a safe bet if one doesn't know whether the woman in question is married, and Ms. is almost universal in business situations now, but I know plenty of women -- married and unmarried -- who do not like being addressed as Ms. (As I said earlier, though, in many parts of the South, it's not really much of a difference when spoken, since Mrs. is usually pronounced
miz.)
I do, though, think it is very odd to use Ms. for someone who lived before the word was even coined. I was wrong, though, when I said that it was coined in the 1960s or 70s. I checked, and apparently it dates back to the early 1950s, although it was not popularized until the 70s.
Threaded Mode
