| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Poll: I prefer that my clients call me by... Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Alison Sparks wrote: Maybe it's just an age thing, but I prefer the Mrs form in the first instance. It's only when a decent relationship has been built up that I am at ease with people using my first name. And I hate phone calls from people who immediately use my first name when I've never spoken to them or had contact with them before! 
But as long as nobody calls me Chris, I don't get too worked up about it. Life is too short.
Christine Andersen on the phone, or at least a suitable tone of voice. In fact once they have made sure they are talking to the right person, Danes hardly use names at all. They rarely call anyone Fru Andersen unless they are taking the mickey. But the wrong tone of voice can get my back up!
Many Danish clients use first names, but always give their full name at the end of the mail as well, and if the mail sounds sensible, the deadline is feasible and they pay on time, they can call me (almost) anything they like.
But I really like Germans who start the correspondence with
Sehr geehrte Frau Andersen
Danke sehr und freundlichen Grüss!
I love old-fashioned good manners. I should probably practise them more myself!
| | | | Patricia Charnet
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:23
Member (2009)
English to French
much easier to remember than my surname
I don't care as long as they keep sending more work!!!
| | | | Chun Un 
Macau
Member (2007)
English to Chinese
+ ...
| No preference at all | Jul 31, 2012 |
as long as it's my first name, family name or both. I don't like my name to be misspelled though. It's Chun, not Chan or Chon.
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 14:23
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| No preference | Jul 31, 2012 |
Upon first contact I always properly address the client and sign with my full name.
Thereafter, I simply go by the client's preference, and it suits me just fine to be addressed by my first name as it does being called Mrs....
However, I have noticed that in some country being called by one's first/given name is common practice, while in other countries one is being addre4ssed - and is expected to address - as Mr./Mrs./Ms. and last name.
I'm comfortable wi... See more Upon first contact I always properly address the client and sign with my full name.
Thereafter, I simply go by the client's preference, and it suits me just fine to be addressed by my first name as it does being called Mrs....
However, I have noticed that in some country being called by one's first/given name is common practice, while in other countries one is being addre4ssed - and is expected to address - as Mr./Mrs./Ms. and last name.
I'm comfortable with either way for as long as the work keeps on coming. ▲ Collapse
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Edward Potter
Spain
Local time: 14:23
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
John Cutler wrote:
I hate it when I receive an email from a first time client that goes something like this:
"Hey John, wassup man? Like we're looking for like a translator, dude. It’d be so cool if you could like, I mean, work with us dude..."
In my experience, companies or clients that start off being overly informal continue being informal in all their other practices, including payment!
LOL. This is one of my pet peeves about current U.S. culture. I am especially annoyed by "Susie the Waitress" who wants to be your best friend to the point of flirting, then becomes the worst type of gender-specific hound when you don't give enough tip.
A PM is more tolerable since they are offering you work, but still.
[Edited at 2012-07-31 15:06 GMT]
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[/quote]
LOL. This is one of my pet peeves about current U.S. culture. I am especially annoyed by "Susie the Waitress" who wants to be your best friend to the point of flirting, then becomes the worst type of gender-specific hound when you don't give enough tip.
A PM is more tolerable since they are offering you work, but still.
[Edited at 2012-07-31 15:06 GMT] [/quote]
I admit to having been a little disconcerted when waitresses openly... See more [/quote]
LOL. This is one of my pet peeves about current U.S. culture. I am especially annoyed by "Susie the Waitress" who wants to be your best friend to the point of flirting, then becomes the worst type of gender-specific hound when you don't give enough tip.
A PM is more tolerable since they are offering you work, but still.
[Edited at 2012-07-31 15:06 GMT] [/quote]
I admit to having been a little disconcerted when waitresses openly swept up to my table in a restaurant promising the assembled company she was ours for the evening. I thought folk got locked up for that sort of thing. Never recall the men at the table complaining, until it was a waiter saying the same thing! And yes, idem the split personality when no tip was left! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Simon Bruni
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:23
Member (2009)
Spanish to English
| Christian name vs. given name | Jul 31, 2012 |
lexical wrote:
What do you mean by "given name"? If you mean Christian name, why not say so?
I have a Christian name and a surname, nothing else.
Some people object to using a term that implies you were baptised, hence 'given name' and 'first name'. I would guess 'given name' comes from government organisations trying to be politically correct.
| | | | Oksana Weiss
Germany
Local time: 14:23
Member (2011)
English to Russian
+ ...
Susanna Martoni wrote:
Please do not call me Dear Translator
"Dear Vendor" is worse, if anything. Each time I see this in the e-mail I feel like babushka on the local market trying to sell some home-grown apples.
What about "Dear all", BTW?
[Edited at 2012-07-31 16:50 GMT]
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| Anything but not Mr. or Mister! | Jul 31, 2012 |
The fact that my name ends on an "O" brings about many confusions... and I have been called Mr. Barrientos more than once.
The instance that I recall with amusement is the one where some executives from India indicated they wanted to meet the lawyer (abogadO with an "o" at the end implying male) that translated a contract for them. I said tell them, the translator is a "she" and she is not a lawyer
Happy... See more The fact that my name ends on an "O" brings about many confusions... and I have been called Mr. Barrientos more than once.
The instance that I recall with amusement is the one where some executives from India indicated they wanted to meet the lawyer (abogadO with an "o" at the end implying male) that translated a contract for them. I said tell them, the translator is a "she" and she is not a lawyer
Happy translating!
Rocío ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 08:23
English to Spanish
+ ...
| Given name is more modern :) | Jul 31, 2012 |
Simon Bruni wrote: lexical wrote:
What do you mean by "given name"? If you mean Christian name, why not say so?
I have a Christian name and a surname, nothing else. Some people object to using a term that implies you were baptised, hence 'given name' and 'first name'. I would guess 'given name' comes from government organisations trying to be politically correct.
I don't think it has to do with political correctness at all. Here in America nobody uses the term 'Christian name.'
Plus, not everybody alive today is a Christian. What if Buddhists, Muslims or other faiths use a similar formula? Eeeexactly.
| | | | Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 08:23
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Speaking of waitresses... | Aug 1, 2012 |
Edward Potter wrote: John Cutler wrote:
I hate it when I receive an email from a first time client that goes something like this:
"Hey John, wassup man? Like we're looking for like a translator, dude. It’d be so cool if you could like, I mean, work with us dude..."
In my experience, companies or clients that start off being overly informal continue being informal in all their other practices, including payment!
LOL. This is one of my pet peeves about current U.S. culture. I am especially annoyed by "Susie the Waitress" who wants to be your best friend to the point of flirting, then becomes the worst type of gender-specific hound when you don't give enough tip. A PM is more tolerable since they are offering you work, but still. [Edited at 2012-07-31 15:06 GMT]
...what I really don't like is being addressed with "hun" (comes across as way too familiar, and also as condescending, at least in the northern US--it seems more common in the southern US).
| | | | | Given name, preferred by this old lady | Aug 1, 2012 |
I have lived in California for 19 years and anything else seems weird. That's what all my clients call me, even new ones, and even people from Europe, Australia, and Asia. The practice is here to stay. I like it, and I am *really* old.
By the way, as translators, we have no business getting into a discussion about the meaning of a term without looking it up.
Definition:
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name or Christian name, is a per... See more I have lived in California for 19 years and anything else seems weird. That's what all my clients call me, even new ones, and even people from Europe, Australia, and Asia. The practice is here to stay. I like it, and I am *really* old.
By the way, as translators, we have no business getting into a discussion about the meaning of a term without looking it up.
Definition:
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name or Christian name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name (surname). A given name is purposefully given, usually by a child's parents at or near birth, in contrast to an inherited one such as a family name.[1] A given name is sometimes legally changed through a name change.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Given_name ▲ Collapse
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| I prefer to be called... | Aug 1, 2012 |
Your Highness or Your Majesty.
| | | | Emin Arı
Türkiye
Local time: 15:23
English to Turkish
+ ...
| anything they wish | Aug 1, 2012 |
they can call me by anything they wish as long as they are proffesional in every aspect. "hey sitting bull long time no see, have time a translation?" or in an virtualized world they would call me "dear 176.12.45.67 we want to check your availability..." In the future why not?
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