adventures in titles

[kaberett]

Things the Nationwide building society will happily offer me as a title include, but are not limited to: Admiral of the Fleet! Air Vice Marshal or Air Vice Marshall! Cavaliere! Contessa and Countess and Contessa De and Countess of! Dow Marchioness! Eur Ing!

Things Nationwide will not offer me as a title: Mx.

Honorific Nationwide is now using to address me, selected from their almost-but-not-quite-exhaustive list: Dom.

Comments

[kaberett]

yes I have written them a letter

[alexwlchan]

>.<

That's just a bit rubbish.

There are three living Admirals of the Fleet, at least in the UK Navy. One of them is Prince Charles, who I think is (1) unlikely to do his own banking and (2) would probably not pick that particular title.

[booksarelife]

This comment almost made me crack up loudly in the quiet room of my college dining hall

[alexseanchai]

HEEEEEEEEE

[kaberett]

<3

[cosmolinguist]

"de" and "of"?!

[legionseagle]

I wonder if they also offered "di". They seem to be assuming a lot of people with titles from countries where titles were formally abolished decades if not centuries ago are going to bank with Nationwide.

[cosmolinguist]

Yeah I saw your comment below. Nineteen ten, sheesh.

[kaberett]

I have copied out the full list for your amusement!

[kaberett]

THAT IS NOT ALL, SAID THE CAT IN THE HAT.

(full list)

[cosmolinguist]

Fireman AND Firewoman?!?!

And heaven forbid they only have "His Hon. Judge" when you want to be "His Honour Judge"!

[legionseagle]

The proper legal abbrevation is H.H.Judge ..... anyway, because the H.H. can conveniently stand for "Her Honour...".

[sebenikela]

oh for fuck's sake

(i am still slightly gleeful that "Dr." is a gender-neutral title)

[serpentrose]

Ah, yes, which is part of the reason why my sister was, briefly, a Dr. according to the UofT database.

[kaberett]

ngl this was one of my major motivators for Not Quitting The PhD even though I've now spent so long over it that Mx is fairly widely recognised

[sebenikela]

:D <3

[mair_in_grenderich]

At least in the UK. I was happy to see "Herr Doktor" and "Frau Doktor" on the list of options for the last German company I wanted to contact. They also offered "Divers" (~ "other", not scuba), but I don't know what you would do if you wanted to be a Divers Doktor.

[sporky_rat]

I'm not sure I have the ability but to do what my icon says.

(Dom. Well. Soon Doctor Kab will be a thing?)

[kaberett]

SOOOOOOOON

[passingbuzzards]

is this like . . . as in "dominus"? as in the latin term that evolved into "don"?? so many questions

[legionseagle]

Yup. Portuguese nobility (which was apparently abolished in 1910.)

[tree_and_leaf]

It's also the title used for Benedictine abbots, which is still in use, in this country even, although if they have personal bank accounts I also have questions....

[kaberett]

I have chosen to wilfully misinterpret it as "dominus/domina/dominum", and therefore THE TRUE GENDER-NEUTRAL (while also Funny)

[booksarelife]

That’s very rubbish!! I’m also filled with questions about “Dom”. What is the Nationwide building society?

[cosmolinguist]

A building society is like a bank. Maybe more like a credit union. Nationwide is just the name of one of them.

[booksarelife]

Oh interesting!

[lunabee34]

What? No Supreme Ruler of the Cosmos?

[kaberett]

full list for your amusement!

[lunabee34]

Oh, my.

*boggles*

[alexseanchai]

*snort*

*snicker*

[mathemagicalschema]

+1

[cesy]

And some of the full list are not titles, and presumably they're also doing religious discrimination by not allowing people to have no title at all?

[highlyeccentric]

I mean. FAIR.

[sylvaine]

I mean. Under the circumstances, Dom is an EXCELLENT choice. :D? (I do wish the circumstances, you know, WEREN'T, though.)