Feature: Honorifics

[amedia]

An honorific, believe it or not, is not a fic written in someone's honor. It's a respectful term of address used for persons of rank. When you're writing in a universe in which people have rank, it helps to know how to describe and address them correctly - and incorrectly!

With examples from Star Wars, Narnia, Tin Man, Horatio Hornblower, quite a

Comments

[moon_raven2]

This is a small thing, but it bears remembering: If you happen to be writing some form of historical fiction/fantasy that takes place BEFORE the reign of Henry VIII, "Your Grace" is the title for royalty. It was Henry who changed the title to "Your Majesty," which most ppl thought was pretty frickin' arrogant of him.

Also, in France they have a very complex system of addressing the royal ladies. The shorter the title, the greater the honor...it's probably best to look that up and explore it on your own, because I always get it wrong. :)

Great article; form of address may seem like a small thing, but it makes a world of difference in adding authenticity and life to a story.

[amedia]

That's an awesome detail about "Your Grace"! Thank you!

it makes a world of difference in adding authenticity and life to a story.

Well said, well said.

[chorale]

Good article! Thanks! I can refer some of my local friend-writers here.

[amedia]

That's great to hear - thanks!

[campylobacter]

Great question, great answer! This entry's a wonderful resource for those sticky nuances of etiquette and protocol

[amedia]

You've raised some good issues - perhaps one of my fellow grammarians will want to follow up with another feature!

When I run into these terms in my own writing, I follow a general rule-of-thumb that ranks and other titles (e.g. colonel, doctor) are capitalized when they're part of someone's name or used to address someone, and not capitalized when they're not. I imagine, however, that there may be additional variations and exceptions.

When I see "Darling" capitalized I always think of Lady and the Tramp, where Lady thought her owners' names were actually "Jim Dear" and "Darling," because that's what they always called each other!