Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/07/25
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On Sat, Jul 25, 2009 at 03:54:01PM -0700, Jerry Lehrer wrote: > I recall mentioning years ago that the appellation SE?ORITA should be > applied to unmarried Hispanic ladies only. Other use is incorrect, and > some think, demeaning, depending on their culture. I remember that, but I'm not sure if I replied with my objections... It is also properly applied to any unmarried lady by Hispanic people and those conversing with them. When I was young it was considered polite to assume that "younger" ladies were unmarried and "older" ladies were married. (That may be a carryover from the days that people remembered that se?ora literally means "old woman" and that being old was considered a most honorable condition.) "Se?or" is just the Spanish version of the Latin "senior", and the most honorable title in the Spanish language. It is the most proper title to use when addressing your king or God. It is certainly silly to address a young lady as "a little old woman", but that's the way the language developed. But in any case it is the very opposite of demeaning, and if people of some cultures think it is, it's due to their ignorance if not their arrogance. When Lluis refers to a young lady as "se?orita" he is just being polite. I have always seen other members' use of the Spanish word as making fun (affectionately) of Lluis rather than the young ladies. If anybody here has been using the word intending to demean the young ladies (rather than the photographs) I haven't seen it.