‘Madam is more appropriate’

Kathleen Butterly Nigro

How should President-elect Park Geun-hye be addressed in English?

An official from Park’s transition team said the nation’s first female president could be addressed as either Madam or Ms. The Foreign Ministry also confirmed there was no preference but pointed out that Ms. was used more frequently than madam in congratulatory cables from abroad with many addressing Park as “Her Excellency.”

To reduce confusion, The Korea Times checked with scholars, ambassadors and businesspeople. They agreed with the ministry but, when asked about appropriateness, given her position as the next head of state at age of 61 and unmarried, they unanimously said, “Madam.”

Diana Archangeli

“Madam is an honorary title and is appropriate to recognize her position in the government. Ms. might be as appropriate for her personally, but we are not talking about addressing her personally here,” said Kathleen Butterly Nigro, a gender studies professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. “The latter title carries social implications that are irrelevant.” In other words, the prestige of the position is what gets highlighted when Madam is used, not an individual’s personal traits.

According to Collins COBUILD Dictionary, “Madam is a very formal and polite way of addressing a woman whose name people do not know or who is of a superior rank.” The term used to be a common form of referring to a married woman but is now used as a title of respect.

“Ms. indicates a woman’s relationship to the larger patriarchal social order. The title is used to refer to a woman, one who is either married or unmarried but is reluctant to convey her status to a male,” said Zenzele Isoke, a gender studies professor at the University of Minnesota.

“Madam implies that the woman is powerful, self-possessed and self-determined in her own right, in spite of patriarchy, rather than because of it,” Isoke said.

Though Ms. may be accepted in many circumstances, it still is more appropriate to call Park by the more polite and formal term, Madam President, noted Roger W. Shuy, an emeritus professor of linguistics at the Georgetown University.

“Most other female leaders around the world are addressed as Madam President. We should use Madam, rather than Ms. to express respect toward Korea’s head of state,” said Nils-Arne Schroeder, general manager of the Conrad Hotel Seoul.

Jeffrey Jones, an international lawyer at the nation’s largest law firm Kim & Chang agreed, saying Ms. covers a wider range of people.

A single person can have a multiple titles. For example, U.S. President Barack Obama is also a father of two daughters and maybe a member of a social club. However, because there is a more proper and respectable title, using a less respectful one can show ignorance or intent to insult, another scholar noted.

“Speaking of Ms., there will be people who use this term out of ignorance, who are intending to be respectful. It is important to not assume an insult is intended,” Diana Archangeli, a linguistics professor at the University of Arizona, said. “I expect the U.S. Embassy in Seoul has guidelines on this usage as well.”

Canadian Ambassador to Korea David Chatterson agreed with this point, noting in Canada she will be referred to as Madam President Park Geun-hye.

If “Ms.” is accepted, “Miss” should be accepted as well for the incoming leader because she has never been married, thus the term is technically correct but inappropriate.

In French, “Madame” is a term for married women, while “Mademoiselle” is for unmarried women but the government is trying to change this practice by instructing offices to use “Madame” regardless of marital status. <The Korea Times/Jung Min-ho>