Conventional Letter Salutations in English

Conventional Letter Salutations in English Conventional Letter Salutations in English Conventional Letter Salutations in English By Maeve Maddox A reader asks if a letter salutation can include more than one honorific. For example: Dear President Dr. Turner The short answer is, â€Å"not in English.†    The conventional letter salutations in English are these Dear Mr. Adams Dear Mr. and Mrs. Adams Dear Ms. Adams Dear Margaret Adams Dear Harry  (if you know the person well) Dear Dr. Adams Dear Dr. and Mrs. Adams When the name is unknown to the sender, the following are common salutations: To Whom It May Concern Dear Finance Officer Dear Editor Dear Sir or Madam The conventional English honorific for a man is  Mr. For a woman, even if her marital status is known, the preferred form is  Ms. For a medical doctor or a person with a PhD, the appropriate honorific is  Dr.    Note: British usage does not put a period after these abbreviations.    If the sender knows the recipient’s name but not the sex, a gender-neutral solution is to use the first and last name: Dear Cory Simpson Other languages have other conventions, including the practice of using more than one honorific. For example, in German, when addressing a professional like a doctor or a lawyer, a writer may use two honorifics: Sehr  geehrte  Frau  Rechtsanwltin  Fischer. (literally, â€Å"Very honored Madame Lawyer†)    Sehr  geehrter  Herr  Doktor  Strauss  (literally, â€Å"Very honored Mr. Doctor Strauss†) Foreign letter-writing conventions tend to creep into English in the context of foreign affairs. For example, I found the following usage on sites written in English: Dear President Dr.  Jakaya  Kikwete- Open letter to the president of Tanzania, published on the Greenpeace site.    Dear President Dr. Fischer- open letter to the president of Austria, published on the Human Rights Watch site. Such usage is not idiomatic in English. The writer must choose one title: Dear President Kikwete or Dear Dr. Kikwete Dear President Fischer, or Dear Dr. Fischer It’s up to the sender to decide which title is more desirable in the context. Related posts: How to Format a US Business Letter Starting a Business Letter with Dear Mr. â€Å"Dear Sir† and Other Business Conventions Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Idioms About Talking55 Boxing IdiomsStarting a Business Letter with Dear Mr.