Italian titles
Are you a doctor, a lawyer or a knight?
Italy is one of the few Western countries that has strange titles in front of people’s names.
To be a Doctor in Italy, it does not only mean to have a degree in medicine. Whoever has a degree, achieved after long years of University (at least five years) can be addressed as Dottore – from to be Dotto, which means to be erudite.
The title doctor is generously given to anybody in Italy that goes to work with suit and tie, because it is assumed they have a degree or a diploma in something (economy, medicine, physic), to be a white collar with a clean and envied job.
Higher social class Italians, worthy of special attributes of importance and respect, are generally addressed as presidents. Once this title was only use for high honorary state appointments (President of the Republic, of the Senate or of the Lower Chamber), but now this use has been incredibly extended. Any chairman of a small company or organisation, even of a local fishermen association, will be called President Y for the rest of his life.
Similar for secondary school teachers, who love to be addressed as Professors, and the editors of newspapers, who will always be called Direttori at work or outside, but especially if the journalists want to keep their job.
Italy is one of the few countries who has a knight for prime minister. Italian new premier, Silvio Berlusconi, is known as “Il Cavaliere” (=the Knight). The state bestowed this honour (Cavaliere del Lavoro) on him for his great achievements as an entrepreneur in 1977, together with Mr Gianni Agnelli, who amongst his several work appointments boosts the title of Presidente (of Fiat and Ferrari) and Senatore. But in Italy, Mr Gianni Agnelli is known as the Avvocato (=the Lawyer) with the capital “A”. (All the other Italian lawyers are avvocato with a small “a”). Addressing him as Signor Gianni Agnelli is as unpopular as offensive.
These are unwritten rules which change with the passing of years, trends and with the change of the Italian language.
Italian waiters or parking place attendants, in the hope of a good tip, do not call you Signore, but Dottore, Ingegniere or Commendatore and they address you with the polite “Lei or Voi” forms. They try to guess your status or job by the way you dress or by the brand of car you drive.
If you dress casual or have a small car (maybe a Fiat), they will use the “you” form, which is supposed to be colloquial and friendly, but it is found very degrading.
Nobility started to be unpopular in 1922 with a Royal decree, when Italy was still a monarchy. Since then, nobody could be appointed earl or baron any longer, but the King of Italy obviously refused to completely abolish the costume, by leaving the titles obtained before such a date.
With the end of the WW2 and the Royal family running off, nobility was not any longer popular in Italy. Ever since noble titles before family names started to be a rare thing.
But until today, the state has not stopped the use of appointing a few knights or commanders every year, for the honourable achievements of skilled entrepreneurs, scientists and bankers.
It was, and still is, the real revenge of the Italian middle class who started to bear their own titles. The need to be distinguished from the populace or the working class (in Italy there no such a thing as lower class) was so strong that entrepreneurs, landowners and rich tradesmen started to put a prefix in front of their name.
Most of the time, these people had also an education, which was a rarity in a country of illiterates; as Italy was until a few years ago. Since then, prefix such as Dottore (doctor), Ingegnere (engineer), Ragioniere (accountant) started to appear before names at the end of letters, on business cards and in telephone directories.
Addressing a person you don’t know, has been always quite tricky in Italy, because of the confusing social etiquette and the changing costume.
A women can be a Signora (Mrs) or a Signorina (Miss), depends on her age and on her marital status. But mistake are commons. In Italy there is not Ms. Sometimes 50 something single women prefer to be cold Signorine, or vice versa. How to know?
The French have a similar problem with “Madame” and “Mademoiselle”, but they address all the men with “Monsieur”, or a capital “M” if in writing.
The English have solved both these two sex problem with Sir and Ms, and everybody is addressed with “you”.
Isn’t this more democratic?
Italians, stop to show off your status.