Quote:
Originally Posted by Steven Lake
Well, yes, it may be wrong in the British ear, but not in America. That's because in America, addressing someone by their formal rank and/or title is an expression of respect. So in our eyes it would have actually been rude and disrespectful of his position as Prime Minister to address him simply as "Mr. Cameron." And believe me, if he'd done that, people would have eaten him alive in the press. That's one of those imaginary lines of etiquette we've dictate as a culture that people do not cross, save in certain situations of familiarity. (IE, knowing someone well enough to be on a first name basis in private.)
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Oh yes, it wasn't a criticism, just an example of a cultural difference, and something it would be very easy for an author to inadvertantly get wrong.
Mr. Cameron would normally be addressed as "Prime Minister", just as you'd address Mr. Obama as "Mr. President", but when talking
about him we'd say "The Prime Minister did such-and-such", or even "The Prime Minister, David Cameron, did such-and-such", but never "Prime Minister Cameron did such-and-such"; the job title is not a "rank" and is never appended to someone's name in the way that in the US titles like "President" or "Senator" are.
It's that sort of little detail that's all too easy for someone from a different culture to get wrong in a book. Kudos to you for checking that your conversation does sound "natural" - all too many authors don't bother. I read an interview with an author recently who said "I never do any research for my books", and I was disappointed that an author would take that attitude.