Address and Title

[Michael Morris]

"To whom you speak to affects how you speak." - Laws of Etiquette.

The elaborate formality that pervades a Telzoan's world seeps into their language. Words which we find odd or archaic are in everyday use in Telzoa. Since not all players will be familiar with these words (especially if English is one's second language) these words and their proper use is hereby explained to some detail.

• Thee, Thou and Thy: These three words are the archaic informal tense of the second person, the formal tense being the more familiar you and your. Specifically, Thou is the informal first person subject-pronoun, it will only rarely be seen in the object position, and even then that is a grammatical error. Thy is the informal second person possessive, and corresponds to your. Finally, thee is the informal second person objective, and it will never be seen in the subject position (as it is too easily confused with the article the ).
• Your Majesty: This address is reserved for the king alone.
• Your Grace: This address is properly used only to address High Priests, although occasionally it is used to address Dukes.
• Your Highness: Used to address Dukes and Duchesses.
• Your Eminence: This address is used for counts, barons.
• Your Excellency: An acceptable address for counts and barons, this address is more commonly used for high-ranking priests.
• Your Honour: A title used to address appointed officials of the nobility, most often judges.
• M' Lord / M' Lady: Used to address landed nobles of less than baron stature. Also used by higher ranking commoners to address any noble short of the king if the two have a long standing relationship.
• Sir / Madame: This title is used to address any landless noble, and also to address equals and superiors not of noble rank.
• Sirrah: This diminutive title is used to address inferiors. The nobles use it infrequently at best and its use by one commoner addressing another will probably provoke a quarrel and possibly a fight.
• Master / Mistress: An address of someone of superior rank to your own who is not of noble rank. Mistress does not carry the illicit sexual connotations in Telzoan society that it does in our own.
• Mister / Misses: An address of anyone married. Rarely used.
• Master / Miss: An address of anyone unmarried. Miss is used far more frequently than Master, the latter of which is falling out of use in this context.
• Enlai: From the Liternanin for "Enlightened," this term is used for any lower ranking priest.
• Magi: Used to address a wizard. Note that wizards rarely use this term themselves. Sometimes the address is used for an old or exceptionally well-versed scholar regardless of their magical talent (or lack thereof).