Only some Title s are honorifics. For example, it is customary to address people holding those positions as Alderman , Chairperson , or General Secretary ; but these titles are not honorific. Other titles, such as Ma'am , Doctor , or Lord — and sometimes also Ms. or Professor —are both titles and honorifics. As a rough guide, an honorific can often stand alone or be prefixed to another title (such as Mr. Mayor , Madam President , or Rabbi ) as terms of address, without an attached surname.
A certain class of honorifics are known as Styles . Styles are generally accompanied by a pronoun or article, pertain to holders of Royal , religious, or political positions, and contain a descriptive term. The description attached within a style is of an attribute the holder of the style is purported to have. For example, "the Right Honorable John Smith" or "His Holiness Pope John XXVI." Styles are generally not thought of as titles.
- s, the AP advises ''Pope John XXVI'' on first reference and ''John XXVI'', ''Pope John'', ''the pope'', or ''the pontiff'' on later references. For titles of nobility, the stylebook notes that "references to members of the notability in nations that have a system of rank present special problems because nobles frequently are known by their titles rather than their given names. Their titles, in effect, become their names." In general, AP prefers to follow their general guidelines, but uses the titles "Lord," "Lady," and "Dame." AP never uses styles except in direct quotes.
- United Press International :
- Reuters :
- '', with ''the queen'' or ''Elizabeth II'' used on later references. Curiously, upon his death, Pol Pot was referred to as "Mr. Pol Pot," although this changed to "Pol Pot" approximately two weeks later. The reason given by an editor was that for the "reknown" (e.g., Stalin, Lenin), no need for a courtesy title was deemed necessary.
- '' The Wall Street Journal '':
- '' The Times '':
- '' The Guardian '':
- '' The Los Angeles Times '':
- '' The Globe And Mail '':
- '' USA Today '':
- Nobelprize.org . Style/honorific used in the biography of the Nobel Laureate the Dalai Lama . But no honorific used of (The Honorable) Jimmy Carter, (The Rev. Dr.) Martin Luther King, Jr., (The Rev. Archbishop) Desmond Mpilo Tutu [http://nobelprize.org/search/all_laureates_c.html].
- . One of the most, if not the most important newspapers in Scotland. E.g. Prince Charles styled in but not in [http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=508842005 or [http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=946142004]. Styles in small minority of articles where potentially applicable. cf [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=%22the+queen%22+site%3Anews.scotsman.com&btnG=Search] and [http://www.google.com/search?q=%22her+majesty%22+site:news.scotsman.com&hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&safe=off&start=10&sa=N]. Notice that in both searches roughly half of the hits on first two pages are not applicable to this discussion.
- , 3rd edition: Not used for Queen Elizabeth (I or II), John F. Kennedy, Pope Benedict (XIV or XV); looked no further.
- , First Prentice Hall Edition (based on 9th edition of Hutchkinson' Encyclopedia): ''Styles'' not used, not even mentioned in article body for QE1&II, JFK, JPII. Other honorifics used sparingly. Oddly, George Gordon Byron is ''described'' as "6th Baron Byron" (right after the name), but the phrase "Lord Byron" does not occur in article; ''however'', Augusta Ada Byron is described as "daughter of Lord Byron" (as well as her math achievements, of course).
- , 16th edition (not an encyclopedia, but well known): Inconsistent usage. "George Noel Gordon, Lord Byron"; "Sir Thomas More", "Elizabeth I", "Francis Bacon" (not "Sir"). Most honorifics not used, and ''styles'' never.
- , 1972 edition: ''Styles'' never used, honorifics sparingly. Not used for Francis Bacon (mentioned six paragraphs into body). Likewise for various other "sirs". No honorific used for Thomas Jefferson, but described as "third president ..." in first sentence. Duc Francois De La Rochefoucauld, "...was known as the prince de Marcililac until..." (first sentence, but after semicolon).
- : Styles not used, other honorifics are. Does not use "Right Honourable" for Privy Councillors or "Royal Highness" for Princes, but does use "Sir" and "Lord Firstname," and peerage titles.
- , The Complete Home Library CD: Styles not used. JP2, QE2, Byron.
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