Jordan: First Name or Title?
From ExecutivePlanet.com
Addressing others with respect
Honour is very important in the Jordanian culture. As a result, lots of titles are used. Here are some ideas that will give you a start in the right direction as you use titles.
This first group is titles that you could try to learn to pronounce in Arabic. They can be inserted into English conversations. These titles are used with out including a personal name.
Some Arabic general titles of respect that you can have fun learning to use:
'Ya Sidi' [pronounced yah see_ dee]. This is the most general title of respect. Informally, it can be used with any friend, co-worker, shop owner, business associate or member of the general public; anyone of roughly the same social standing. Formally, [but not in official communications] it is used with police and political authorities.
'Ya 'Ammo' [pronounced yah 'um_ mow]. This is an informal general title of respect used to refer either to someone a generation older or a generation younger than you.
'Ya Bek' [pronounced yah bake_]. This is a general formal title of respect especially used for police and military officers.
'Ya Doctor' [pronounced yah doc tour_]. This general and a bit formal title of respect can be used to ascribe learning and general social awareness.
Whether or not you want to try your hand at some of the Arabic titles, you should use lots of titles. Use them in English or your native language. Here are some categories of titles that can be used with personal names. I have included some examples. They should be used in written documents as well as letter heads and business cards, and when referring to third parties in formal settings:
Social: Mr., Miss., Mrs., Ms.
Educational: Dr., Engineer, Lawyer, Professor
Political: Member of Parliament, Senator, Your/His Honour
Judicial: Your/ His Honour, Judge
Business: CEO, Gen. Manager
Religion: Bishop, Minister
In spoken conversation, when the setting is informal, you should use mostly the social titles. In very formal settings, even in spoken conversation, you should include many titles from the categories listed above.
Confused? Here are some examples of how you could refer to your business associate. Let's assume that his name is Khalid Obeidat and that he has a degree in engineering:
In a letter of introduction to him and asking for an appointment during your upcoming visit to Jordan [formal situation], you would write:
Dear Engineer Khalid Obeidat,
When you meet Khalid for the first time in Jordan, you would greet him as: 'Mr. Khalid, how are you?'
After you have got to know each other a bit and the personal relationship is healthy, you could try some Arabic titles. So, you call him on the phone to ask him to have lunch with you and say: 'Ya Sidi, want to have lunch together?'
Later, together you visit the office of an official at the Ministry of Commerce And Industry. As you are describing your business plan to the official, you refer to Khalid's relationship to your business:
Mr. Khalid will be representing our interests here.
After your successful visit to Jordan, you write up a report to your Board of Directors with a copy for Khalid. In the report you write:
Engineer Khalid Obeidat's contribution to setting up the Jordanian project was excellent and we look forward to a successful business relationship.
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