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First Name or Title? Addressing others with respect
In Brazil, people quickly move to a first-name basis. Do not, however, use first names until you are invited to do so.
Addressing a Brazilian by his or her first name is not necessarily a sign of familiarity. Here, family names are simply not used as much as in other countries.
Always address your Brazilian contact by title. Doctor is a well-used title, even if you don't have a doctoral degree. It is a sign of respect to call someone a doctor.
If you are having difficulties with a person's name, you may inquire about the correct pronunciation. Don't try to guess.
Professional titles such as “Doctor” and “Professor” should be used to address business acquaintances.
For those without professional titles, the term “Senhor” [“Mister”] or “Senhora” [“Mrs.”] is used to precede the surname.
Brazilians will sometimes introduce themselves using their titles and their first names [i.e. Doctor George]. You'll observe that Brazilians will not always wish to be addressed by their last names.
Titles such as “Senhor” and “Doctor” can be added to first names in Brazil. You will probably find that your Brazilian counterpart prefers to be addressed by his/her first name on all occasions. For example, a lawyer whose name is Carlos da Silva may be “Dr. Carlos” to his juniors and “Carlos” to his equals. Often, before handing you a business card, a Brazilian will underline one name [indicating “Call me this”] and cross off a title [indicating “Don't call me that”]. So, if you are handed a card written “Dr. Carlos da Silva” with the “Carlos” underlined and the “Dr.” crossed off, that means “Call me Carlos.”
In Brazil, people usually have two surnames. In writing, the mother's surname comes before the father's surname. It is appropriate, however, to address people using the father's surname.
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