Respected Sir/Madam AND Respected Sir or Madam

Question

Which one is more formal and appealing?1: Respected Sir/Madam2: Respected Sir or Madam

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

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Neither is used in BrE or AmE salutations. We use Dear Sir/Madam or Dear Sir or Madam. The slash shows more laziness than typing out 'or', but neither is particularly formal or appealing because the writer has not obtained the recipient's name-- it is a generic salutation.
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Jackson6612 · Answer

Mister MicawberThe slash shows more laziness than typing out 'or', but neither is particularly formal or appealing because the writer has not obtained the recipient's name-- it is a generic salutation.

Hi Mr Micawber,

John, you have shown more laziness than Michael. The sentence would mean that John is more lazier than Michael, who is also lazy. Typing out or wouldn't be an act of laziness rather by doing this writer is showing that he is as active and precise as he can be. So I'm concerned about your use of more which shows comparison. I'm just asking for the explanation.

I believe a letter can be formal even without knowing the recipient's name. Actually as far as I know, most formal letters are written without knowing the name of the addressee.

Mister Micawber · Answer

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John is more lazier than Michael

I really don't need lecturing to, Jackson. It would be better for you to try to understand what I told you.
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Jackson6612 · Answer

Mister MicawberThe slash shows more laziness than typing out 'or', but neither is particularly formal or appealing because the writer has not obtained the recipient's name-- it is a generic salutation.

Hi Mr Micawber,

John, you have shown more laziness than Michael. The sentence would mean that John is lazier than Michael. This implies that Michael is also lazy. Typing out or wouldn't be an act of laziness rather by doing this writer is showing that he is as active and precise as he can be. So I'm concerned about your use of more which shows comparison. I'm just asking for the explanation.

I believe a letter can be formal even without knowing the recipient's name. Actually as far as I know, most formal letters are written without knowing the name of the addressee.

PS: I have made some corrections. And I'm not lecturing you on anything. You are an expert and I'm just a learner. I'm just asking for the explanation.

Mister Micawber · Answer

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Explanation of what? An explanation of what your opinion is? What part of my original statement do you not understand?
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Jackson6612 · Answer

Jackson6612The slash shows more laziness than typing out 'or', but neither is particularly formal or appealing because the writer has not obtained the recipient's name-- it is a generic salutation.

Why did you use more?

Why did you say that a letter can not be formal if you don't know the name of the addressee?

Mister Micawber · Answer

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Why did you use more?-- Well, I have the benefit of your earlier comments, so I can say (1) 'more' includes 'more than zero', and/or (2) finding the recipient's proper name is not lazy at all.

Why did you say that a letter can not be formal if you don't know the name of the addressee?-- I did not say that at all; I said that it was not particularly formal. It is generic, which makes much of its content neutral, I think--like a newspaper article, directed to no one in particular.
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Jackson6612 · Answer

Hi Mr Micawber,

Mister MicawberWhy did you use more? -- Well, I have the benefit of your earlier comments, so I can say (1) 'more' includes 'more than zero', and/or (2) finding the recipient's proper name is not lazy at all.

If you used more to include more than zero then here should also exist zero laziness. I'm afraid there doesn't exist any such thing. Well, you can argue that zero laziness means active. Then your sentence would read: The slash shows more laziness than typing out 'or' (typing out or is an act of ''zero laziness). Typing out slash shows more laziness than typing out or. Does my analysis make any sense?

What do you mean by ''finding the recipient's proper name is not lazy at all''?

Mister MicawberWhy did you say that a letter can not be formal if you don't know the name of the addressee?-- I did not say that at all; I said that it was not particularly formal. It is generic, which makes much of its content neutral, I think--like a newspaper article, directed to no one in particular.

I think salutation has nothing to do with the formality or informality of the letter. The content of the letter will show what register the writer has chosen to use. So my conclusion is that you cannot deduce anything about the register of the letter by just reading the salutation Dear Sir or Madam and Dear Sir/Madam. And I would also say Dear Sir or Madam is more formal as far as salutation is concerned.

Thanks a lot for my edification.

Mister Micawber · Answer

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What do you mean by finding the recipient's proper name is not lazy at all''?-- I mean that the writerg goes to the trouble of finding out the recipient's name rather than being lazy and just using 'Sir'.

I think salutation has nothing to do with the formality or informality of the letter.-- Of course it does. Dear Mr. Smith is formal. Hi Joe is informal. Dear Mr John Smith and Dear Sir are generics-- written by people who do not know who they are writing to.
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...you cannot deduce anything about the register of the letter by just reading the salutation Dear Sir or Madam and Dear Sir/Madam. And I would also say Dear Sir or Madam is more formal as far as salutation is concerned.-- Eh? Your first sentence says it cannot be done-- and then in your second sentence you do it!

Jackson6612 · Answer

Mister MicawberWhat do you mean by ''finding the recipient's proper name is not lazy at all''?-- I mean that the writer goes to the trouble of finding out the recipient's name rather than being lazy and just using 'Sir'.

I'm having problem understanding the red part. - Is he lazy? - No, he is not lazy at all. Your version sounds as if you were asked something like ''Is finding the recipient's name lazy thing to do?'' and in answer to which you replied ''No, finding the recipient's proper name is not lazy at all''. Perhaps, the choice of the words was poorly chosen because you were in hurry.

Mister Micawber...you cannot deduce anything about the register of the letter by just reading the salutation Dear Sir or Madam and Dear Sir/Madam. And I would also say Dear Sir or Madam is more formal as far as salutation is concerned.-- Eh? Your first sentence says it cannot be done-- and then in your second sentence you do it!

You are correct. I chose a wrong sentence to represent my opinion.

Thanks for the help.

Respected Sir/Madam AND Respected Sir or Madam

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