The use of "this" to refer to a person

Question

Hi, I'm a bit confused about referring to myself and other persons with " this ". Childhood knowledge tells me that using " it " actually degrades an individual, so it shouldn't be used (British English), rather, "he" or "she" should be used. However, at present, I feel that using "this" to introduce a third-person to a friend, or to refer to myself actuallly adds a sense of importance and dignity. For instance, when introducing a certain Mr. X to Mr.Y, I would say the following: " ....this is Mr. X, a business magnet...". Or, while introducing myself to a stranger to imply that I have a certain level of authority over him / her by saying "...yes, this is Mr. Me speaking, I'm the lead detective investigating this case....". Am I right?

Also, would using "it" to refer to a person be offensive?

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Your use of 'this' for people is indeed normal for introductions.

We do not refer to people directly as 'it'- but if you asked who was the duty officer, I could say 'It's Jones tonight' ,but there the reference is to 'duty officer' not Jones. There's also Who's that? It's me.

Side issues: if you write 'I would say', you imply you do not - 'I say' is correct- there is no reason for modality [unlike 'I would say it's a good idea= tentativeness and politeness].

'a business magnet' is amusing- maybe a typo?- magnate

'This is Mr Me speaking'- my comment here does not refer to language, but etiquette and I am sure others will give different advice depending on age and place of origin. Mr is a courtesy title and we should not use it of ourselves. One does not call oneself Mr Finch, or whatever [Hello, my name's Finch./ Nice to meet you, Mr Finch.] [Can I speak to Mr Finch?/ Yes, [Finch] speaking.] I think rank is different [My name's Finch, Chief detective Finch.- you are giving information; not using a courtesy title.]

Avangi · Answer

Anonymousyes, this is Mr. Me speaking, I'm the lead detective investigating this case

It's quite normal over the phone. It's commonly used face-to-face too, but I'd avoid it when trying to make a great impression.

Anonymouswould using "it" to refer to a person be offensive?

Yes, it would. It would also be unnatural.

Edit. Anon is right. It's natural to say things like, "Someone's at the door for you. I think it's John."
But it could be offensive within earshot of the third person.

CalifJim · Answer

Anonymous if you write 'I would say', you imply you do not

I might believe this for "I would have said", but not for "I would say"!

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

If someone says 'I will go', surely they intend to go, but if they say 'I would go', they will not and we wait for an explanation .

But of course there are many regional differences in English.

The use of "this" to refer to a person

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