One post often leads to another. The recent article “Conventional Letter Salutations in English” garnered several questions about how to address a letter to a married couple who have different titles and/or different surnames.
来而不往非君子。一篇名为“英文书信的传统称呼方式”的文章提出了几个问题，告诉人们，如果他们要给一对头衔和姓氏不同的夫妻写信时要如何称呼他们。
Traditional letter-writing etiquette is based on traditional professional and marital patterns derived from the following assumptions:
传统的写信礼仪是基于传统的学术信件和军事信函，他们都是衍生自如下的前提：
1. A married couple is made up of a man and a woman.
一对已婚夫妇是有一男一女组成。
2. The man’s name, with the appropriate honorific, goes first.
男方的名字——带有合适的头衔，应该放在前面。
3. A married woman takes her husband’s surname.
一位已婚女士会使用丈夫的姓氏。
4.A married woman’s given name is not part of the address or salutation.
已婚女士的名字不出现在书信的称呼中。
Based on these assumptions, traditional etiquette dictates the following forms:
基于上述前提，传统的信头称呼都是以如下形式出现的：
Address
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Simpson
Dr. and Mrs. Charles Simpson
Rev. and Mrs. Charles Simpson
Salution
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Charles Simpson
Dear Dr. and Mrs. Charles Simpson
Dear Rev. and Mrs. Charles Simpson
Nowadays, however, when some people question even the conventional use of Dear to begin a business letter, how to address a letter can be a hotly contested topic.
可是如今就连“尊敬的”等等传统的称呼方式都受到质疑的时候，如何在书信中使用称呼语就成为一个人们热议的话题。
Many married women still prefer the “Mr. and Mrs.” form, but others feel marginalized by it. As a result, recent guides to letter-writing give the following as acceptable options:
许多已婚女士仍然倾向于使用“某某先生及夫人”这种形式，而另一些已婚女士则认为这种称呼方式是女性被边缘化的表现。因此，近年来的信函书写指南中将如下形式也作为可用的参照：
Mr. Charles and Mrs. Jane Simpson
Mr. Charles and Ms. Jane Simpson
Note: In traditional etiquette, the form “Mrs. Jane Simpson” signifies that the woman so addressed is divorced.
注：在传统的信头称呼中，“简·辛普森夫人”这样的形式表示所指称的这位女士已经离婚了
I
n modern usage, when a form other than “Mr. and Mrs. [surname]” is used, the woman’s name goes first:
在现代的书写规范下，“某某先生及夫人”这种写法之外还有一种写法，即将女士的名字放在前面：
Mrs. Jane Simpson and Mr. Charles Simpson
Jane and Charles Simpson
Dear Jane and Charles
An editor at The Chicago Manual of Style considers any of the following as proper forms for a business salutation to a married couple:
一位《芝加哥引注格式使用指南》的编辑指出，如下几种形式也是在商务信函中称呼一对夫妇的合理形式：
小编注：《芝加哥引注格式使用指南》
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Stern
Dear Irene and Mike Stern
Dear Mike and Irene Stern
When members of the couple have different titles, some commentators think that the traditional male-female order should be maintained. Other authorities state that the higher-ranking title should go first: “Dear Dr. and Mr. Simpson.” If both members of the couple are entitled to be addressed as “Dr.,” then they may be addressed as “Dear Drs. Simpson.”
在夫妻双方有不同职称的情况下，一些出版界的评论家认为，人们应该坚持传统的先男后女的称呼方式，另一些出版界权威机构则认为，较高的职称名应该放在前面，例如“尊敬的辛普森博士及先生”。如果夫妻双方都应被称为“博士”，可以称呼他们为“两位尊敬的辛普森博士”。
Another result of changing norms is the necessity to decide how to address a couple that does not share a surname.Robert Hickey offers a solution that covers every kind of couple: heterosexual, homosexual, married, and unmarried-but-living-together.
一位名叫罗伯特·希基的作家为人们可能遇到的每种情况提供了解决方案：写信给异性夫妻，同性夫妻，法定夫妻，未婚但同居的夫妻。
When each member of a couple uses a different surname, list each name fully, putting them in alphabetical order by family name:
当夫妻双方使用不同的姓氏时，要写清两人的全名，先后顺序按姓氏的首字母排列。
Dr. Geoffrey Baxter and Dr. Alice Goodwin
For partners in a same-sex couple, list them in alphabetical order by family name:
对同性夫妻，先后顺序按姓氏的首字母排列
Ms. Angela Esposito and Ms. Shara Patel
Mr. Liam O’Hare and Mr. Darin Washington
Some same-sex couples opt to share a surname. In that case, arrange the names in alphabetical order by given name:
一些同性夫妻倾向于使用同一个姓氏，这种情况下，其先后顺序按照非姓氏名的首字母前后顺序排列。
Ms. Angela Patel and Ms. Shara Patel.
Bottom line: If you know the couple, you should know how they prefer to be addressed.
底线是：如果你认识这对夫妻，你应该了解他们希望人们如何称呼他们。