2

En inglés (en EEUU por lo menos) hay el término néutro, respecto al género, de "officer." Y uno puede decir, «Yes/no, officer.» Así no se necesita decir, «Yes/no, ma'am/sir.»

Creo que en los países hispanohablantes, uno puede decir «Sí/no, señor/señora policía». Pero, me gustaría saber si importa la edad de la policía. O sea, si se trata de una mujer joven, debería llamarla «señorita policía» o sigue usando «señora policía» para mostrar respeto, sin importar la edad.

Me interesa en particular la costumbre en Colombia. Y, en particular a una policía que tiene el rango de teniente o capitán.

Improve this question
  • I would guess that "señora" would be a good catch-all term of respect, equivalent to "señor." I don't think a woman has to be known to be married to be called "Señora." About the quasi-military titles I have no idea. – aparente001 Dec 29 '19 at 5:21
  • @aparente001, the issue is that some women feel insulted if you call them señora (implying they are old). Wondering how to reconcile this with the courtesy normally given to police officers. – aris Dec 30 '19 at 14:25
  • @aris - That's never been my experience. I have found "Señora" to function similar to "Ms." in the US. At any rate, here's what I do in the US, when I have occasion to call the police. Since there are three different levels of law enforcement that might respond to a 911 call where I live, and it's not always obvious what force the person who knocks on the door is from, when we're ready to make our good-byes, if not earlier, I always write down the person's name, and I ask what I should call him or her. // When people can see you mean well, they'll generally be forgiving if you make a mistake. – aparente001 Dec 30 '19 at 16:07
6

Con los términos agente u oficial (aunque una oficial ya tiene un mayor rango) bastaría para comunicarse con suficiente respeto sin necesidad del señora-señorita para una mujer de la policía. Por ej. si le quieres pedir un favor a una policía y evitar quedar mal por su posible estado civil, puedes decirle:

-Disculpe agente, podría hacerme el favor de (...)

Improve this answer
2

I am from Spain and I would not refer to the police officer, I would use the the context, but in case I would use agente. Instead of 'Disculpe agente' I would just say 'Disculpe', and the officer would know that I'm referring to her because of the context. If I do want to emphasize that I'm talking to the officer, then I would say 'Disculpe agente'

Improve this answer
  • No me quedó del todo clara tu idea, Iria. Si no te molesta, ¿podrías agregar una respuesta en español? Haz clic donde dice "edit" debajo de tu post. Gracias. – aparente001 Dec 30 '19 at 16:15

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.