芸能人・スポーツ選手・公人に「さん」などの敬称を付けなくてもよい理由は?

Question

Reasons for omitting titles like 'さん' after names of entertainers, performers and public figures

「記者ハンドブック 新聞用字用語集」によると、

運動、芸能欄などのスポーツ選手、芸能人には敬称をつけない

[出典]

そうです。新聞以外のメディアや、日常会話でも上のような公人に敬称を付けないことは普通です。

石川遼のような生命保険 (第一生命の商品のキャッチフレーズ)

敬語が重要な一部である日本語において、敬称の省略が許されている理由・考え方は何でしょうか?

個人的な印象では、芸能人やスポーツ選手は日常生活の外で起こっている物語の中の登場人物で、直接性がないために尊敬や丁寧の意をあらわす必要がないからだろうか、という気がします。

信頼のおける本や理論を元にした説明があるとなおよいです。答えは日本語でも英語でもかまいません。

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Meta note: Part of the intention behind this question is to work out how to handle bilingual content. ref: meta: Do questions have to be in English?

Answer 1

Well I guess it's the same as any other culture when talking about a public person. You wouldn't call Beckham, Mr Beckham when he scores a goal.

I'm sure there are exceptions to this rule mentioned in that reporter's handbook though. I can't see newspapers omitting the honor title for every public figure.

Answer 2

I think it's a habit, rather than the rule. I didn’t know that there are manuals to regulate the use of honorific title for public figures such as sport-players and entertainers like 「記者ハンドブック 新聞用字用語集」. But actually we don’t add “さん” to celebrities in all kinds of fields, not only sports and entertainment, but also politics, literature, business, and so on.

When we talk about famous celebrities like 長嶋茂雄、王貞治、美空ひばり、川端康成、村上春樹、 孫正義、and 田中角栄、we don’t add “さん – Mr. Ms”, regardless their reputation and high status as an enlisted player in the Hall of Fame, national heroine of singer, Nobel Prize winner, Forb’s 500 enlisted businessman and famous politician. We call this practice "呼び捨て" meaning to call one's name without 敬称 - honorific addressing. But this is permitted in informal statement.

I remember TV media once called baseball players and some other sport game players by suffixing さん to their family name, like 清原さん during the sport news time at a period a couple of decades ago. But they stopped doing so because it sounds so superficial, awkward and odd to audience.

In a formal statement, we use "氏" like 安倍氏、孫氏、高橋氏, or the titles of personalities for examples, 安倍総理、孫社長、高橋監督、not 安倍さん、孫さん、高橋さん.

Answer 3

My understanding was that for famous people, adding of "san" actually denotes familiarity with the person. Like having actually met them. When you have never met them you would drop the san. I may be similar to why you don't include San after titles when referring to people in your own company.