1

Professor: who are you? What's your name? Student : May I know who is asking?

Is the student part i.e., "May I know who is asking?" polite enough? or if there is some other better way of putting it, please suggest.

Sorry for providing incomplete details

This conversation is happening inside a college. The student knows that the person is a professor but from an entirely different department i.e., professor knows that the person is a student and vice versa but nothing more. For some reason (unknown to the student), the professor is trying to know the student's name.

Improve this question
1
  • Does the student already know who the professor is? Are they in the professor's class? What are the circumstances?
    – MJ713
    Commented Feb 27, 2020 at 6:15

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
0

Professor: Who are you? What's your name?

Student: May I know who is asking?

First, when asked your name, it is polite to answer the question before asking for the other person's name in return. So this would be more polite:

Professor: Who are you? What's your name?

Student: My name is Mohan. May I know who is asking?

Second, the student's question is not very idiomatic. It almost sounds like something you would say on the phone if you didn't recognize the other person's voice. ("May I ask who is calling?") In a face-to-face meeting, it just sounds odd and too formal.

It would sound more natural to simply return the question. This is less formal, but not less polite.

Professor: Who are you? What's your name?

Student: My name is Mohan. What's your name?

Improve this answer
3
  • I think your answer would be better as a comment as it barely answers the question (by saying it's probably rude, which I don't believe is correct) and then creates an imaginary story where the student already knows the professor, which isn't part of the question. It goes off topic into a discussion on ettiquette and interpersonal skills. There is another stack exchange site for questions about personal skills where this answer would work, had this question been asked there.
    – Smartybartfast
    Commented Feb 27, 2020 at 6:10
  • @Smartybartfast Since the OP didn't give any context for the conversation, I had to try and guess what the context would be. But you have a point: I may have guessed incorrectly. I have updated my answer accordingly. I have also removed the most off-topic portion (keeping in mind that the OP is asking for what to say, in English, that would be considered "polite", so I cannot neglect discussion of etiquette entirely).
    – MJ713
    Commented Feb 27, 2020 at 6:38
  • Since the OP has added context, I have edited the question further.
    – MJ713
    Commented Feb 27, 2020 at 18:27
1

That is polite. About the only way to make it more polite would be to add a "please" somewhere, perhaps at the end,

"May I know who is asking, please?"

Improve this answer
1
  • Going off topic into interpersonal skills and etiquette, I don't know context but that the student is asking the question indicates they don't know who the identity of the professor so asking is a perfectly valid thing to do. While people in positions of authority sometimes forget these two things it would be good for them to remember that: 1. they're not so important that everyone knows who they are 2. it is polite to introduce oneself before demanding the identity of another
    – Smartybartfast
    Commented Feb 27, 2020 at 6:01

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .