van den Berg and with initials as J. van den Berg. This convention is also used when writing in Dutch to people of foreign nationality. The exception to this rule is when writing to a Flemish person. In that case the rule for Belgian names is used, and the surname prefixes are capitalized as registered. English The salutation "Dear" in combination with a name or a title is by far the most commonly used salutation in both British and US English, in both formal and informal correspondence. It is commonly followed either by an honorific and a surname, such as "Dear Mr. Smith," or by a given name, such as "Dear Mark." However, it is not common in English to use both a title of address and a person's given name: "Dear Mr. John Smith" would not be common form. Sometimes, the salutation "To" is used for informal correspondence, for example "To Peter". A comma follows the salutation and name, while a colon is used in place of a comma only in US business correspondence. This rule applies regardless of the level of formality of the correspondence. If the name of the intended recipient is unknown, acceptable salutations are: Dear Sir or Madam (If the gender of the reader is unknown). To Whom It May Concern (If the writer wishes to exclude the gender of the reader from the salutation and/or to convey that the reader should forward the copy to one more suited to receive or respond appropriately). Dear Sir (If the reader is male). Dear Madam (If the reader is female). In older British usage and current US usage, the abbreviations "Mx", "Ms", "Mr", "Dr", and "Mrs" are typically followed by a period (full stop), but it is common in recent British usage to drop the period after all such titles. Professional titles such as "Professor" are frequently used both in business and in social correspondence, as are those of dignitaries and holders of certain public offices, such as "Mr. President" or "Dear Madam Secretary". "Mx." is an English–language neologistic honorific for use alongside Mr., Ms., etc. that does not indicate gender. It is often the only option for nonbinary people, as well as those who do not wish to reveal their gender. It is a gender-neutral title that is now accepted by much of the United Kingdom's government and some businesses in the United Kingdom. "Ms." is