Is 拝見いたしました an example of 二重敬語?


二重敬語 is presumably considered bad style (or simply incorrect).

I hear/read 拝見いたしました all the time. Is it an example of 二重敬語?

I understood 二重敬語 to be a little more complex than "used a polite form more
than once in a phrase".

To be a bit more precise, I think that to express a verb in 敬語, one should
make the verb polite, but _only once_ , so that

> お読みになる

is 敬語, but

> お読みになられる

is 二重敬語.

拝見いたす might be fine, because 拝見 is a (敬語) noun and いたす is a (敬語) verb; or it
might be a problem, because 拝見する is a (敬語) form of 見る.




To answer the title question as a simple yes-no question, the only logical
answer would be "Yes, it is." The phrase clearly uses a [敬語]{けいご}
twice,「[拝見]{はいけん}」 and 「いたす」, which satisfies the definition of
[二重敬語]{にじゅうけいご}.

Is the phrase 「拝見いたしました」 "incorrect" then? According to me, no, it is not. Why
not? Because it is in such wide use and it just sounds normal and natural if
you have a native ear. It carries none of the "wordiness" (and if I may,
"funniness") of some of the other examples of 二重敬語 such as 「お[分]{わ}かりになられる」
and 「お[召]{め}し[上]{あ}がりになられる」.




To answer the title question as a simple yes-no question, the only logical
answer would be "Yes, it is." The phrase clearly uses a [敬語]{けいご}
twice,「[拝見]{はいけん}」 and 「いたす」, which satisfies the definition of
[二重敬語]{にじゅうけいご}.

Is the phrase 「拝見いたしました」 "incorrect" then? According to me, no, it is not. Why
not? Because it is in such wide use and it just sounds normal and natural if
you have a native ear. It carries none of the "wordiness" (and if I may,
"funniness") of some of the other examples of 二重敬語 such as 「お[分]{わ}かりになられる」
and 「お[召]{め}し[上]{あ}がりになられる」.

