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All I ever see is people in US TV saying “sir” and “ma’am”, is this inaccurate? I’m from the UK and similarly don’t believe in titles and I have never used or h
by mathieuh 7y ago
All I ever see is people in US TV saying “sir” and “ma’am”, is this inaccurate? I’m from the UK and similarly don’t believe in titles and I have never used or heard these words used in my life
- xyzzyz 7y agoPeople will say to you "sir/ma'am" in a customer/representative situations, e.g. retail salespeople will call you sir, and so will often clerks in government offices. Outside of these, not really.
- CGamesPlay 7y agoSir and ma’am are simply polite ways to address any man/woman. It isn’t a formal title and you address anyone you like using those words when you want to be respectful.
- toasterlovin 7y agoWe add those terms to the end of a phrase in lieu of a person’s name. As in, “How may I help you, sir?”. But the usage referenced in the article was putting the word before the person’s name to indicate that they’ve been titled by the British government (or the crown, perhaps?). As in, “Sir Jony Ive has announced that he will be leaving Apple.” Very different things.
- NeedMoreTea 7y agoWell he is British, so it's reasonable to respect his title, no? Just as I might respect an American general or president's title, or a vicar's reverend even though I am an atheist. All replace a simple Mr or Ms just like Dr does. Not that I'm likely to meet many generals or presidents... :)
- lame-robot-hoax 7y agoExactly, people are making something out of nothing.
- bdowling 7y agoUK TV and movies use "sir" and "ma'am" (or "marm") pretty frequently. In the U.S., they're not so commonly used outside of very formal service situations (e.g., military, customer service). Friends don't call each other "sir" or "ma'am", except perhaps as a joke.
- foldr 7y ago>Friends don't call each other "sir" or "ma'am", They don't do this in the UK either.