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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Vocabulary
Sir and Ma'am. Is it common nowadays?
I always heard them said by non native speakers especially Indians? I don't know if it's still ok in 21th century? I feel like they indicate slavery or ownership. I'd prefer to say Mr or Mrs but would like to know native speakers' point of view.
Top answer
Hi, Where I live, I rarely hear these said today. Occasionally by people who work in a store. It's OK to say 'Mr Smith' or 'Mrs Smith', but not without using eg 'Smith'.
- Hi, Where I live, I rarely hear these said today.
- Occasionally by people who work in a store.
- It's OK to say 'Mr Smith' or 'Mrs Smith', but not without using eg 'Smith'.
- Clive
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6 Answers
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Hi,
Where I live, I rarely hear these said today.
Occasionally by people who work in a store.
It's OK to say 'Mr Smith' or 'Mrs Smith', but not without using eg 'Smith'.
Clive
Where I live, I rarely hear these said today.
Occasionally by people who work in a store.
It's OK to say 'Mr Smith' or 'Mrs Smith', but not without using eg 'Smith'.
Clive
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Clive Hi,
Where I live, I rarely hear these said today.
Occasionally by people who work in a store.
It's OK to say 'Mr Smith' or 'Mrs Smith', but not without using eg 'Smith'.
Clive
What if I met a stranger/someone I don't know his/her name?
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Here in the UK, "Sir" and "Madam" are fairly commonly used by customer-facing employees (shop workers, bank workers, etc.) towards customers, and by people working for public bodies (inland revenue, police etc.) towards members of the general public. Outside this sort of "customer" context they are not very common (in speech, that is; they are still commonly used in salutations in letters).
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Hi,
You really don't need to use any title.Titles are not used a lot in English culture.
In almost all cases, just say
eg Hello
eg Good morning
These things are not considered disrespectful.
Clive
You really don't need to use any title.Titles are not used a lot in English culture.
In almost all cases, just say
eg Hello
eg Good morning
These things are not considered disrespectful.
Clive
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Some Americans get upset if you address them as "sir" or "ma'am." They feel that you are implying that they are elderly.
There are also other reasons: A United States Senator recently got upset because an Army general addressed her as "ma'am." She told him to call her "Senator."
There are also other reasons: A United States Senator recently got upset because an Army general addressed her as "ma'am." She told him to call her "Senator."
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Throughout the American South, "sir" and "ma'am" are very common.
I use "sir" or "ma'am" all the time to capture the attention of someone I don't know. "Sir? Excuse me, sir? Your baby dropped this from the stroller." "Ma'am? Excuse me - do you happen to know where ... ?"
I will sometimes say just "Excuse me!"
I use "sir" or "ma'am" all the time to capture the attention of someone I don't know. "Sir? Excuse me, sir? Your baby dropped this from the stroller." "Ma'am? Excuse me - do you happen to know where ... ?"
I will sometimes say just "Excuse me!"
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