Credits: Social Media
Americans in disbelief after finding out Brits don’t say ‘Sir’ or ‘Ma’am’
A guy has gone viral after revealing the ‘biggest cultural difference’ between US and UK and it relates to speech.
The TikTok user revealed that people in the UK don’t use the greetings ‘Sir’ or ‘Ma’am’ and Americans are dumbfounded.
‘Biggest cultural difference’ between US and UK
He responded to another TikTok video in which an American woman who lives in the UK had just made the shocking discovery.
“We found out the hard way that you do not call men here ‘Sir’ or the ladies ‘Ma’am’,” she said in sheer disbelief.
Josh, who is British, confirmed this is true and called it one of the “biggest cultural differences” between the two countries.
He explained that he’s spent many months in America and noticed everyone uses the two greetings “all the time”.
“In the UK, we don’t say that. We don’t use ‘Sir’ or ‘Ma’am’ at all,” he revealed. “If you do, you’ll just get a dodgy look.”
People across America are in disbelief
The viral video has had almost 3 million views and left people across the US in complete shock.
One person wrote: “So what do you say to a superior or out of respect?”
“I’m a Texan and this is built into my natural language. What should I say in the UK?” said another.
A third person asked: “So how do you get someone’s attention?”
“It’s a sign of respect,” someone else said – but people in the UK aren’t being disrespectful.
‘Sir’ and ‘Ma’am’ just aren’t a thing across the pond. In the UK, some greet each other with the words ‘mate’ and ‘love’, while others will say ‘hello’ or ‘alright’.
History of ‘Sir’ and ‘Ma’am’
‘Sir’�comes from the word ‘sire’ which first cropped up�in the 1200s and was used as a form of address for knights and baronets. Over the years, the term lost the ‘e’ and became a title used to refer to all men as a sign of respect.
‘Ma’am’ comes from the French term ‘ma dame’ which means my lady. In English, this was changed to ‘madam’. Around the 1600s, this was then shortened to ‘ma’am’, which is similarly seen as a sign of respect towards a woman.
The two greetings are still popular in Southern America, but aren’t as prolific across the rest of the country.
