For those of you in the South, fond memories come flooding back when you hear the following exchange between a parent and his or her small child.
Random person 1 (speaking to the child): Oh! Aren't you the cutest thing! I LOVE your dress.
Child: Thank you.
Random person 1: Did you pick out that outfit yourself?
Child: Yes.
Parent (to child): Yes, what?
Child: Yes sir/ma'am.
In the South, we teach our children respect for elders by introducing the Ma'amSir vernacular. That is, we teach our children to say "Yes ma'am" and "Yes sir" instead of responding with a simple yes.
Last week, I experienced the Ma'amSir phenomenon firsthand when a student came by my office to get help. The exchange went something like this:
Me: Good morning.
Student: Good morning.
Me: Are you getting acclimated after Gustav?
Student: Yes, sir.
Yes, sir?! Am I really that old? Is it really necessary to call me SIR? If I had not spent the past 4 years in the Midwest, perhaps my mind would not have flooded with these questions. Nevertheless, it happened, and I was not ready for it. But ... who really is?
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2 comments:
I'm taking a parenting class (through Faith's FCI, taught by a pediatrician), and we just talked last night about respect in speech. He and his wife taught their kids to answer with "Yes, Mom" or "Yes, Dad" instead of just "yes" or "yeah." He said if he lived about 100 miles south, it'd be sir or ma'am. :0) I was taught to show respect to my aunts and uncles by using that title before their name: Aunt Shirley, Uncle Roy, etc. And that's how I still address them. When one of my cousins would call my dad or mom by their first names, I was sort of offended. :0)
Dude....Rob's sister (16) said "yes, ma'am" to me the other day.....I know how you feel....I was like, huh?
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