Sir/Ma'am

[Amy Z]

Kimberly wrote:

> << Here, everyone (well, most everyone) says "Yes, Sir", or "Yes, 
> Ma'am" to their elders, whether it's parents, teachers, or in the 
> case of a salesperson speaking to a customer. It has never been 
> considered an upper class type thing here... Well, not in my neck 
of 
> the woods, that is. :-) >>

Rita wrote:

> I suspect you're a Southerner (unless you live on a military base). 
> Children saying "sir" and "ma'am" to adults and adults saying "sir" 
> and "ma'am" to strangers with whom they're conversing is said to be 
> a Southern custom; there are even country music songs praising the 
> South because "we say sir and we say ma'am". 

I was brought up (in the Northeast) to say "ma'am" or "sir" to 
strangers I was approaching, as in "Excuse me, sir, do you have the 
time?" or "Ma'am, I think you dropped this."  I still do.  Otherwise, 
sirring/maaming adults because I was a child?  No.  Or 
sirring/maaming my parents?  No way!

We used to live in Virginia, and my mom said she loved this practice 
and wish everyone used it.  *I* was glad we got out when I was 
three.  Calling all adults "sir" or "ma'am" seems respectful; calling 
one's parents that seems distant.  Here it is used mostly 
sarcastically, "Yes SIR!" meaning "Who the hell are you to give me 
orders?"  But I realize I would see things differently if I'd stayed 
in Virginia.

Re:  HP, IIRC, "sir" does appear in canon; Harry calls Dumbledore sir.

Amy