I was raised to address strangers and those I wish to show social deference to as “Sir” or “Ma’am”. It’s a difficult habit to break, as it is deeply engrained.

What is an equivalent gender neutral honorific that is relatively common in English? If I can’t break the habit I’d rather have a substitute word to use instead of an awkward pause in the middle of addressing someone

I’d just use Google to ask but I’d rather ask the people directly rather than an AI generated answer based off of Reddit threads

ETA: I suppose if Yessir and Yes’m work, Yesn’t could too? Mostly joking… but maybe… 🤔

  • CptHacke@piefed.socialEnglish
    46·
    4 days ago

    Having worked in the retail sector for some time, I quickly learned that appearances are often deceiving after a few embarrassing blunders on my part. I taught myself to call everyone ‘my friend’. I had no more problems after that.

    • meejle@piefed.worldEnglish
      29·
      4 days ago

      Also if you have to hand someone off to another colleague, I find you can just use “we”, and it still feels polite. At least compared to calling them “the customer” (clumsy) or “they” (weird, when they’re right next to you). 😃

      “So, we’re looking for [product], and we need it to be [thing]. Oh, and we have a budget of £25.”