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[English teacher hat ON]
Ma'am, Sir, Miss, Mrs., Mr. and other titles are nouns, not pronouns
[English teacher hat OFF]
My students are instructed at the beginning of the year that they are to address me using a title and my name--Miss Nakamura--Miss, or Ma'am. I see Sir and Ma'am as terms of respect that don't really denote age in any way.
I was raised to address my parents freinds as Mr. or Mrs. Lastname, and that that is the proper way to address any adult unless you've been invited to use their first name; we shouldn't assume familiarity. Adults whose name we didn't know should be adressed as Sir or Miss, unless the woman is known to be married, in which case she was Ma'am, regardless of age. I still do this today, and I wonder how we got the idea that Sir or Ma'am indiaces someone older?
Perpaps it's part of the deterioration of basic etiquette. I have to battle with the boys in my classes at the beginning of the year over the simple act of removing their hats while inside, and other basics of polite behavior.
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