Do most kids/teens/young adults in the South still say "yes ma'am" or "yes sir?" (middle school, live)

[DubbleT]

Yep, alive and well in Memphis and most other parts of TN from what I can tell.

[Scotty011]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

It's still common, and still viewed by most as a positive form of courtesy. Of course, we live in a mobile, global society, so it's usage is lessening rather than remaining constant or increasing.

Personally, I like it. My four children are now grown, and two have kids of their own. They are teaching them to use those terms as well.

Also, many military families use those terms, regardless of where they are from or where they are stationed.

Exactly. It is nice to know that some are still raised with good manners. We have lost and are still losing so much in this country. It actually is sad to see people look down on having good manners.

[Lamplight]

I lived in TN for 32 years and almost never heard children say that, even when I was a child.

[Nairobi]

Where I come from, a lot of kids would get lambasted for not saying it.

"Did you clean up your room?"
"Yes."
"Yes-WHAT?!"
"Yes, ma'am!"

...and if an adult calls for you, don't even dream of replying "what?" or "huh?".

[ColdAilment]

Lived in Mississippi for over 2 years. "Yes ma'am" and "Yes sir" are very common amongst African Americans (I am caucasian), unless you're talking with a hood rat African American who thinks I am out to oppress his rights and must be rude to me. I would say it's still common amongst whites too.

Besides just that, people in the south are in a completely different mentality than those elsewhere in the country. It's a much slower and easier going mind set, drive slow, work slow, talk slow, take time to talk to people, even complete strangers they will chit chat with. Mississippi has the most churches per capita of any state in the country, and you best believe that nearly EVERYONE is out Sunday morning at Church, all dressed up too in suits or dress slacks.

[DubbleT]

Originally Posted by Lamplight

I lived in TN for 32 years and almost never heard children say that, even when I was a child.

Your teachers, principals, bus drivers, coaches, Sunday school ladies, crotchety old neighbor down the street didn't require that?
My kids are younger than you and it was pretty standard for all the kids we knew to address nearly any adult as ma'am or sir, especially the elementary school teachers. I work with a lot of young twenty somethings and it's a part of their everyday vocabulary around here too.

[belmont22]

I think people overrate how much regional cultures are fading. In some ways I'd actually say they're growing stronger again. I think Southern culture is in many ways gaining ground and not dying. Rural people from all over the US seem to identify with it more and more.

It's not like everywhere is turning into Santa Monica now that we have the Internet. Don't you think TV would have done that already, it's been 60 years since it got popular. The Internet actually decentralized the media and thus makes regionalism ironically more relevant.

[Lamplight]

Originally Posted by DubbleT

Your teachers, principals, bus drivers, coaches, Sunday school ladies, crotchety old neighbor down the street didn't require that?
My kids are younger than you and it was pretty standard for all the kids we knew to address nearly any adult as ma'am or sir, especially the elementary school teachers. I work with a lot of young twenty somethings and it's a part of their everyday vocabulary around here too.

I heard it occasionally, and certainly more so when I was a kid (in the 80s), but I wouldn't say it was the norm then and it was definitely uncommon by the time I moved away. I'd hear adults address each other as "sir" or "ma'am" frequently in a business setting, but almost never children. Maybe if I had lived in a much smaller town my experience would have been different. In fact I did work in a small town of 3000 for a couple of years, but I wasn't around children very much there so I couldn't really say how they acted.

Most of the twenty-somethings I knew responded to adults with a dazed, "Do what?" in between text messages on their phones.

[Dragonfly8]

I didn't realize respect for ones elders ended when one was past the young adult stage of life. lol

I say 'yes ma'am' 'no sir' to my mother, father-in-law and others in the 'elder' category. And I'm an adult with adult children! My son thought his great-grandmothers name was ma'am because he heard me say it so much!

I still see it a lot where we live.


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[Mattie]

Despite not moving to the south until they reached high school age, my sons very quickly learned that sir and ma'am were expected addresses here in GA.