Re: Mr. Mrs. Ms. Sir or Madame

On Fri, Apr 25, 2008 at 9:09 AM,  <MorphemeAddict@...> wrote:
>  When I was in the army, we always had to use just
>  "ma'am".  I never heard "madame", and I think it would
>  have been commented on at the very least.
Definitely.  The word  "ma'am" in modern English seems to be a
separate lexeme from "madam(e)", despite the derivation.  Around here,
saying "yes, ma'am" is just plain polite, while saying "yes, madame"
is putting on airs.  Unless you happen to be a maitre'd, sommelier,
concierge, or some other French job title and are addressing a
customer. :)


--
Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...>

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