The use of sir and ma'am as forms of address for superiors are common in the United States armed forces. Air Force regulations state that ma'am is an appropriate greeting for junior personnel when rendering a hand salute to a female superior. The origins of "ma'am" and "sir" are pretty self-explanatory. "Ma'am" comes from the more formal "madam," a term of address once used for a married woman. "Sir," besides being what folks called knights in merry old England, became a catch-all for addressing a gentleman. Both have been historically used to address people of a certain age without using given names.
They are, most certainly, a gesture of respect. I'm convinced, too, that we say them more in the South because we're a friendly bunch and tend to talk to strangers. Mam or madam both of these words are used to address a woman in a polite way. In some parts of the UK, the word mam is used to address the mother. Ma'am is used to addressing a lady at a high position or rank. While writing a letter you should take care that you should write ma'am if you are writing a letter to women at a high position or rank.
You should not use mam in place of ma'am because it means a different thing. Outside the settings of formal protocol, the term ma'am may be used to address a woman with whom one is not familiar. The term is "meant to convey respect and graciousness lightly salted with deference." For example, waiters, store clerks, or police officers may use the term. Unlike miss, the term ma'am tends to be used for older women, which is one reason some dislike the term. Others, such as etiquette authority Judith Martin, defend the term as dignified. Martin writes that Madam (or Ma'am) and Sir are "all-purpose titles for direct address, as a foolproof way of conveying the respect due to people whose names escape you."
I myself that I rarely see "madam" in use outside of formal letters and like, and I even more rarely hear it in actual spoken usage. For the record, "here" is southeastern Wisconsin, just so you have a reference point for the above. • Will you hear sir and ma'am used mostly in the South?
Today, TV and movies are lessening our regional accents and traditions, and we're slowly becoming a nation of oneness. In the case of sir and ma'am, it is as appropriate in the northern, eastern and western parts of the country as it is in the South. It's not so much about location, it's just polite — respectful adults using the words and mindful parents teaching their children to do the same. Good manners aren't set within certain state borders.
Both sets of my northern grandparents taught them to my parents, and my northern parents then taught them to my brothers and me. The British use 'mam' to address their mothers and 'ma'am' is the shortened form of madam. A lot of people use 'mam' rather than using 'ma'am'; the latter is the correct way to address a lady when you are writing her a mail.
"Ma'am" and "madam" are both acceptable in a formal letter. Generally, you use "ma'am" when you're addressing somebody you know is superior to you. However, you can use "madam" if you're unsure of their position (or don't know who might receive it). Also maam, 1660s, colloquial shortening of madam (q.v.). Formerly the ordinary respectful form of address to a married woman; later restricted to the queen, royal princesses, or by servants to their mistresses.
I would say that "Mom" is the most common with "Mum" being less common but in free variation and "Mam" almost unheard of. The rural western accent tends to pronounce LOT/THOUGHT as a rounded back vowel, while more urban accents tend to be unrounded. Most rurally influenced people also tend to have very back TRAP vowels even before nasals, so the word ma'am sounds like an eastern American Mom or northern English Mam.
Personally I say Mom in a way an American might hear as Mawm, and this seems to be quite common, although more urban/general Canadian accents might sound more like the General American variety. I do catch myself saying Mum now and then though. As for the STRUT vowel it's my opinion that rural westerners tend toward a more back sound especially when being emphatic, while urban accents are more centralised but not necessarily lowered.
In the United States, between the early 19th century and 1980, justices of the Supreme Court were formally called Mr. Justice . In 1980, the title was dropped in "to avoid the awkward appellation 'Madam Justice'" in anticipation of a woman joining the court. Plaques on chamber doorways reading "Mr. Justice" were removed after Sandra Day O'Connor joined the court in 1981. Female members of state supreme courts were previously sometimes styled as Madam Justice, matching the Mr. Justice formally used. A soldier addressing a higher ranking officer uses the word sir or ma'am in the same manner as a polite civilian speaking with a person to whom he wishes to show respect.
In the military service, the matter of who says sir or ma'am to whom is clearly defined; in civilian life it is largely a matter of discretion. A gentlewoman; - an appellation or courteous form of address given to a lady, especially an elderly or a married lady; - much used in the address, at the beginning of a letter, to a woman. The corresponding word in addressing a man is Sir; often abbreviated ma'am when used as a term of address.
Now let's look at some examples of using "ma'am." It's the more formal spelling we use when we want to address a superior in some way. It's reserved for women, as it's a contraction of "madam," which means woman. It's up to you which of the two spellings you'd rather use. Like many language rules in English, you can use two similar sayings interchangeably. However, it's important to stick to one rule and use that all the time.
If you refer to someone as "ma'am" and then say "madam" afterward, it won't seem very formal. "Mam" is a common word when visiting places like Ireland or Yorkshire in the UK. People use "mam" to address their mother, and it's pronounced the same way it is written. "Ma'am" elongates the "A" letters in the middle (like "arm") and is used to address a female superior. I can't find any formal definition from online dictionaries.
I heard people say it a lot everyday, but not sure if it's "mam" or "ma'am". Ma'am is a short of Madam only and is a polite way to address a lady. We have further shrinked it to mam probably due to our Indian pronunciation scheme in which we write what we pronounce. Once a word becomes popular the dictionaries also incorporate it in them. Ma'am is just a shortened version of the word madam.
It is used without someone's name as a sign of respect. It is also considered a polite way to address a woman. However, some women consider being called ma'am offensive or rude.
When we use "ma'am" to a married woman, it's only because we're polite and formal in tone. We're not using it to indicate that she's married, and we're respecting her for that reason. Both words are used to refer to a female superior officer of some kind.
"Ma'am" is the more popular choice of the two, though "madam" still works. The apostrophe in "ma'am" represents the contraction (the dropped "D" letter). There is no reason why "mam" should ever overtake "ma'am" in English, either. Knowing the correct way to address a woman using "madam" teaches us appropriate language skills.
That's why it's good to look at the differences between "mam," "ma'am," and "madam" so you can start using them yourself. A shortened version of the word madam, which was formally used when addressing women in the days when etiqute and common curtesy were commonplace. "Ma'am" is commonly used as a verbal address for female officers of inspector and higher ranks in British police forces. The word is also used by junior personnel to address female superiors in the British Armed Forces. Curious, I don't use any term for such, really. If you call someone in their 50's Sir or Ma'am, you may be insulting them.
Mam is a word meaning mother and is described in the dictionaries. How the word madam became mam in our country is a mystery but when we use foreign words in native style such things can happen. Though correct short form of madam is ma'am but we are now habitual of using mam only.
There is nothing wrong with calling your teacher "ma'am," but you definitely shouldn't call her "mam." Since she's not your mother, "mam" is the incorrect word to use. However, if you want to be respectful, then "ma'am" works perfectly. We generally don't use "ma'am" when we're talking to a married person.
While the word is used to show respect, it has no connotations that mean you have to say it when the woman is already married. Also, it's worth mentioning that the meaning of "madam" is slowly transitioning in English, meaning that "ma'am" is the most acceptable way to say it in formal English. "Madam" is used to say that a young girl is showing bad behavior in colloquial English. A mother might say that her daughter is a "little madam" to indicate that she's misbehaving or being unruly. There is absolutely no indication that "mam" is becoming a substitute for the more appropriate and respectful variation "ma'am." The two words don't even have the same direct language roots.
Words like "mom" or "mam" are linguistic universals — for example, the Mandarin Chinese for "mother" is "ma". They are usually among the first language-like sounds made by babies. Given that both the US and South Africa use 'mom' there is a fair bet that the word has derived from Dutch or Nederlands given the preponderance of Dutch settlers in both countries. Australia, NZ and Britain in the main use mum so one assumes that is an English derivation. The Americans have worked hard a couple of times in their history to 'remove' traces of their English connections and despite changing spelling, they were rather stuck with the English language. They do all have the same meaning but why some do mum and others do mom was the original question.
• The word origins of sir and ma'am show that, unlike some suggest, the words aren't slang for anything derogatory. And if they ever were, it would have been by small groups of small-minded persons. Today, society values the terms traditionally, commercially, and culturally as a sign of respect to all. • Ma'am is a contraction-of-sorts of madam (the 'd' is simply removed).
It's an Anglo-French word first in use in the 1300s and was originally ma dame — the literal translation being my lady. This referred to any lady, married or single, just like sir referred to any man. Both words have been in standard use in their current forms since at least the 1700s.
Today, they are still standard signs of respect. So every time you called someone mam, you unknowingly considered them to be your mother. Whenever we omit any letter or sound, we need someone to tell that someone has been killed. An apostrophe is the punctuation mark which is used to denote the omission of a letter or a sound. In Canada, the appellation Mr/Madam Prime Minister and Mr./Madam Minister is "often heard informally" for prime ministers and other ministers, but is not in official use.
Which Is Correct Am Or A M Female members of the Supreme Court are addressed by counsel in hearings as either Madam Justice or Justice; in writing, a female justice is addressed as The Honourable Madame Justice. The same style is used for other female members of the Canadian federal courts. Madam President or Madame President is a formal form of address for female presidents and vice presidents of republics. Madam Secretary is a formal form of address for a female member of the United States Cabinet; a female Attorney General of the United States is formally addressed Madam Attorney General. A letter to the Queen may begin with Madam or May it please Your Majesty. Other female members of the British royal family are usually addressed in conversation first as Your Royal Highness and subsequently as Ma'am.
"Madame" is technically used to address married women in the French language, however. Does that mean that these people ma'am-ing me are assuming that I'm a married woman? Once you're old enough to have the right to vote or serve in the military , you're old enough for others to refer to as sir or ma'am. So don't feel like you're too young for people to call you by these honorifics.
If you see ma'am written as m'am, it is just a common misspelling. M'am is not a real word, so you shouldn't use it in written communication. Ma'am is short for madam, which is a sign of respect. Don't waste the recruiter's time—see our 5 short cover letter examples and learn how to make every word count.
Interestingly, it's almost de rigeur in my neck of the woods . Indeed, the state of Louisiana passed a law making "ma'am" and "sir" the required form of address for grade-school children to their teachers. And I still say "yes, ma'am" or "no ma'am" to all older women when I'm home in the South--including my mother. Now that I've finally entered my 3rd decade, I find it charming when my neices and nephews and other small children call me "ma'am." I'd question their manners if they didn't.
Some women get extremely offended when they are called ma'am, so it is best to avoid it unless you know they are okay with it. However, m'am is not correct and isn't even a real word. It is just a common misspelling that gets looked over. It's easy to assume that there is just one A, but since ma'am is short for madam, this isn't the case. It can be difficult to determine what the proper spelling of a word is, especially if you don't usually spell it out. For example, a lot of people misspell the word ma'am because it's not a word that is typically spelled out.
