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by johnnydrama on July 14th, 2007

johnnydrama

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I have been living in the south for almost two years now and have yet to hear an explanation as to why people always refer to someone by "Mr." or "Miss" in front of their FIRST name(up north we use the last name, mostly for elders)...why is this?

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  • by An Educated Optimist on July 15th, 2007

    An Educated Optimist

    We do both. Even here in the South, a young person is expected to address an adult by his or her last name. The "Mr./Ms.+ First name" is reserved for people with whom a child is very close, like a family friend with whom he or she grew up. It's a sort of happy medium that demonstrates the close (almost familial) relationship between the child and adult, but still places the adult in a position of authority or respect. And yeah, it's just one of our quirks...but I've always liked it.

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