but in some parts of Asia, calling elders aunty/uncle can be very upsetting ... been there, done that .. (Nak may concur .. )Wd40 wrote:Its common in Asia, to address people with title instead of name as a token of respect. If someone is slightly elder then you are expected to address as Brother or Sister. If much older then refer as aunty/uncle. Its not your absolute age that matters. But the difference in age that matters. For a child, even a 20 year old is an uncle. But for a 20 year old you need to be like 40+ to be called an uncle.
In India we used call our teachers as "Sir" or "Maa'm" when we were kids until we first got exposed to western television and noticed how western kids call the teachers by name. That was shocking. Even at workplace during the old times we never called our boss by name, it was always sir and Maa'm. Then came the IT and Call Center revolution in India and with it brought the refreshing American culture of calling boss by name among many other things.
And always remember, the Tiger Beer Aunty is always called "MISS .."therat wrote:since young, I was told to address anyone older than me by auntie or uncle.
When I went to stall to buy food or drink. I address the stall helper or owner as auntie and uncle.
Until come to a point, I realize I almost reach the auntie and uncle level.
Now, when I buy food or drink, if the stall owner or helper look not much older than me. I call them boss.
In local, we had a way of addressing different stall owner like drink stall and food stall, they had a special name for it. But it was in dialect.
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