Ooh ooh, I know how to get on a list!

Ahem

Luigi did nothing wrong

Lol i feel ya

*pedant

Oh yeah, dropping the 님 makes total sense, I just didn’t know if there was another word used besides “선생” for teacher in a general sense.

Don’t worry about your English, it’s better than mine and I’m a native speaker and occasional pedant. Your comment absolutely makes sense.

♥️

That can be the challenge with Chief as well, it’s often said in a masculine context. Boss and Captain don’t have the same challenges (although penal culture can affect when Boss is appropriate to use)

Found Obama

Hat tipping intensifies

Could… could it be summed up… like considering cultural context, including historical respect for certain vocations, and Confucian influences in earlier centuries, as a word like, I don’t know, Teacher?

I kid I kid, i get what you’re saying, but teacher is generally accepted as the English translation for 선생님 to the best of my knowledge. Granted, I haven’t studied the language for almost 20 years but I think that’s still the case, yes?

Also, and genuinely curious here, what is used for “teacher” in a school setting? Like I can see a little kid saying 제 선생님은 재미있서 because of how 선생님 is used. But if a teenager said their teacher sucks what word would they use?

If we’re going non-English, I’d prefer to address people like Death of Rats

The Death of Rats materialized behind the heap in the forge, and trudged to the sad little heap of fur that had been a rat that got in the way of the scythe. Its ghost was standing beside it, looking apprehensive. It didn’t seem very pleased to see him. “Squeak? Squeak?” SQUEAK, the Death of Rats explained. “Squeak?” SQUEAK, the Death of Rats confirmed. “[Preen whiskers] [twitch nose]?” The Death of Rats shook its head. SQUEAK. The rat was crestfallen. The Death of Rats laid a bony but not entirely unkind paw on its shoulder. SQUEAK. The rat nodded sadly.

• Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett

Thank you, that is a valid concern.

It’s all about tone. I’m most concerned about in-person interactions, and tone and intent is easier to convey in that type of encounter. I used to be a very sarcastic PoS, so I’m pretty aware of how to use words and tone The result is I’m pretty good at conveying earnestness and empathy. My challenge is that my speech patterns for polite formal are heavily engrained, so I’m looking for substitutes that flow with my existing speech patterns.

Also this has been a fascinating discussion and I’m loving all of the responses and suggestions, including yours. Thank you for contributing :-)

I’m gonna use Professor if I want something more formal than Chief

Killing is wrong. And bad. There should be a new, stronger word for killing. Like badwrong, or badong. Yes, killing is badong. From this moment, I will stand for the opposite of killing: gnodab.

I am legit going to use Magister as a replacement option for Mr/Mrs. It’s formal, archaic, and gender neutral. That’s the trifecta right there

You’re amazing and so are your questions.

I’m looking for a third option for sir/ma’am, and a substitute for Chief that’s a bit more formal.

The culture I’m in now is not as formal, this isn’t so much finding something to work within the culture of this area as it is to marry my culture to the one I find myself in. I have very little to connect me to my people here and so the traditions I choose to keep are more important as a result. I like saying sir/ma’am. It’s the verbal equivalent of holding the door open for someone. But for some people being addressed that way is invalidating, and I want to meet people where they are, not force them to come to me.

I like Magister as a third option for Mr/Mrs., and Professor as a more formal Chief. But sir/ma’am has me stumped

Pittsburg is similar. Yens

I often call people chief. One time I started to say Yessir, realized midway the person I was taking to might not appreciate the label, tried to change lanes and say Yeah, Chief, and wound up saying Yes Chef.

We had a really good conversation about The Bear TV series afterwards