“I'm going to a store now to show you what we're talking about.”
A TikToker has gone viral for showing Americans how we speak in the UK.
While it's normal in the United States to address store workers in a formal tone, often using “ma'am” or “sir,” you won't find people saying this across the Atlantic.
In fact, there's one word that almost every British person seems to use, and TikToker @imjoshfromengland2 really highlighted it in his video.
“One of the biggest cultural differences I find between the UK and the US is that in the US everyone says 'sir' or 'ma'am' all the time. In the UK we don't do that,” Josh explains at the start of the video.
“A lot of Americans ask, what do you say in the UK? I'm going to a store right now to show you exactly what we're talking about,” he continued, adding that it was “legal.”
He then went into a shop to buy a drink and could be heard saying to the shopkeeper: “Hello mate, how are you? Thank you mate. Thanks for the buddy card. Cheers mate and have a good time, bye .”
As of this writing, the video has been viewed a whopping 3.3 million times, and it's fair to say that Americans have lost their minds over the news.
@imjoshfromengland2 That's what we say in the UK! 😂
♬ Original Sound – imjoshfromengland2
One netizen wrote: “So I think saying 'sir or madam' is a sign of respect. To me, 'mate' just sounds like a greeting.”
A second asked: “Why do British people always say goodbye so many times?”
“Does mate look like a dude? Sounds like my kids say 'bro' or 'bru,'” wrote a third.
“I live in the UK now and I still use Mr/Ms sometimes out of habit,” explained a fourth. “One gentleman said after I spoke to him that he did not remember being knighted.”
Other commenters pointed out the British fondness for pet names.
“British people call complete strangers 'love' or 'honey', I think it's beautiful,” one person wrote.
Another said: “I like being called 'Love' in the UK. A bit like 'Honey' in the South.”
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