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I remember the first time I was referred to as "sir" after moving to the UK from Norway.

In Norway it's now rare to come across the equivalent "Herr" other than as an insult (implying you're stuck up), outside of very limited cases, such as instead of "Mr", but that use too is in steep decline.

English is full of ways to express implied hierarchy through different wording / tone without the T-V distinction.



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