I think the problem is that “Sir” and “Madam” are used all the time in all sorts of contexts in America. Just answering a simple yes or no question, the answer is invariably followed by “Sir” or “Madam”. So, they have lost their air of respect.
Over on this side of the Atlantic in the British Isles, “Sir” and “Madam” are only ever used in a formal context. And in formal letters (such as job applications), it is expected that they are used. It is seriously frowned upon to address somebody by a form of their actual name in a formal letter.
As for using titles, it depends on the context. As
NanaPat said, you would never call a medical doctor by their first name. It is always “Dr. W”. Same with teachers – it is always “Mr. X” or “Miss Y”, or “Mrs. Z”. It’s a way of showing respect.
The exception is when there are multiple people in the workplace with the same surname, and you have to differentiate them. At the High School I went to, all the teachers in the History Department were from one of two families. A set of brothers, and a father and son. Interestingly, how they were referred to evolved over time:
[TABLE="class: grid"]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]
Brothers[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]
Father And Son[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
At start[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]“Mr. Last Name Initial”[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]“Mr. Last Name Junior” and
“Mr. Last Name Senior”[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
After 2 or 3 years[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 2, align: center"]“Mr. Last Name First Name”[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
Last couple of years[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 2, align: center"]“First Name Last Name”[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
With the latter set, the father’s brother also taught at the school, but in the English Department. He was actually the Vice-Principal, and he got called by his title of “Dr. Last Name”. Funnily enough, the other male VP had the same surname as the brothers in the History Department, but was not related to them. I can’t actually remember how he was referred to in formal circumstances, but I do remember what all the pupils called him behind his back...
EDIT: I do remember now. It was “Mr. Last Name VP”.
And just to complete the set, the female VP and her son both taught in the PE Department. But, as there was no danger of getting them confused, “Mrs. Last Name” and “Mr. Last Name” was sufficient.
I have some of my former teachers as friends on Facebook. And even now, I still refer to them the same way as I did when I was at school. Even though they have all told me that I can use their first name now, it just doesn’t feel right. Especially since one of them actually told my class off when we were at school for using her first name. I may get on really well with them, but I still feel really uncomfortable using their first names.
Now, I don’t know if the School Of Archaeology was more relaxed than other schools at the University I went to, but all the staff were referred to by “First Name Last Name”. It may have been different in other Schools, but I just plain don’t know. On the one hand, after referring to teachers by their title all the way through school, it was strange doing it like this when there weren’t surname clashes. But, on the other hand, we weren’t dealing with academic titles when we were at school; we were dealing with social titles. So, referring to people by academic titles would have been strange.
Here’s a couple of funny stories. Ever since my Mum’s younger brother got his PhD, when my Granny has been posting him birthday cards or whatever, she has always addressed the envelope “Dr. First Name Last Name”. And he HATES being referred to like that. He prefers to keep his achievements quiet. One time that my Granny was in hospital, she was bragging to the staff that her son was a doctor. And, understandably, they assumed he was a doctor of medicine. Except, he is actually a doctor of geology!
Then you come to one of my Dad’s brothers. He always insists on him and his wife being called “Uncle First Name” and “Auntie First Name” by their nephews and nieces. And he always corrects them if they don’t. Perhaps unsurprisingly, their daughter always refers to her Aunts and Uncles in this way.
Just to finish off, one thing I really hate is the way that when somebody in the public eye is given a title of honour, the media start calling said person by that title all the time, and never use the name that said person have been called their whole life up to now. So, most of the time, you haven’t a clue who they’re talking about! Like, it is ridiculous the number of times over the past few years that there has been a story in the news, and I have thought that it was about some of these elderly cousins of the Queen’s, and it has turned out to be about Prince William and Kate Middleton! And now it is happening all over again with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Oh, and that just reminded me of another thing. I hate the way that when somebody dies, the media suddenly stops referring to their namesake child as “XXXX Junior”. They start calling them just “XXXX”. Which is highly confusing, because after hearing this name used to refer to the parent for so long, you still think they are talking about the parent.
OK, so I have waffled on about so much that I don’t know any more what the point I was trying to make was.
But, I hope you found my ramblings interesting.
CaroLiza_fan
hwell:
, you would be expected to figure that out and write "Dear Professor Hanyu" or some other more personalized greeting.
It's random confessions anyhow 
