Lesson 3

“No prob, mate!”

Mates, loves, babes, darlings… The first time you hear them, don’t be offended, alright? They ain’t that bad after all.

I ain’t got no clue about the origin of these forms of address. The English just have to use some kind of address when speaking to someone. I would say that it is a derivative of the actual lack of different formal/informal types of address in contemporary English language. But, still, being formal or informal remains confusing. Be warned and prepared.

Here’s a quick list of what you might encounter (in alphabetical order):
chuck, mate, matie, bab*, babe, babs*, darling, honey (hon’), love, lovey, sausage, sugar, sweetheart, sweetie, sweetie pie etc.

(* short for babby, which is a dialectical form of “baby” in the West Midlands)

This list is not in any way exhaustive.

For an indication, I’d say that mate, love and babe are the most common ones. Let’s say, on a formal business meeting you may only use “mate”.

Here’s a quick guide for you:

“Mate” is man-to-man, woman-to-man in reference. But you will hear it as man-to-woman or even woman-to-woman in reference.

“Love” is man-to-woman, woman-to-man or woman-to-woman. (You obviously never want to use it in a man-to-man reference!)

“Babe” is similar, but mostly man-to-woman or woman-to-woman in reference. Woman-to-man usage is more informal.

But don’t take any of these as a rule. I have to leave’em for you to explore.