What do you call the process of formally addressing someone by using honorifics?

Question

My native language is Macedonian, and in my language, we have a special term that describes the process of formally addressing someone. The idea is that you treat that person in plural instead of in singular, plus you also use the proper honorifics. For example: > Hello, Professor Mark, How are **You** today? In the sentence above, there are three important things 1. **You** starts with capital **Y** 2. **You** in this context (if it was in Macedonian of course) would be personal pronoun for second person plural (In Macedonian it is totally different word than the one for second person singular) 3. We use the word **Professor** as an honorific/title. For this process, or way of addressing someone formally, we have a word in the Macedonian language: **Персирање** I would like to know the equivalent of the English Language and I couldn't find it in few online and few printed dictionary that I have had access to. I would highly appreciate if someone finds the right word for me and also tell me more about the roles for formal addressing in the English Language (or redirect me to some article). Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello! English is a more informal language than others, and we don't have a specific tense that is used to show respect. Spanish has "usted" and French has "vous," just like you've explained that Macedonian has a special case for this. In English, we might use certain words to express deference. To an older person who you do not know, you might say, "How are you, Sir (for a man) / Ma'am (for a woman)?" instead of just "How are you?" You might also address someone by their title, such as "Hello, Doctor" or "Yes, Your Honor" for a judge or "Yes, Officer" for a police officer. However, all you use the same second-person "you" pronouns and verbs when you are addressing someone directly, regardless of whether it is a formal or informal situation.