Speaking to elders
 

I have a question for you guys.

So, I was with my friends from Japan and a person they were acquanted with came by to ask help for some homework. When they started talking to their friend they spoke in a different form of Japanese other than speaking informal. After the person left I found out that he was older than them. I also see that sometimes in Japanese television.

So here's my question. When in Japan, is it required to talk to others older than your current age in a formal dialect? Is it to show respect?

I think it is the polite thing to do, especially if you don't know the person. When in doubt use the -masu.

It's not formal. It's more accurately labeled "polite."

THink about it this way.

Formal in English is like "I heretofore bequeath you blah blah" or "You honor me with your presence blah blah."

Polite, on the other hand, is the avoidance of "yo foo, how you doin' aight" or "i ain't gunno go over there, so you best git, son."

But... informal Japanese is nowhere near that level. :D

Sorry, I just actually laughed at your post so had to reply - but to stay on topic I`ll add my own answer.

In Japanese it is normal to speak a bit more politely to those who rank above you in some way - whether it be age, work status, etc. To an extent this is also true in English, although not as widely spread. Most people speak differently to their friends than to their boss or teacher.

You're right. About halfway through my post I lost sight of why I was composing it and just started brainstorming fun things to write in colloquial, variant English. I suppose the first is some quasi-gangsta speech, and the other is my native dialect.