Tell me more ×     • I am expected to use polite forms when
speaking to someone socially above me. Let's take for example, a
teacher.      If our relationship improves, and it becomes
permissible for me to speak casually to the teacher, then if I
speak to that teacher in the presence of another party. How
should I behave?  (Question) Is the politeness determined by
accountability to the person I'm addressing, or is it
accountable to external societal pressures?  share|improve this
question @Andry already gave a very thorough answer, but I would
pitch in my own anecdotal experience, which is that there is
that 'relationship improvement' doesn't factor so much in the
level of speech you use. There might be exception, but
generally, no matter how long and friendly I'd know someone,
I'll tend to stick to the same level of honorific. –  Dave Nov
19 '12 at 0:12 @Dave: That is why I reported "my experience" and
what I ended up thinking from them. My answer was intended to
provide a real experience. I lived in Japan