もらう level of politeness


When describing もらう DBJG says "The first person or s.o. the speaker empathises
with recieves some benefit from an action by someone whose status is **not as
high as the receiver's** "

It then goes on to give the example

> 私は父にカメラを買ってもらった

But surely the father's status is higher than the son/daughter's status so
this example seems to contradict the description.

So, are both the description and the sentence correct? If so what am i
missing?

I would like to believe the desciption and replace the sentence with

> 私は父にカメラを買っていただいた

Would that be correct? Thanks.




I believe the confusion with the example sentence is caused by another issue -
politeness levels when it comes to family. When you talk about your family to
people outside the family, you are supposed to use less respectful terms such
as 父{ちち} and 母{はは}, as opposed to respectful terms like お父{とう}さん and お母{かあ}さん
that you are supposed to use when you talk to other family members.

This is part of the cultural standard of referring to yourself and things
related to yourself in a humble manner. This can be seen in the use of the お/ご
polite prefix:

> A: お元気{げんき}ですか？ Are you well?  
>  B: はい、元気です。 Yes, I am well.

In the example 私は父にカメラを買ってもらった, they are lowering the status of the father to
be humble about their family, so it makes sense to use もらう. Other reasons they
would use もらう are because it is a casual conversation, or because they have a
nice, friendly relationship with their father.




I believe the confusion with the example sentence is caused by another issue -
politeness levels when it comes to family. When you talk about your family to
people outside the family, you are supposed to use less respectful terms such
as 父{ちち} and 母{はは}, as opposed to respectful terms like お父{とう}さん and お母{かあ}さん
that you are supposed to use when you talk to other family members.

This is part of the cultural standard of referring to yourself and things
related to yourself in a humble manner. This can be seen in the use of the お/ご
polite prefix:

> A: お元気{げんき}ですか？ Are you well?  
>  B: はい、元気です。 Yes, I am well.

In the example 私は父にカメラを買ってもらった, they are lowering the status of the father to
be humble about their family, so it makes sense to use もらう. Other reasons they
would use もらう are because it is a casual conversation, or because they have a
nice, friendly relationship with their father.

