Pronominal form of address
A pronominal salutation is the salutation of people with a pronoun , e.g. B. you, her, you. The choice of the appropriate pronoun is determined by social norms that are exposed to the constant change of society and language. In many languages, the second or third person singular or plural of the personal pronoun is used in direct addressing, sometimes a possessive pronoun , or a pronoun-free construction is chosen. The pronominal form of address differs depending on the country and people, language and social group, the relationship between the addressee and the addressee and the respective situation.
German language area
historical development
Middle Ages (800 to 1500)
For the period before the 9th century, there is no useful information due to the lack of suitable written certificates in German. Probably the earliest evidence for the use of the form of address "you" instead of "you" is a passage from the year 865 by Otfrid von Weißenburg , who used this form with the Bishop of Constance . In analogy to other ancient languages, one can assume that in earlier times only direct address using the 2nd person singular was used, supplemented by honorary additions depending on the circumstances. The transition to the 2nd person plural in relation to princely and other high dignitaries probably developed in late antiquity, perhaps inspired by the custom of late Roman emperors, who used the pluralis majestatis for their proclamations and were subsequently addressed as it was in the Roman tetrarchy since the year 293 actually gave a senior and a junior emperor for both halves of the empire. The popes - probably since Gregory I - adopted this form of address. In sociolinguistics , the distinction between the “solidarity pronoun”, which in many European languages is derived from the Latin tu (2nd person singular), and the “power pronoun”, which comes from the plural form vos , is called TV distinction . In the Germanic language area, this distinction begins around the 11th century.
Honorable attributes that were added to the “you” or “Ihr” salutation in German were created in the form of “Mein Herr” or in similar evidences of deference or submission. The medieval aristocracy also increasingly addressed each other as “you”. The common people, however, were used by the nobles and the clergy . Until about the end of the Middle Ages, every native or foreigner who did not hold a special position or was not recognized as special was used within the simple rural and urban population. In the country and especially in mountain areas it lasted much longer and it can still be found in remnants today, for example in certain alpine regions.
More or less authentic short speeches from the courtly environment of the High Middle Ages can be found in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival epic. Although the content of the story takes place in Britain around 500 AD, the author who wrote in Middle High German probably used the usual forms of addressing in his epic from around 1200. When reading, you can see that knights spoke to her with one another . The salutation of the king to the squire Gâwân in the following three-line line is, as expected, in the "you" form, the salutation of the squire to the king again in the "her" form, supplemented by a respectful "Lord". The lines are from Book XIII, Section 650, lines 19-21:
Hin zem
curtly he said dô ' nu tell me, is Gâwân vrô?'
'Yes, hêrre, whether ir wavy' ...
(He spoke to the squire,
now tell me, is Gâwân okay?
Yes, sir, if you want ...)
Modern times (1500 to 1800)
Probably from the early modern period onwards, the manners cultivated by the court with the polite form of you appeared especially in the urban bourgeoisie or towards persons of respect. That could sound like this, translated here into modern German:
- "Sir, you are so kind."
In high-class circles, family members now spoke to each other in the plural.
- "Father, I wish you let me go out to try my luck."
Such formulations, which we also know from many classical works, are unlikely to have been used by the common people, who continued to use the direct you form and a more direct form of expression. Classical stage plays, however, were often written for a select (and wealthy) audience who did not necessarily want to get to know the expressions and choice of words of simple craftsmen and farmers.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the salutation with was he , the ores, in different contexts in widespread use. It could be used by superiors and higher ranking members to convey a certain disregard or accusation:
- "Guy, does he even have any powder on the pan?"
But citizens' children also told their parents, whereby "ore" meant respect:
- "I understand him, father" ,
while noble children now marry their parents.
After the Enlightenment gradually affected broad sections of the population, from the second half of the 18th century people were also socially lower off in more elegant (and at the same time mostly educated) surroundings, e.g. B. Servants, usually addressed with a form of courtesy, but here mostly with you .
For the elegant and official address in written correspondence, there were certain phrases that were standardized, similar to today's "Dear Sir or Madam" . For example, Friedrich Schiller wrote in 1794 as a well-known poet and professor of philosophy from Jena to the (higher-ranking) Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:
- "Honorable Lord, Honorable Mr. Privy Council!" And concluded with the words "Your Most Honorable , most obedient servant and sincere admirer, Jena June 13th 1794, F. Schiller" ,
while the Geheime Rat Goethe a few days later from Weimar began its reply letter with:
- "Ew. Wellborn " and let it end with " Weimar June 24, 1794, Goethe "
The "Ew." , Which has been used in salutations for several centuries , can be read as "Your" and is the abbreviation of the early New High German word "ewer" , which in turn is derived from the Middle High German "uiwer" . In addition to the salutations and expressions, which rightly seem baroque to us, it is also noticeable that no name is mentioned in either of the salutations and that Goethe's answer does not even include the word "Herr" . While the salutation is written via "Ew." In the 2nd person plural, the pronominal salutation in the letter text itself is in both cases in the 3rd person plural. In this correspondence between two distinguished gentlemen at the end of the 18th century, two different forms of address, yours and sins, were mixed.
The Siezen may have developed from the he / she salutation in the courtly environment in Germany from the late 17th century. Since the verbally spoken direct forms of address have not been handed down to us in the form of a protocol, we are not very precisely informed about the origin, imitation and regional expansion.
Modern times (1800 to around 2000)
With the transition of the class society to a bourgeois one around 1800, the Siezen and the salutation Mr., Mrs. and Fraulein became common for all citizens, who hereby imitated class customs in a certain sense, however in the country in many places the yours or even Duzen remained in the present time. Their own parents were observed until the beginning of the 20th century, and in some cases even longer in relation to distant relatives.
The overall but broad transition from you to you signaled the endeavor for a certain alignment with the etiquette of the nobles, perhaps also a demarcation of the urban from the rural population, where these processes were clearly delayed. The fact that the Siezen spread from urban society to the entire country was probably due to the administration that originated centrally from the cities, and in the second half of the 20th century also to the heavy settlement of rural areas from the city to the surrounding area moving residents.
The "du-comment" was held for even longer among students . H. the agreement that everyone was on the same page. This custom declined sharply in Germany during the 19th century and was only found in remnants at the beginning of the 20th century, for example at the University of Tartu (Dorpat, today Estonia). Within a student union , the members continued to adhere to the lifelong Duz-Comment among themselves, but had to use the Siezen to the outside world (also to members of other associations). In Switzerland, the Duzen was largely retained among all students. From around 1970 (slightly different depending on the university), however, it has again become common practice among all students in Germany (initially West Germany) to speak directly to each other.
The Duzen is common among members of social democratic , socialist and communist parties, even though it is often not used spontaneously everywhere by younger people in relation to venerable older officials. Formerly they not only banned the Siezen, but also replaced the titles Herr, Frau und Fräulein, which sounded feudal to them, with the address comrade and comrade. Secondly, however, functional titles were added to re-establish hierarchies that were also recognizable in the salutation: Comrade General, Comrade Secretary General, Comrade Minister, etc.
During the time of National Socialism and also in the period before and after that, except in the country, general Siezen was the usual form of address both within the government and in society. Even young people of the separate sex often spoke to you for a long time orally or by letter during the getting to know each other, e. B. in the form "May I go out with you on Sunday, (Miss) Martha?" A possible short reply by letter could have been "Dear Friedrich, unfortunately I am not able to meet you ...". In upscale society, both in Germany and Switzerland, the domestic staff was often addressed using the Hamburger Sie (salutation with "Sie" and the first name). The servants had to talk about the children of the lordly landlord partly in the form of “the young man” or “the young lady”, but the children could themselves use two words as long as they were young. However, there were different variants of customs.
Throughout the 20th century, a basic rule in the German-speaking area was that primarily family members, relatives and close friends (so-called Duzfreunde) should be used. Foreign adults were generally accepted from around 16-17 years of age, that is, well before reaching the legal age of majority, which in Austria and the FRG until 1973 and 1975 was 21 years, in Switzerland at that time it was 20 and in the GDR 18 years . In some urban families, the group of unrelated people was very small and limited to childhood friendships. Teachers went over to their students from the upper school level to Siezen, often in the form of the Hamburger Sie. In some places, from the last decades of the 20th century, it has become common for teachers and students, as well as between lecturers and students, to use common Duke. In sport, it was in principle customary to see each other after a short time or immediately, but here too, as in other social classes, habits have developed at different speeds regionally and in different age groups. In general, Duzen was more common in Alpine regions in the 20th century than in the rest of German-speaking countries.
In German, the Duzen was temporarily strongly propagated from the 1968 movements , as social hierarchies should also be made flatter. In the period after that (1980s to 1990s), however, there were also opposing movements or at least a standstill. At the Scandinavian company Ikea , which in Germany went to you from 2004 in advertising texts and also among the workforce, but often not in mutual verbal customer contact, there was a welcome text in Switzerland at the entrance to the main store as early as the late 1970s , which read "If you use us, we will use you too, if you call us, we will say you too." On a fundamental change in the form of address between customers and sales staff, which would have complied with the you reform in the company's home country, But it didn't come back then.
Salutation with you
Observations on the current spread of the dozen
The form of address in the second person singular of the personal and possessive pronouns (you, you, your etc.), colloquially called Duzen , is the grammatically direct and simplest form of address on which all Indo-European languages are based. Duzen can mean closeness and familiarity and is used today in communication between friends, family members and (asymmetrically) with children and young people. Depending on the situation and the institution, it is also accepted that the “higher” uses the “lower” and the “lower” uses the “higher” nonetheless. Such asymmetrical forms of address are often in agreement with those who speak, who at the same time accept or sometimes even want the age or rank difference for this asymmetry. In the past, teachers almost generally went over to their students from high school to Hamburger Sie ; in consensus with the students or even at their request, they often stick to the asymmetrical Duzen, which is sometimes used alternately, but according to surveys more often in the old than in the new federal states . In general, Duzen and first names are more widespread in Switzerland and Austria than in Germany, and so far more widespread in the old federal states than in the new federal states, where the SED- compliant "comrade you" sometimes has a historically-related "aftertaste".
Duzen is common among the indigenous rural population, sometimes also towards strangers and sometimes even continuously up to the present day, especially where one speaks in an unadulterated dialect. In cities and in new development areas, however, Duzen is now also widespread in large parts of the leisure sector, especially in sporting activities. In the golf club or at traditional company parties, a day-you is sometimes agreed upon, in which the confidential form of address will no longer be used from the next working day, a custom and a restriction that is likely to decrease. In larger companies, where the operations or company manager can also be used as a duke, the address in public space or for formalities (e.g. works meeting) may, under certain circumstances, be tacitly alternated in the you form.
The use or non-use of the dozen by parliamentarians and members of the federal and state governments or cantons is under public scrutiny when they appear on television. While members of a government in Switzerland, and probably also Austria, often to a large extent use duet and thus also demonstrate collegiality, in Germany this is predominantly only observed within parties (or close party alliances), and even there, not continuously, or it only becomes maintained in non-public areas (secretly, as it were). In the second decade of the 21st century, many corporations and other large institutions, where the members of the management team are alternately referred to by their first name in statements or lectures, are taking an offensive path in the second decade of the 21st century, analogous to today's Anglo-Saxon customs, which creates unity, harmony and Corporate identity should be strengthened internally and externally.
A first wave of the expansion of the dozen and the pushing back of the Siezens in Germany occurred around 1970 and in the years thereafter. One of the most striking features was the transition to the general Duzen among all students, which was previously not common in Germany (although this was the norm in Switzerland). In the 1980s, several empirical studies observed a kind of standstill in the public and university spread of the dozen, in some cases a slight counter-movement. A renewed expansion started around the turn of the millennium and in the second decade of the millennium also reached workforce and institutions. Calls, advertising texts or instructions are (again) increasingly aimed at adult consumers in “you” form, although this can also serve as a means of increasing attention and was used in this function as early as the first half of the 20th century is. Since around the turn of the millennium, more and more professors have spoken to each other at the university, including in Germany (generally for a long time in Switzerland). But also Duzen between the lecturers and the students directly entrusted to them (for example from a Bachelor's or Master's thesis) increased, although regionally and especially between the different subject areas it was quite different. Nowadays, Duzen is often spontaneous and partly based on Anglo-Saxon norms, although historically-grammatical there is a combination of first names and a traditional form of courtesy, the you (linguistically originated from you ). An increasing use of university first names is less brisk than in some cases in the 1970s and is sometimes introduced via the Hamburger Sie. A partial asymmetry can also occur: Duzen / Siezen with first names given by the lecturer and Siezen with last name given by the students occurs about once and then often occurs in harmony with or at the request of the student.
In the twentieth century, at least officially, in some German federal states such a situation could be interpreted as a concern about bias from the legal perspective. In German-speaking Switzerland, where written exams at universities are more often formulated in the Du form, this concern did not arise. Today, Duzen and / or at least first names are also used for candidates in disputations (doctoral examinations) in many subjects and universities in Germany.
On the other hand, depending on the situation and the content of the conversation, spontaneous and unexpected Duzen can still be interpreted by an addressee as tactlessness and lack of distance, as annoyance and insult or as aggressiveness and pick-up. However, the spontaneous and at the same time unsolicited you has grown in the entire German-speaking area over the last two decades, which has led to changes in the perceived interpretation of the salutations and in tolerances. Although there are regional differences, it is now common that younger people up to the age of 30 use each other in many situations. In discussion forums since around 2010 it has been reported with astonishment that people are often used on the street, in cafés or in “clothes shops”, which was largely unusual a few years earlier. Also in the long-distance bus or at the hairdresser and in the beauty salon is used more. Sometimes the direction of an initially asymmetrically opened dozen can even be reversed to previous life experience, in that even young (often female) people have older (often male) guests e.g. B. in informally run restaurants. Whether the trend will continue and the increase in dozen and first name addressing, and thus without the honorifica 'Herr' and 'Frau', will match the situation in Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon countries or whether there will soon be a standstill or even countermovements cannot assess each other, since both types of tendencies have appeared in historical processes of language change .
Regional and cultural characteristics
In the German-speaking parts of Switzerland , Duzen was traditionally much more widespread than in Germany or in parts of Austria, but it has evidently adjusted somewhat in the meantime. When it comes to leisure activities, in clubs and often among neighbors, people often use it spontaneously at the first meeting without prior agreement. Meanwhile, in many Swiss companies, everyone, with the exception of the top line manager, is used.
In the Swiss military , general Duzen is also widespread or customary. This should promote the corps spirit and underline the basic idea of the militia army as a people's army. However, the military formalities, especially when logging in and out, are adhered to. In the Swiss Alps there is also the old tradition that in rope teams and generally from a height of 3000 meters, formalities both in the military and among civilians are omitted and you switch to you . A corresponding custom should apply in Austria from 1000 or 2000 m.
In the Austrian Armed Forces it now happens more often that batches and NCOs offer the basic military servants the you after the end of their basic training and then, depending on the situation, more friendly manners predominate in daily service operations. In the armed forces, it is forbidden for superiors to unilaterally use terms on their subordinates without their consent.
A conspicuous use of the dozen can be found in some holiday areas, where a tourist duo is used specifically for guests. It is known from Zillertal in Tyrol and Bad Aussee in Styria , but it is also found in other alpine regions. From the users' point of view, this you should be interpreted as a particularly appreciative form of address that should convey a feeling of togetherness. Within some holiday clubs as well as social or sporting groups, e.g. B. ski or diving schools, Duzen is common anyway between all parties involved.
Insecurities in dealing with the correct pronominal address in German arise, among other things, where there is direct contact and exchange with neighboring languages. Before the strong foreign-language immigration waves into the German-speaking area from the 1960s onwards, the contact languages were mainly the border regions with French (in Switzerland and Luxembourg), Italian and Romansh (in Switzerland), and Flemish (in the German-speaking regions of Belgium) , Frisian (especially in parts of Schleswig-Holstein), West Slavic ( Sorbian ) in Lusatia, and South Slavic and Hungarian in the outskirts of Austria. In the area of the Lower Rhine, there is even a dialect continuum between German and Dutch idioms in Kleverland (North Lower Franconian) . Many speakers of these neighboring or minority languages grew up bilingually (e.g. all Frisian and Rhaeto-Romanic speaking residents), but of course there are still uncertainties in choosing the right form of address. The habits brought with you through the other language are often difficult to abandon or adapt. French-speaking Swiss, like the French, tend to be more reserved in their Duzen than German-speaking Swiss. Rhaeto-Romans know a difference between Duzen and Siezen, but traditionally this is not done by differentiating first or last name when greeting, but by the form of the more or less formal greeting: Allegra (meaning “good day”) with first names For people who are more distant, chau (roughly corresponding to today's 'hello', pronounced bye, but only usable for close acquaintances) with given names to neighbors and friends. It is uncommon to use a surname; Even the teachers are addressed by the students by their first names in the Engadin: Bun di, duonna Ladina; Buna saira, sar Claudio (“Good afternoon, Mrs. Ladina.” “Good evening, Mr. Claudio.” [Ladina and Claudio are first names]).
Between the 1960s and 2016, around 15 million people immigrated to the German-speaking area (number depends on the definition), who often live bilingually, but often speak, think, feel and act in their native language and culture. In addition, there are numerous international tourists in the German-speaking area, especially in the summer months. Due to the current change in pronominal addressing practices in the German-speaking area, it is particularly difficult for foreign speakers to recognize whether a Siezen or Duzen is more appropriate in a particular situation, especially since the practice sometimes deviates from the previously learned usage. Foreign language speakers who have just been educated are often reluctant to use the Du directly until they are offered it or they understand the custom in their respective environment. Uncertainties are partly due to the fact that in different cultures and languages, such as Arabic, it is customary to address people in a polite manner and often with a title, but to generally use their first name.
Use of the you in the meaning of one
Regionally, the pronoun du is also used in informal oral use in the sense of man , even if the speaker (from his point of view) uses high-level language and thus the standard language. A conversation partner who is not familiar with the use of the you as an indefinite pronoun can suddenly feel used, for example in the following sentence by an artist: "As soon as you stand on the stage, your stage fright is gone." This in the entire Upper German dialect area Occurring phenomenon has obviously increased in the oral standard language in the past decades and may unconsciously imitate the use of English you for German man or intend a (conscious or unconscious) loosening of the distanced seventieth. A you that is used indefinitely on both sides can also lead to conscious reciprocal Duke in the course of the conversation.
From you to you (and sometimes back)
Depending on the situation, Duzen also occurs between people who do not know each other personally, for example with aggressive behavior patterns (“Be careful!”), With threats of danger (“Hold on tight!”) And within leisure and sub-cultures , and increasingly more Operated. In the past, the latter mainly affected workers among themselves and the workforce of companies with intensive contact with the Anglo-Saxon-speaking area, such as American branches. In the meantime, however, it also applies to railway personnel who, on the occasion of an internal survey in 2014, voted with a large majority in favor of a general Duzen at the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), as it promotes cooperation and a feeling of unity, but no pressure is exerted on people who do not want to join the custom (yet).
While the transition from you to you from older people used to take place and is still taking place through a ritualized brotherhood (in Austria also "brotherhood drinking ", in Switzerland "doing Duzis") (combined with drinking a mostly alcoholic drink and with others Gestures), younger people or employees usually go straight to you or explain briefly “We say 'you' to each other” or “My name is ...”. Spontaneous Duzen can also be observed in bars and restaurants (especially where there are lots of younger people), during leisure activities and, depending on the situation, occasionally at parties and on the street. In chat and comment forums, where the real name, age and position of the communication partner is often not known, the Duzen has been more or less common and taken for granted from the start, with some exceptions. Otherwise, in written Internet traffic (e-mail, SMS, WhatsApp and in similar instant messaging services), the same expression is usual as in other communication, especially since, unlike in chat forums, you usually know each other personally: Salutations are often omitted, least of all in e-mails, where the omission of salutations and greetings in the German-speaking area has been considered somewhat sloppy, at least so far.
If, in the social environment, the offer or the invitation to use a Duke, regardless of whether it is ritualized or by simple explanation, comes from someone of lower rank or from a younger person, this is sometimes perceived as unsuitable by older or more traditional addressees; However, it is not an insult in the legal sense. Even a return to Siezen, on which one of the two may insist after some time, is not considered an insult, but is often perceived by the other person as an affront if the Duzen was not designated as limited in time and place from the outset. Such a return to Siezen (nowadays more likely in Germany than in Austria and Switzerland and more among older than younger people) should express a now (again) desired distance and henceforth exclude a person from the circle of confidants or also signal that one no longer wants to maintain closer contact. The you in this case is no politeness you , but a distance or Aversions- you . However, this return to Siezen can hardly be demanded by legal means, at most by social means through targeted exclusion.
Duzen in the service
In German, God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and all saints are addressed with the 2nd person singular in prayer and sermon. The Bible editions are also written accordingly and thus follow the grammatical form used in the original texts (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek). In some other modern languages, a change has taken place in this regard: The traditional religious “thou” of English, which has in fact disappeared in standard English but is still widespread in many English dialects, has often (although not in all denominations) in modern Bible translations 2nd person plural ("you") have to give way. However, this is perceived by Anglo-Saxons as an honoring German you . A similar process took place in Dutch a long time ago, in that the you , which has completely disappeared in this language, has been replaced by “U” and the yours by “Uw” (“your”). Below are the English and Dutch versions of each of the first three verses of the Lord's Prayer in today's common 2nd person plural:
English according to the 1988 English Language Liturgical Consultation:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
Dutch:
Onze vader die in de hemel zijt,
Uw naam worde sanctified,
Uw rijk kome.
In the practical church service in the German-speaking area, spontaneous Duzen can also occur mutually towards strangers, for example in the Catholic liturgy with the bank neighbor. Asymmetrical Duzen is traditionally found in the ear confession, in which a confessor can also use Duke to unfamiliar believers. Even during weddings, the (Protestant or Catholic) pastor often uses the couple with “Do you want ...?” In both cases, the asymmetrical Duzen seems to be on the decline. Opinions of the clergy differ towards the introduction of a general dozen between the pastor and his parishioners (according to the grammatical form in which Jesus also spoke to his disciples ); it still occurs rather rarely. In religious education it is similar to that in school, i.e. H. the pastor usually uses duet z. B. the confirmands who are up to 14 years old in Germany and up to 15 or 16 years old in Switzerland; but reciprocal Duzen also occurs.
Duzen as an affront, rudeness and insult
A wrong one according to traditional norms, i.e. H. Socially non-sanctioned or mutually non-consensual use of the you towards an adult can be accepted by the other person, for example if the person addressed is significantly younger, although adult. It can also be seen as positive, especially by younger people, where the other person often immediately goes over to you, or by a person who interprets this as a compliment to their relatively youthful appearance. However, it can also be viewed as rudeness and affront and, in the event that the person is reported, it can be legally viewed as an insult . Especially in Germany, this can still lead to penal sanctions under public authority law, especially when used against officials. The cases of a Nuremberg market woman (Gunda) in 1977 and a car driver in the Lake Constance area in 1987, who addressed the police in the second person singular and received considerable fines for this, became well known in the media. The reference to the general Duzen in one's own village, towards God in the church and in numerous countries of the world did not help argumentatively.
In the 21st century, however, there are still consequences when other elements of inappropriate wording are added, in particular insulting expressions. In the practice of jurisprudence, social change is taken into account with the relaxation of the conventions of the 19th and 20th centuries and a certain licentiousness of the general language as well as the regionally and sociologically different customs. In 2006, the Hamburg Regional Court has Duzen of a police officer by the musician Dieter Bohlen not classified as an insult, because it "obviously put the same behavior at public events of the day"; In this case, therefore, policemen's use of words “only” can be seen as impoliteness without defamatory content. In the meantime, as far as discussion forums and random interview media reports are allowed to be interpreted accordingly, depending on the situation, police organs, such as policewomen, occasionally use the you- form towards younger passers-by seeking help .
Large and lower case
The you and its derived forms ( dir, dich, dein , etc.) may be written in lower or upper case for the German language after the last spelling reform , if the author himself addresses the reader personally, such as in letters or direct communications of another kind All other text forms, such as advertising posters, stories, etc., only use lower case letters.
- "Where will you spend your vacation to relax?" Alternative spelling: "Where will you spend your vacation to relax?"
Salutation with you
The use of borrowed from the third person plural pronoun you is that today still common form of address to strangers in the standard German. In the formal business sector in particular, it is also mutually maintained by younger people. Why in German this unusual and grammatically “impersonal” form of address came about using the 3rd person plural (which is also set off in writing by capitalization), while most other European languages use the 2nd person plural or the 3rd person. Using the person singular as a form of courtesy and form of address to strangers and sometimes not using capital letters cannot be conclusively explained. Complex social currents, imitations and demarcations must have played an essential role that brought about this pronominally most distant way of addressing individuals in the oral and written standard language in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Originally, the you express well the highest courtesy and respect. The conscious use as a distant you , which is supposed to signal personal distance or even turning away and disinterest, may have arisen secondary. Due to the multiple function, today's practical use is complex and also inconsistent and perhaps one of the reasons why Siezen is currently tending to decline.
Grammatically the politeness / distance is you exactly how it the third person plural used and conjugated . It is also capitalized in derivative forms and also after the last spelling reform . This is intended to express further respect for what has been written and, in addition, at least in the written form, a distinction between politeness and genuine plural forms is made possible. Because today's form of address has at least two disadvantages in terms of intelligibility, which were consciously accepted in the transition from other forms of politeness: A first disadvantage in the sense of reduced clarity through the sifting is that the address to one or more people is not grammatically different can be more differentiated, so that the following can relate to one or more addressed persons in a group:
- "Where you go?"
A second disadvantage is that some sentences are unambiguous in their written form, but when they are spoken they are misleading in their statement, which happens quite often in practice:
- "Is today her birthday?" (Ask a mother whether it is her daughter's birthday today).
Without additional explanation or paraphrase, one understands the orally spoken sentence as a question of whether it is the mother's birthday today. When using the Ihr -form as a polite form, only the first misunderstanding would arise; when using the Du -form neither of the two misunderstandings would occur.
The use of the Sie in the greeting in German traditionally corresponds to the use of the surname for the corresponding person, but also more often with the use of the first name in relation to younger adults. A combination of politeness and first names is more common in several other languages than in German.
Salutation with her
Towards groups
The your is the normal form of address groups of people in the second person plural . It is always used when addressing groups whose individual members you would otherwise be using you. When addressing a group, correct standard German will also say goodbye if some or almost all of the group in the group usually uses you. Constructions like “you and you” sound hyper-correct to awkward. Especially in parts of Upper German (e.g. in Switzerland), the “you” form predominates in the salutation in High German as well .
- "You're too late." "I didn't see you." "Please bring your bags."
Towards individuals
The "Ihrzen" in relation to individual persons (Ihrzen) is an outdated form of address in standard German. At the dialectal level it still occurs in a few regions today. The way you talk to individuals is grammatically used in the same way that you talk to groups, but always capitalized in the written form, analogous to you as a form of politeness.
In southern Baden , in the Palatinate and in Hesse , “Ihr” was / is used exclusively with older people in order to maintain a more traditional way of speaking. The rule in the application was / is that the person to be addressed could have been father or mother according to their age.
In some German-speaking regions of Switzerland (particularly concise in Bern German , Walliser German and Friborg , but also beyond), in the Eifel dialects and in Moselle Franconian (also in Luxembourg) , the usual form of politeness is not "you", but rather "your" . People who grew up with both variants find the use of the your -form a little less distant and impersonal. Ihrzen is also used in variants of Low German. The Ihrzen is found instead of the Siezen in linguistic islands , which in many respects have upheld older conventions, for example among the Volga Germans and Kazakh Germans .
That you as a pars-pro-toto designation
In the southern and western German-speaking areas (known from East Franconian , Bavarian , Alemannic (including all of Swiss German), Ripuarian , Westphalian , Hessian and Moselle Franconian ), people who represent a larger group or an institution (for example a waitress who, as it were the entire inn represents) addressed with her . The person is in a pars-pro-toto function. She is addressed as a single person, but the questioner expects an answer for the entire represented unit, which consists of several or many individuals. Here the 2nd person plural (you) has functionally taken over the plural function of the politeness form, which otherwise would not be different from the singular form when using the 3rd person plural (you) . Formally correct Standard German would also be to use the Sie -form in this case , if necessary with an additional explanation of who is meant.
Salutation with it or you
A form of salutation that used to be common in standard language was the use of the 3rd person singular, i.e. he versus men or you versus women. This form of address, which was always capitalized after the spelling reform of 1996, is sometimes referred to as Erzen (the term Siezen for the female variant is not common because it can be misunderstood). In the 17th and 18th centuries, this was often used by superiors to address their subordinates, or higher-ranking members of the lower class. It was sometimes a step more polite than yours and was z. B. applied against employees who were hierarchically somewhat higher than the other employees, or against craftsmen. However, depending on the situation, it could also be interpreted as acting slightly “from above”. To this day this salutation exists colloquially as Berliner Er in Berlin, Brandenburg, Lausitz and Mecklenburg, but also occurs occasionally in other dialects (in the following two literary examples):
- "I forgive him his debt."
- "Please tell me your name."
In the female form ( you as the 3rd person singular compared to women) the salutation is hardly ever used today.
Salutation with us
On the We as a form of address you meet occasionally where a certain proximity between supervisors and for assisted should be suggested (parents towards the child, doctor against patient, primary school teachers towards pupils). This form of address , also known casually as nurses-we , has a slightly humorous or baby- language effect in standard German , but is e.g. B. In Saxon instead of you as a form of address for strangers quite common. Formal-grammatically, it appears like the first person plural , but does not include the speaker, but only means the person addressed.
- "How are we today?" (Doctor or nurse to the patient)
- "We came up with another great excuse!" (Teacher to student),
The “we” form can also be used as a rhetorical figure to make a slight reproach, irony or sarcasm .
- "What did we think?" (Boss to employee on the occasion of an easily avoidable or embarrassing incident)
Finally, there is the author we, which is often used as a stylistic element . This either actually means author and listener who, as it were, enter into a shared experience:
- "As we see ..." or "What does that tell us?"
or it means the author himself, who wants to avoid an egocentric sounding "I" and instead chooses a softer sounding "we":
- "We don't want to go into this aspect here ..."
Non-pronominal form of address
A correct salutation is also possible without using a pronoun, although this is rather unusual in German today or limited to special situations. An honorificum is then used as a substitute, normally the pair of terms gentleman and lady , and the corresponding title for titleholders.
An example of the use of a non-pronominal form of address, only with a mild honorificum, is the following example from Lower Alemannic :
- “Will dr Her usschtiege?” = “Would the gentleman like to get out?” For “Would you like to get out?”, Traditional Basel German , spoken by a woman to a man.
In the restaurant business, however, this form of address is occasionally used by employees in the entire German-speaking area towards guests:
- "What is the gentleman drinking?" , "Would the lady like to pay?"
In Swedish , this kind of polite form of address was common until well into the middle of the 20th century and is still used in certain situations today, sometimes increasing again; see. You reform .
English speaking area
In Early New English around 1500 there were still the forms thou (du) and ye (ihr) , which, like in other languages, could be used on the one hand to differentiate between individual or multiple addressees and on the other hand to differentiate between informal speech in family and other personal surroundings of more formal salutations. The corresponding obliquus forms (= accusative / dative forms that have collapsed externally ) for you and you were called thee and you . Shakespeare also made a distinction between thou (in the address the more confidential “dozen” “you”) and you (the more polite “you”: “you”, also translated as “you”). Through a shift in meaning the you became the nominative (you, your) and later also replaced the thou from the standard language, which from the 17th century was often only used in a derogatory tone and therefore soon disappeared entirely, except for religious contents and in some Dialects. In modern pronominal tables you is usually represented as the 2nd person singular and plural nominative, but the word did not gradually take on these functions until around the end of the Middle Ages, whereby it retained the original obliquus meaning you parallel and is therefore able to express different things today can be deduced from the sentence context or situationally. You is used today as a general and indistinguishable salutation pronoun and as an object pronoun vis-à-vis everyone and both in the single and plural, while the thou and partly also its derived forms, except in the language of the Quakers , only in north and west England as well as on the Scottish Orkneys and Shetlands and is used in the meaning of the German "du". In standard language, thou was common in religious language until the end of the 20th century, but is now limited to individual groups and traditional prayers and formulas. Modern Bible translations have moved to you (the Revised English Bible and the New Revised Standard Version 1989, the New American Standard Bible 1995).
The frequent (but by no means universal) use of the given name among friends, at congresses and on the street was not always like this, at least in urban areas, but only developed increasingly after the Second World War. However, norms and customs have remained or have become secondary and naturalized as a substitute. The difference between addressing people who are familiar and those who are distant is expressed indirectly through the use of the first name (see Hamburger Sie ), the last name or through the use or omission of certain titles or functions. If you come into formal and polite contact with someone, it is not uncommon to address them by their first and last name, even in email correspondence ('Dear Ann Brown'); As early as in the answer or from the second correspondence onwards, one will then often switch over to simply naming the first name. There are also stronger relationships among adults than in German in which one person is named permanently by their last name and the other by their first name.
Corresponding to the formal salutation by means of Mr and Mrs in German, Mister and Mis'ess is used before the surname in unfamiliar, informal salutations. In the case of tight hierarchies such as the military, the salutation with the military rank is common from bottom to top, but at least the salutation with sir or ma'am . The reason why military superiors always insist on the sir attached to the answer to subordinates (Yes, Sir) is that the hierarchical relationship can only be identified by adding or removing this attachment. Otherwise the form of address would correspond to that between soldiers of the same rank.
Up until the end of the 20th century, it was the rule in companies in the USA that although employees addressed their peers or lower-ranking colleagues as well as their immediate superior by first name, the top bosses of a company would literally use their last name. In the 21st century, this has in many cases developed further, when all employees, regardless of their position and length of employment, address themselves by first name. The idea is to create a sense of community and a family environment that has a positive impact on productivity.
Doctors and other medical professionals always address their patients by their first name as a caring gesture, but the handshake that is common in Germany is usually not required. Conversely, if doctors do not introduce themselves by their first name, they are addressed by their title and surname.
In the United States, it has long been common practice at universities and research groups for lecturers and professors to address each other by their first name, regardless of their academic degree. Often this also applies to students above the bachelor's degree , but should not be a prerequisite (formal address until the lecturer offers the first name; sometimes even verbal address with the last name if the first name was offered in correspondence and vice versa). Students before the bachelor's degree, on the other hand, almost generally address lecturers by surname and usually also by title (“Doctor XY”); if the lecturer has not completed his doctorate , he is addressed as “Professor XY” ( professor is the general term for a teacher at the university, not a title). In some faculties , the more formal addressing of lecturers' surnames extends to students after their bachelor's degree, even if they have already been employed for years and have reached middle age: You then address the lecturers / professors with their title and surname, but also join addressed by first name. Students address each other by their first names, usually also students before and after the bachelor's degree, if the latter lead courses as teaching assistants (TAs for short).
Children and younger adolescents in the USA are expected to call adults who are not family members or close friends by their last name. This is especially true when addressing school teachers and other authorities. Many Americans keep this habit into adulthood and address their children's teachers by family name.
When synchronizing English-language films, there are sometimes unnatural dialogues in German due to different conventions in the salutation conventions. An appended Sir or Ma'am (Yes, Sir. Thank you Ma'am) , which is used in strict hierarchical forms, is not easy to translate into German. Furthermore, people in a feature film often persistently see each other in the dubbed version and at the same time use the first name, which is rarely used in German, firstly, and secondly only asymmetrically, for example towards service staff or when there is a large age difference. In more recent films or the playback of discussion groups, however, the Du form is now occasionally translated, which also takes account of the change in addressing habits in German.
French language area
In French , people in higher social classes mostly use “geihrzt” (French: vousvoyer, i.e. addressing with vous , the 2nd person plural). The politeness form vous is also occasionally used from children to parents . Even close older friends sometimes address each other like this. The use of the second person singular (tu) dominates among family members, in the middle and lower classes, especially in the world of work, but now also relatively generally among younger people.
Dutch
In the Dutch-speaking area, the original Old and Middle Franconian Du disappeared several centuries ago, similar to the Thou in English , which only survives in remnants . The politeness forms jij and je taken from the 2nd person plural have assumed the function of you , again similar to you in English. In addition, a new form of politeness u has developed, which arose from the possessive pronoun uwer ('your', derived from forms such as 'your grace').
When speaking of "Duzen" in Dutch today, the old form of politeness is meant, when "Siezen" is spoken of, the "new" form of politeness. In the Netherlands, but to a lesser extent in Flemish Belgium, “Duzen” has been much more widespread since the 1970s than in Germany at that time, also between superiors and subordinates. Only older or higher-ranking fellow citizens who you do not know were and are regularly sighed. Unlike in German, the asymmetrical form of address is also quite common among adults (e.g. in the case of greater age or hierarchy differences). Today God is addressed in prayer with the new (and capitalized) politeness U.
Northern European languages
Since the end of the 1960s and definitely from the 1970s, the Du has prevailed in Finnish , Swedish , Danish , Norwegian and Icelandic as part of the general Du reform . Of course, it must be taken into account that in rural and even urban Scandinavia, formal forms of courtesy had often only been used before towards very few people and, moreover, in some cases, for example in Sweden, no ubiquitous salutation corresponding to the German you had developed. As an alternative, non-pronominal forms of address were customary. The Ni , corresponding to the German 'Ihr', can even be perceived as arrogant and impersonal, since it was previously also used against service personnel and as an impersonal address to the “common people”.
Arabic language
In Arabic, it is common to use the second person singular in conjunction with the first name. However, as an expression of politeness, a person usually also usesسيد sayyid 'mr' orسيدة sayyida 'wife' and first name addressed. If a speaker also wants to emphasize the rank of his counterpart, he can z. B. withأستاذ ustāḏ ('professor', salutation for educated people) orحاج Address ḥaǧǧ (' pilgrims ', for people who made the pilgrimage to Mecca). From a grammatical point of view, however, there are no differences between the Duz and Siez forms: Here the second person is predominantly singularأنت anta (masculine) or anti (feminine) are used. However, it is also possible to increase this salutation by one or two levels: This is done using the wordsحضارة ḥaḍāra orسيادة siyāda (cf. sayyid or sayyida ) and the addition of personal suffixesك( -ka or -ki ), so that z. For example, when reporting on high-ranking politicians, the form of addressسيادتك (siyādatuka or siyādtak) is used.
Japanese language
The Japanese has no actual personal pronouns. If a noun appears as a subject and you want to refer to it again, the expression is simply repeated instead of him / her / it , although if possible in a short form. Many word forms can be pronominally modified and used so that the word in question can then have the meaning of "I".
Chinese language
In standard Chinese there is basically a you form, 你 ( nǐ 'you'), and a you form, 您 (nín) , the latter of which has declined sharply and can only be used for individuals. If you order your little meal at a booth or in a restaurant on the street, you will usually all be saying you. The form of politeness is used in particular towards the elderly or people in higher positions. The personal pronoun is also often replaced by the name and title of the person addressed in the sense of a non-pronominal salutation, i.e. That is, they say to Mr. Li instead of you should take a taxi, rather Mr. Li should take a taxi .
Ancient languages
In Hebrew , ancient Greek , Latin and also in Gothic as an early Germanic language, addresses to individuals were usually made solely through the grammatical second person singular of the respective verb. Pronouns as subjects were optional. Addresses to several people were also made directly and without pronouns in the 2nd person plural. Only when the pronouns had to be emphasized (like “Not me, but you!”), For example, in Greek and Latin the pronouns ἐγώ (Greek) and ego (Latin) for “I” as well as σύ (Greek) and tu ( Latin) used for "you". This is the biblical passage Truly I say to you ( Matthew 16, 26) with an unstressed "I" in the Vulgate Amen dico vobis ( dico "(I) say", vobis "you"), written in Latin around AD 400 . From the 2nd person plural, a form of address in the form of your was developed as a form of address to the late Roman emperors who spoke of themselves in the pluralis majestatis . This in turn was the template for the widespread yours in the Romance and Germanic languages within the nobility and clergy from the Middle Ages and within the bourgeoisie from modern times.
literature
- Hermann Bausinger : You or you? On the change in the pronominal form of address in German . 1979 ( full text )
- Werner Besch : Duzen, Siezen, titling. To address in German today and yesterday . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1998, ISBN 3-525-34009-5 .
- Gustav Ehrismann : Duzen and Ihrzen in the Middle Ages. In: Journal for German Word Research. Volume 1, 1901, pp. 117-149, and Volume 2, 1902, pp. 118-159.
- Helmut Glück , Wolfgang Werner Sauer: Contemporary German. 2nd, revised and expanded edition. Metzler, Stuttgart a. a. 1997, ISBN 3-476-12252-2 , pp. 119–128: Chapter Duzen, Siezen and forms of address .
- Hans Trümpy : The forms of address in older Swiss German. In: Paul Zinsli u. a. (Ed.): Sprachleben der Schweiz. Linguistics, name research, folklore. Bern 1963, pp. 157–166.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Werner Besch: Duzen, Siezen, Titulates: for addressing in German today and yesterday. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1998.
- ^ Roger Brown, Albert Gilman: The pronouns of power and solidarity. In: T. A. Sebeok: Style in Language. MIT Press, Cambridge MA 1960, pp. 253-276.
- ↑ Friedrich Schiller. Cabal and Love. 1st act, 3rd scene.
- ^ A b Journal of Luxury and Fashions, November 1787 .
- ↑ The examples refer to written testimonials and shared personal memories from the Basel / Switzerland region around 1940.
- ↑ Interview with the linguist Dr. Hartung , Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, July 1, 2007, No. 26, p. 16.
- ^ Friederike Milbradt: Duzen in the classroom. In: Zeitmagazin, No. 24/2015.
- ↑ Werner Besch: Duzen, Siezen, Titulating. To address in German today and yesterday. 2nd, supplemented edition. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1998, ISBN 3-525-34009-5 .
- ↑ Angelika Overath: Instructions for use for the Engadine. Piper 2016, ISBN 978-3-492-27670-2
- ↑ http://htwkbk.wordpress.com/ .
- ↑ "In Swiss companies there is now a Duz obligation" In: 20 minutes . January 13, 2015.
- ↑ FAZ March 26, 1977 and Die Welt October 13, 1987, according to W. Besch: Duzen, Siezen, Titulates. To address in German today and yesterday. 2nd Edition. Goettingen 1998.
- ↑ Commentary on the court judgment at Spiegel Online .
- ↑ Duden | Upper or lower case of “du / you” and “her / your”. Retrieved September 21, 2018 .
- ↑ See Linguistic Atlas of German Switzerland, Volume V, Map 117 (address to non-residents), then for example the novels by Friedrich Glauser (written in the 1930s), e.g. B. Sergeant Studer in the Gutenberg-DE project
