Referring to other people in posts here
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@JonB said in Referring to other people in posts here:
@artwaw said in Referring to other people in posts here:
"Bro" though, is never a good thing outside the pub or a school yard.
Thank you! :)
I agree with that one.
BTW In German it could be mistaken as a "Pro" which was meaning initially "Prolet", which is not really meant nice.
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@koahnig said in Referring to other people in posts here:
The other way around one has to be careful. I would consider a 'du' in a formal presentation as by Merkel's statements as inappropriate
That is what I was asking about. I want to know how Merkel addresses you (not the other way round) when, say, she broadcasts telling you to stay at home? I imagine she says "Sie muessen ..." and not "Du muesst ...", right? [Unless she is God... ;-)] So that's how I would address someone here. However, before we spend too long on this, of course I really accept that you native speakers know what is acceptable/desirable in Internet posts....
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@JonB said in Referring to other people in posts here:
I really accept that you native speakers know what is acceptable/desirable in Internet posts....
That is not something you should count on. It might be that while I am getting older I get more testy but I notice more and more people speaking on professional and semi-professional forums like with their pals in the pub. Or worse.
And while I am at it - what is with those people demanding help/support while they are lazy enough not to even read the documentation and thing for minute?
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@JonB
Probably we would require someone with a linguistics background for proper analysis. However, I seem to remember that Merkel is using very often "wir" including herself. I guess in English it would be the same, that puts everybody on the same level. -
@artwaw said in Referring to other people in posts here:
That is not something you should count on. It might be that while I am getting older I get more testy but I notice more and more people speaking on professional and semi-professional forums like with their pals in the pub. Or worse.
That is something with online fora resepctively with the Internet.
@artwaw said in Referring to other people in posts here:
And while I am at it - what is with those people demanding help/support while they are lazy enough not to even read the documentation and thing for minute?
If I am kind enough to care, I simply leave a link to the documentation. If in a really good mood I might spent some additional words.
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@artwaw said in Referring to other people in posts here:
@koahnig "wir": as "we" as a nation or a royal "we"?
Serious question, I don't have access to the German TV.The uniting "we". I am not old enough to remember any reference in official German with a "royal we" ;)
I can imagine though that with a form "we" as a nation it has perfect sense.
Unfortunately not known resp understood everywhere in today's world.
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@JonB said in Referring to other people in posts here:
I was born in the 1800s
WOW :-)
I hate if people, I don't even know, call me bro :-)
I don't see why we should use Sie in such forums? And I'm probably even older than you. What is the point? In the company I'm working for we do not use Sie, never.
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@koahnig said in Referring to other people in posts here:
Well the official German way would be to call her Frau Dr. Merkel oder Frau Kanzlerin Dr. Merkel. To call her simply Angela Merkel is already a causal form.
Oh, come on! She's a physicist with a thesis in chemistry, she can't deserve that level of formality, can she? :)
However, I seem to remember that Merkel is using very often "wir" including herself.
Hm, that's so nice of her. Our government officials call us "hooligans", "druggies", "unemployed scum" and alike. We call them "mafia" so at least there's some parity. :D
@JonB said in Referring to other people in posts here:
In English some people call you bro. I never met you, is this really a normal form of address?
The slang around here (east of eden that is) is to use the parasitic "копеле" (bastard) when talking with your friends, so I don't think you have too much reason for complaining, my dearest friend. ;)
On a more serious note, nobody likes the proper formal forms in almost all languages I'm aware of, just because the damn thing is in the wrong person or number, which is plural usually (for polish in questions it is singular, but 3-rd person, like in my language in some instances). That makes it sound artificially forced in everyday speech (english is too simple to make a distinction, but many other languages decline nouns and adjectives, so it's different than just "you"). Of course one should master speaking properly, and the art of insulting in formal address without uttering a single improper word, but that's just for when you're talking in official capacity (say with a government clerk/employee or w/e). The practicality, on the other hand, dictates you communicate information as fast as humanly possible, which is of course through the simpler constructs of the informal address.
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@kshegunov said in Referring to other people in posts here:
@koahnig said in Referring to other people in posts here:
Well the official German way would be to call her Frau Dr. Merkel oder Frau Kanzlerin Dr. Merkel. To call her simply Angela Merkel is already a causal form.
Oh, come on! She's a physicist with a thesis in chemistry, she can't deserve that level of formality, can she? :)
Oh, yes. In proper formal German she can. At least she holds the titles herself. In the past the titles of her spouse would have been included. At least some women ensured that the titles of their husbands were included in referencing them ;) Probably it would be Drs. for Merkel anyway, but I did not pay attention to her honorable titles.
In the Austria people would probably add a couple of more higher titles to be really polite ;)However, I seem to remember that Merkel is using very often "wir" including herself.
Hm, that's so nice of her. Our government officials call us "hooligans", "druggies", "unemployed scum" and alike. We call them "mafia" so at least there's some parity. :D
The politeness of lovable Russian culture is epic. :)
The official tone in speeches on diverse demonstrations are tending to follow that Russian tradition more and more.@JonB said in Referring to other people in posts here:
In English some people call you bro. I never met you, is this really a normal form of address?
The slang around here (east of eden that is) is to use the parasitic "копеле" (bastard) when talking with your friends, so I don't think you have too much reason for complaining, my dearest friend. ;)
Russian culture ;)
On a more serious note, nobody likes the proper formal forms in almost all languages I'm aware of, just because the damn thing is in the wrong person or number, which is plural usually (for polish in questions it is singular, but 3-rd person, like in my language in some instances). That makes it sound artificially forced in everyday speech (english is too simple to make a distinction, but many other languages decline nouns and adjectives, so it's different than just "you"). Of course one should master speaking properly, and the art of insulting in formal address without uttering a single improper word, but that's just for when you're talking in official capacity (say with a government clerk/employee or w/e). The practicality, on the other hand, dictates you communicate information as fast as humanly possible, which is of course through the simpler constructs of the informal address.
Basically it would be quite complicated to pull through all rules from different cultures. Just thinking of the rule in German that the older has to offer the casual "du" to the younger with obsation of possible ranks in society. Wondering what other rules would kick in from other parts of the world.
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@koahnig said in Referring to other people in posts here:
Oh, yes. In proper formal German she can.
I was sarcastic with a pinch of mockery for physicists/chemists (as I myself am in that former category). ;)
The politeness of lovable Russian culture is epic. :)
Think more to the south with less timezones. ;)
Wondering what other rules would kick in from other parts of the world.
As far as I can tell germanic, romance and slavic languages use mostly the second person plural for formal speech. It's clumsy nonetheless, I stand by my original claim.
