Re: German 'duzen' and 'siezen' - etymology ?

From: "Benct Philip Jonsson" <bpjonsson@...>
Sent: Saturday, October 21, 2006 8:41 AM

> it occurred to me that in contemporary Swedish the
> equivalent is to over-use a persons first name when
> addressing them, as when telemarketers put "Benct" into
> every sentence, implying an intimacy which doesn't exist.
I had a classmate who did that just to tease me. It was
annoying and it was meant so I think. It had nothing to do
with implying a non-existant intimacy.

Since somebody mentioned that earlier: It happenend to me
last week that someone indeed used the "Er" form: "Was will
Er denn fotografieren?" -- "What does He want to take a
photo of?". I overheard it at first and only realized a
moment later that this man indeed used "Er" instead of "du"
or "Sie". Maybe he didn't know whether he should call me
"du" or "Sie"? Some hundred years ago you used "Er" when you
wanted to address somebody of a lower rank as I understand
it. I have to google for that.

Carsten

--
"Miranayam kepauarà naranoaris." (Kalvin nay Hobbes)
Venena, Sirpang 3, 2316 ya 09:01:00 pd

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