Girl Interrupted Deutsch

[Terry Chavarin]

Onthe above two occasions, getting German meaning for madam as 'gndige Frau' and when translating 'hello madam' as 'Halo Frau' is confusing. What more confusing is sometimes I noticed that to identify 'wife', the word 'Frau' has been used.

This is not usual for me since I am not a German Speaker. In English, one and the only phrase to address a lady with high social rank is 'Madam', a gentleman as 'Sir'. So. the availability of such multiple phrases confuses me.

Hence, can somebody explain which phrases out the words I mentioned (Frau, Madam, gndige Frau, Puffmutter, Bordellwirtin, kleine Prinzessin), which phrase I should use when addressing a lady with higher social rank (Ex: when I need to say "Excuse me, madam" Or "Dear madam" (in a letter) - in a formal/polite manner)?

Other than the distinction between "Du" and "Sie", German forms of addressing people don't reflect social standing nearly as detailed other languages do (and the distinction between "Du" and "Sie" is more about familiarity than about social standing).

There are some other forms, but those are mostly only used with very specific organisations or functions. For example, there are specific forms to address ambassadors, upper-level clerics like bishops, (foreign) nobility and the like. But if you happen to run into them, there will probably be some kind of protocol official you can ask ;)

"Kleine Prinzessin" isn't necessarily a form of address, it just means "little princess". It can be fine to use it with little girls you're familiar with. It can also be used for older girls or women to insult them, like an ironic "Is everything to the little princess' satisfaction?"

Two of the words in your list pertain to the second meaning, which is very much not what you want to call a senior professor! ("Puffmutter", literally "whorehouse mother" and "Bordellwirtin", meaning roughly "brothel proprietor".)

Also, the first meaning can be used in a sarcastic way to address someone who thinks they are better than others, who are arrogant, entitled, or bratty. This is how you could use "kleine Prinzessin" ("little princess"), especially when addressing a young girl.

Note that you should only use an academic title if she actually has that title. In some countries, everybody who teaches at a university is called "professor", but in Germany, depending on the state and the university, you could have university lecturers / teachers who aren't professors. Conversely, in some countries, only people who practice medicine are addressed as "doctor" and they are addressed as that regardless of whether they actually have a doctorate degree. In Germany, everybody who has a doctorate degree is addressed as "Doktor", regardless of profession.

That is not really confusing. It is a feature of many languages that the same word can mean different things in different contexts. For example, a hundred years ago, a "computer" was a human who computed things with pen, paper, and slide rule. It was a job description, a profession. Nowadays, a "computer" is a machine.

Likewise, it is normal that a single word in one language does not have a direct 1:1 translation into a different language, but rather is translated into different words depending on context and meaning. And vice versa, multiple words in one language can translate to the same word in a different language.

This is not usual for me since I am not a German Speaker. In English, one and the only phrase to address a lady with high social rank is 'Madam', a gentleman as 'Sir'. So. the availability of such multiple phrases confuses me.

It might be surprising to you that there are no different forms of addressing someone based on their social status, but please remember that there are other ways to confer that difference. The most obvious one is the distinction between "Du" and "Sie", which is a distinction that does not exist in English. Also, word choice, and in case you are directly speaking to the person tone can make a difference.

The one and only way is to use "Frau". Although in your first example, you wouldn't use that either, unless you add either a title or a name. You would either say "Entschuldigen Sie bitte" or "Entschuldigen Sie bitte, Frau Surname" / "Entschuldigen Sie bitte, Frau Professorin Surname" / "Entschuldigen Sie bitte, Frau Professorin".

For the second example, you would use "Sehr geehrte Frau Surname" or "Sehr geehrte Frau Professorin Surname". (In a letter, it is generally assumed that you know the name of the person you are addressing.)

Note that using the female form "Professorin" might sound slightly strange. It used to be the case that the term "Professor" was considered to both male and gender-neutral at the same time, and you would only use the explicit female form if you wanted to make an important distinction between male and female professors. However, this is is in the process of changing.

Usually one addresses exactly those persons by first name(s) (given name(s)) for whom one uses the familiar second person singular pronoun "du" and exactly those by last name (family name) for whom one uses the formal second person singular pronoun "Sie".

Other than the "du" + frist name vs. "Sie" + last name distinction (which nowadays doesn't usually refer to relative social status but familiarity ("du") or lack thereof ("Sie") or whether you're addressing a child ("du")) there is no indication of relative or absolute social rank in this most usual way to address people in German.

Chaining titles like this is unusual in spoken language. It could happen in a laudatory speech, though, when someone wants to emphasize the academic accomplishments of the person to be honored. Usually, you'd just use the highest title, if any at all. If in doubt, use only the highest title. Chaining them in situations where it's not customary can come off as very sarcastic.

When chaining academic titles, list them highest-to-lowest. ("Professor" before "Doktor".) Note that the usual Bachelor and Master degrees don't come with such a "Namenszusatz", i.e,. won't cause any title to be added to the name.

When you don't need to get their attention, because they're already aware that you'll speak to them, you may put in the apology anyway (e.g. if you're aware that you've interrupted them in some other work) or just begin with what you want to ask or say:

In former times, it was usual to address people by their profession. (This might be how many last names like "Mller" (miller), "Maier" (tax collector, same etymology as English "Mayor"), "Schumacher" (shoe maker) etc. came to be back then.) This isn't common anymore and can come off as offensive, as it might be interpreted as reducing a person to their job.

A woman who was herself a director would often be "Frau Direktorin", while a director's wife who didn't hold that position herself would often be "Frau Direktor". This isn't common anymore in Switzerland and Germany and can come off as offensive, as it might be interpreted as defining a person by who they're married to. I'm unsure about the situation in Austria, it might or might not still be common there.

I'd advise you to look for each word independently in the reverse search (doesn't Prinzessin suggest princess literally? This would be quite bad in a salutation, just bounded below by Bordellwirtin and Puffmutter, among the translations [not "synonyms"] you give.)

There is a near-equivalent in every-day settings where somebody in the function of a clerk or service person addresses a customer: We use the possessive pronoun, akin to "Mylord". "Can I help you, Sir?" = "Kann ich Ihnen helfen, mein Herr?" It is quite formal though and perhaps on the verge of becoming outdated, the way "gndiger Herr" went. I have also been addressed with "Was darf ich Ihnen bringen, der Herr?" by waiters.

If there is a pronounced age difference it is also common to address a customer etc. as "junger Mann/Junge Frau": "Junger Mann, kann ich Ihnen helfen?" But that is sometimes bordering on the insolent, especially if the addressed person is not really a teenager any longer. And of course "Can I help you" means "go away" anyway ... ;-).

it might be seen as an implicit remark that this elder woman is married to a professor or doctor. It was the case quite a while ago that women where addressed with the title of the husband indicating their social status. It is outdated now, but still common when dealing with elder people. In contrast, to address without any doubt the academic status of the person, rather use

The joke about Aleksei German was always that he was great but only Russians liked him. Several years ago, I invited a non-Russian-speaker to a screening of Khrustalyov, My Car! (1998) at Brooklyn's BAM cinema. Ten minutes into the screening, an odd thing happened. I felt the urge to tell my companion to stop reading the subtitles.

The following scene prompted me: A middle-aged housekeeper opens the curtains and spikes her morning tea with cognac; someone polishes a shoe and talks about a veterinarian prone to lethargic sleep; a woman with a yoghurt facial scolds a senile lady for using a walker and, moments later, for taking a large kielbasa into bed with her. The old woman claims to be defenseless against sexual fantasies. Some words are misheard; a grocery receipt is scrutinized; a winter coat is sniffed in search of mothballs, two doll-like Jewish sisters skip across the frame chanting and singing. The grandma asks the chauffeur if the motor is running and then demands to be taken to an infirmary. A door is slammed, scraps of voice-over come in; a man moves towards the camera and says, "I didn't expect this from you, Aliosha." All of this takes place in a medium-sized kitchen, in 90 seconds time, and is filmed in one masterly tracking shot.

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