Behind the Name
the etymology and history of first names
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Subject: Re: Marriage names
Author: Anneza   (guest, 163.200.81.4)
Date: September 18, 2002 at 6:25:19 AM
Reply to: Re: Marriage names by Satu
Most interesting - thank you!

Two questions: first, when does one stop being a Madchen and become a Frau (can't do umlauts - sorry); and second, is it possible now to refer to a horizontally and vertically challenged married woman as ein Fraulein?

Three, actually! How did this come about - was it a spontaneous feeling among the public that if men were not distinguished by forms of address nor should women be, or was there pressure from women's lib groups, or what? (I'm dealing with a document which keeps on referring to a child undergoing testing as "he", which would have passed unremarked until about 25 years ago but now sounds dreadful; this was the result of the women's movement I believe. How is that done in German - can and do people just use the neuter form for a child?)

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