No more Fru00e4ulein - BIG GOOF
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — The Night Manager
catflap001 — 10 years ago(March 21, 2016 04:09 PM)
In the Zermatt hotel Pine keeps addressing the female hotel clerk as Frulein. In the 1990s the German language authorities got rid of that assignation. It only exists in old films and books. It is not used anymore. It is considered improper and impolite. In real life the female clerk would have taken him down a peg or two, and sued him for sexual harassment after having slapped him silly. The hotel scenes took place in 2015, not 1915.
Stupid tv writers and producers don't do proper research. -
catflap001 — 10 years ago(March 21, 2016 06:06 PM)
No. I am in Switzerland. Das Wort 'Frulein' ist verboten. Danke vielmal. High German is one of the four national languages, and adheres to the rules of the language. Even the Swiss-German dialects do not use the word anymore.
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catflap001 — 10 years ago(March 21, 2016 06:31 PM)
Yes. He correctly calls his boss Herr Strippli. He should address the woman as Frau Vipp, even if she is not married, or if he doesn't know if she is married. There is no comparable German word for Ms., so Frau is always used and never Frulein, which is considered improper, impolite, and insulting. The rule is also the same for the written word, especially in the salutation in a letter. It just isn't used anymore.
Also, the credits spell Frulein incorrectly. -
Cacahuate86 — 10 years ago(March 22, 2016 01:34 PM)
I'm German, I live in Austria, I'm a woman and a feminist. Honestly, calm down. It's a minor thing. Yes, they didn't do their research properly, but it's nothing to get that angry about, especially since they didn't make her an "it" as would have been proper when "Frulein" was still used in German (as in: "Das Frulein hat seine - statt 'ihre' - Geldbrse zu Hause vergessen.)
Anyway, it's not that big of a deal and certainly not the biggest flaw of the series. -
afhick — 10 years ago(March 26, 2016 09:48 PM)
You may think it's a minor thing, but I was once raked over the coals for referring to a German woman as "Frulein." I had learned German in the '60s and did not know of the change. I learned never to make that mistake again.
"I used to know things. Now I have to remember them." -
tHe_cRacKfOx — 10 years ago(March 30, 2016 10:13 PM)
Fancy being hauled over the coals for such a minor indiscretion. You should of been excused as it's not your first language and at worst mildly rebuked or corrected.
People seem to think they have the right to take offence at anything now days.
Oversensitivity..
if I seem a little strange, that's because I am. -
LisaWho — 10 years ago(March 31, 2016 02:22 PM)
Really?
I am German and while "Frulein" is definitely old-fashioned and not used anymore,
I would never get angry at a somebody calling me "Frulein" (especially if German is not their first language).
Sorry to hear you were raked over the coals for this (in my eyes minor) mistake! -
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Matt345 — 10 years ago(April 02, 2016 02:29 PM)
It can be used ironically, playfully and informally, or in an affectionately admonishing way (e.g. parents to daughter one hears all the time in modern fiction, sort of like "young lady"). No problem there. Only when it is used seriously and as a regular form it is jarring.
Depends on context, and one has to be aware of it being old-fashioned. -
Zwergin — 10 years ago(March 29, 2016 09:05 AM)
Sue him for sexual harassment over "Frulein"? I think not. But he could have called the police if she slapped him
Maybe she likes to be addressed that way? I would find it a bit strange maybe but I certainly wouldn't go ballistic over it, especially if a foreigner is using it -
jellyroll2 — 10 years ago(March 30, 2016 10:57 AM)
I am not going to pretend to know the ins and outs of German or Swiss culture, but she appeared to be an older woman. Perhaps the term was not as big a deal to her as it would be to someone younger. Don't know. It's a error. Every film and TV show has them.