Formal & informal gender address - automated with HubSpot

[nishat@264]

Many customers that Avidly supports in Germany have a typically German problem: How do I address people who should receive my content and hopefully read it and also feel addressed by it? This is a discussion that most of my international colleagues have a hard time understanding. Our colleagues in the UK recommend “Hi John”, our Finnish colleagues don't understand what the problem is with “Hei Eino”, and the Danes usually only resort to the formal “Kære” when addressing representatives of the royal family. But as we all know, it's unfortunately not that easy here in Germany.


But how did it happen that we Germans, of all people, are giving so much thought to what at first glance seems a banal topic? Hasn't this pretense of formal address become outdated and informal interaction already become established throughout the business world? How can we put this constantly discussed topic aside and set up a consistent solution for it in HubSpot in particular ?

You, You, He, She – a German Story
A central basic rule of most languages ​​is the nigeria whatsapp data distinction between one's own - or first - person and that of the person of the other person - the second person. In addition, there is an outside person, the third person. In some languages, including ancient Greek, Latin, French, English and German, the first, second and third person in singular and plural form basic grammatical axioms.

Until the 16th century, formal communication in German used the second person plural - Ihr - instead of the second person singular - Du. This is known as the Pluralis Majestatis from depictions of medieval kings and princes and is found today in various Romance languages. In the 16th century, however, the German language took its own path in addressing people: Germans switched to the third person singular in their formal address: "Hat Er gut gespeisen?" "Hatte Sie ein günstiges Abend?"

At the end of the 17th century, these two linguistic forms of respect were united in the so-called plural form of “Sie”: So when we address people formally today, it is still in the 3rd person plural: “Have you/they remembered to exchange the API key?” This question can refer to you as a reader or to third parties not participating in this communication - the only difference is in the case.

The polymath Georg Christoph Lichtenberg stated as early as the end of the 18th century that Germans would say to the same person "sometimes 'Du', sometimes 'Er', sometimes 'Ihr', sometimes 'Sie'" . The confusion about this topic is therefore not particularly new.