The battle over how to address people in German
As the formal 'Sie' falls out of fashion some people are unsure of how to address people
Dear Reader,
A couple of days ago I was taking a walk through an estate that once belonged to the Prussian monarchy when a young boy came panting up the hill on his bicycle.
He stopped in front of me and asked: “Entschuldigen Sie, können Sie mir bitte die Uhrzeit verraten?”
The phrasing of his question was so antiquat…