A bit similar type of oddity is the use of titles. The Germans LOVE their titles.
And if you have a title, you are also given some extra bit of appreciation. A Finnish friend of mine, who is 'Frau Dr.', said that the only place where she uses her title is in the German speaking countries when she wants good service. Great that all those studies weren't for nothing!
The Germans are sure to use their titles anywhere their name is mentioned. Even when registering yourself into an online shop, there is either a place for 'Anrede' or a list of several titles to choose from.
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| Registration on baby-walz.de web page, where you can choose both Herr/Frau and a title. How would a Prof. Dr. Dr. register here? |
The titles are mentioned also in the mailboxes. But I have been wondering, how the titles are mentioned, if there is more than one adult living there. Neither Herr Welle nor I have any titles worth mentioning to the postman (if I had, this blog would be called something like 'Frau Prof. Dr. Dr. Welle'...). But if we both put our titles to our mailbox, wouldn't it then sound twice as fancy?
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| These titles are mentioned by a mailbox of an office. I didn't feel comfortable taking pictures of mailboxes in residential area... |
2 comments:
Yes, I too think it's a bit odd. We have a Dr in our building who uses that on his door/mailbox/outer door. But he's not a 'real' doctor. He's a man with a PhD - which in the UK if you actually *use* that title makes you look a bit of a fool, which is ironic really!
Seems the Dutch are at it too: in Surinam, there is a lake called "Professor Doctor Ingenieur W. J. van Blommestein Meer"
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