3 ms·

It's shockingly dystopian to me as an American that you could get a citation for using a cop's name.

em-bee 3y ago
part of the reason is that german language still distinguishes between personal and formal adressing, whereas in english it is all "you". using a firstname is clearly informal, although i feel that in this video the addressing does not come across as informal or showing lack of respect, more like familiarity of some form that this policewoman somehow allowed. german/austrian culture is still very much about respect. and as i wrote on a seemingly completely different topic yesterday: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39077136 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39077136 german/austrian culture is way more conservative than the rest of the world (and austria is more conservative than germany) , at least for western ideas of what is conservative. in different aspects some asian cultures (most notably japan) are extremely conservative in their own way.
- SauciestGNU 3y ago
  Thanks for taking the time to provide an explanation. This also helps me contextualize some of the interpersonal friction I've had with Austrians as well. I'm very informal and American and consciously attempt to treat those around me as peers.
  - em-bee 3y ago
    there is a related discussion on this topic here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39006092 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39006092 as an austrian who has lived in the US for a few years and many other places in the world, i came to appreciate that style. the friendliness may be superficial with some people but it only takes a few interactions to find out, and, what is much more important, in many situations it doesn't even matter. when i am in a shop, i don't care if the staff are friendly deep down in their heart or only acting friendly because they want to sell something (well duh, it's a shop). shopping in the US is still more pleasant because i am guaranteed that people will be friendly (and if they are growling internally because i didn't buy anything, it's their problem not mine). in europe friendly people exist, but it's luck of the draw.

part of the reason is that german language still distinguishes between personal and formal adressing, whereas in english it is all "you". using a firstname is clearly informal, although i feel that in this video the addressing does not come across as informal or showing lack of respect, more like familiarity of some form that this policewoman somehow allowed. german/austrian culture is still very much about respect. and as i wrote on a seemingly completely different topic yesterday: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39077136 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39077136 german/austrian culture is way more conservative than the rest of the world (and austria is more conservative than germany) , at least for western ideas of what is conservative. in different aspects some asian cultures (most notably japan) are extremely conservative in their own way.

SauciestGNU 3y ago
Thanks for taking the time to provide an explanation. This also helps me contextualize some of the interpersonal friction I've had with Austrians as well. I'm very informal and American and consciously attempt to treat those around me as peers.
- em-bee 3y ago
  there is a related discussion on this topic here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39006092 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39006092 as an austrian who has lived in the US for a few years and many other places in the world, i came to appreciate that style. the friendliness may be superficial with some people but it only takes a few interactions to find out, and, what is much more important, in many situations it doesn't even matter. when i am in a shop, i don't care if the staff are friendly deep down in their heart or only acting friendly because they want to sell something (well duh, it's a shop). shopping in the US is still more pleasant because i am guaranteed that people will be friendly (and if they are growling internally because i didn't buy anything, it's their problem not mine). in europe friendly people exist, but it's luck of the draw.