Is this really the "correct" form of address?
Hey. My name is Mathilda, but I'm usually called Mathi. I live in northern Germany, and my boyfriend is from Thuringia. There, it's customary to put an article before names, like "Peter/Sabine/…" is coming soon.
He calls me "das Mathi" for fun. And I wonder if that's not actually "correct" in theory. After all, it's also "das Mädchen" (the girl) and "das Fräulein" (the young woman). So "das Mathilda" wouldn't make sense, but Mathi is the diminutive, and since someone once decided that young women are grammatically "it," this form of address shouldn't be theoretically wrong, right?
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This is, of course, not a correct address, but an extension of the joke in analogy to “Now comes the velvet”. I believe that in Thuringia and further west to the Rhineland this way of expression is common as a neckerei.
Whether correct or not, I, Ruhrgebietler with affinity to Northern Germany mean that it is not so common in northern Germany, however, this is quite nice and is certainly also meant by your friend dear.
From feeling and touch, with the background of the platter German language, I would say that it has the origin that the older Generation that says when it comes to a young girl / Child.
Here comes “The Mathi”♪ “our math”.
Basically, it has a positive connotation.
This is clearly FALSCH. For high-German speakers, this sounds degrading and is also meant in northern Germany.
On the other hand, in some southern DIALEKTEN, the article is common and provides positive details.
In this more than a decade-old AdA entry, the use of articles was much more than just “in southern dialects”: https://www.atlas-alltagssprach.de/artikelvorname/?child=runde
And today he should have spread even further. I can say from my own experience that I hear this very often in Berlin and Hamburg, without any evaluation.
So I hardly know this from here.
In Hamburg, it is always perceived as absensoring or as dialectal. Very strong. We are almost the strongest opponents in feeling.
Of course, Hamburg is a melting crucible and you can hear everything — because there are many people living here. Not because it would be acceptable in northern Germany.
The AdA reflects the North-South divide. It’s all right. This also corresponds to the areas where dialectal is spoken and the less good high German speaks.
Hello, Mathi! ECT
This is an interesting observation.
In fact, there are cases in the German language in which the article “that” is used, in particular in the case of accredited names or references.
In such cases you could say “the math” in a loose, familiar way, similar to using “the mice” or “the mule”.
It is unconventional, but language continues to develop, and such expressions can be quite acceptable in informal contexts.
Grammarically, “the math” is not in line with the usual rules, but in the spoken language such variations are possible.
If you agree. 😉
Greetings! 😊
From the Rhineland I know that girls and women are basically addressed with “es”. Et Brigitte, et Annegret, et Babsi.