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How to address a woman correctly? Madame is a married or unmarried lady? How Madame Differs From Mademoiselle

Mademoiselle or Madame - Fratsywomen still have to choose

Madame or Mademoiselle? In France, the above question is rather delicate, because this appeal indicates the marital status of a woman. Feminists are opposed. Such a label, in their opinion, exists rather to denote "the availability of women."

While some men consider this to be more a manifestation of gallantry than an attempt to hang a label, the issue of Mademoiselle and Madame remains a hot topic in French society. “Agree, you never focus on his marital status in your address to a man. Whether he is married or not, he still remains a mister in the English-speaking space and a monsieur in the French-speaking space, ”argues Juliet Mouret, speaker of the French feminist organization Osez le feminisme. She sees discriminatory motives in the lexical designation of the status of women.

In France, a man is called monsieur all his life, but with a woman everything is different here: in official and business institutions, they usually distinguish between Mademoiselle and Madame, depending on whether the woman is married or not. This distinction has already been abandoned by a number of Western countries. In particular, Germany, back in the 70s of the last century, at the official level moved away from the use of the term Fräulein, which was used to refer to an unmarried young girl) at the official level. Regarding the English-speaking countries, there is a neutral address Ms. (Miss), which is used to refer to both married and unmarried women.

Is the address "Mademoiselle" a tradition or a manifestation of sexism?

French feminists want all women and girls in France to be addressed as "Madame." Women notice that in the especially sentimental love of the French for Mademoiselle's conversion hidden other than sexism. With slogans "Mademoiselle" is a relic of the past! “The Osez le feminisme and another feminist group, the Chiennes de Garde, staged a protest on Tuesday demanding an official ban on the use of Mademoiselle.

“We are talking about a trivial manifestation of sexism at the everyday level, and if we can overcome it now, then we will also be able to fight on a more global scale,” says Marie-Noel Bass, president of Chiennes de Garde.

The word mademoiselle (fr. Mademoiselle) comes from fr. Demoiselle (translated as a girl), which was used as a title of nobility in pre-revolutionary France, and began to be associated with the marriage status of a woman only in the time of Napoleon. Since 1967, the term has survived three Government Memoranda, each of which left the appeal "mademoiselle" legally entitled to apply.

Until now, unmarried women who demand the use of the word madam, considering it more tolerant, are given the notion that they simply do not have the necessary checkmark in the questionnaire. A very similar situation developed with Lawrence, a journalist and mother of three children. “Well, look, they still demand that I be called Mademoiselle,” she says, showing her checkbook, where the abbreviated form of address “Mademoiselle” - “Melle” is indicated in front of her name.

Petitions and pamphlet against "Mademoiselle"

Feminist activists Mouret and Bas are encouraging the French to download a petition letter from their website www.madameoumadame.fr, which formulates an appeal to the French government to ban the disparaging word "mademoiselle". In addition, they demand the abolition of the ban on the maiden name “nom de jeune fille” and the surname that a woman receives upon marriage “nom marital”. Under the 1794 law, a woman has the right to keep her maiden name for life. She can change her to her husband's surname, but this is her choice. In addition, the husband's surname should be indicated as acquired, feminists say.

Petitions against the appeal of "Mademoiselle" can be downloaded from the Internet

Maneuvering between the addresses "Madame" and "Mademoiselle" has become part of the everyday life of the French. If a woman is over thirty years old and her marital status is unknown, most people still tend to call her madam. However, there are those who find particular delight when someone refers to them as "mademoiselle." Like, this is how they feel younger.

For the journalist Laurence Vachi, author of the 2006 pamphlet Madame or Mademoiselle, "French women have been killed so many times in the head that their identity depends on the opinions of others, that the appeal of Mademoiselle and Madame has become an attribute of their makeup."

The topic of sexism in French society has already become an occasion for discussion in the press. This year, right after the arrest of the former head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, following charges of attempted rape. A number of condescending comments on the arrest of Strauss-Kahn, sounded from the lips of many high-ranking officials, caused a wave of indignation and irritation among the feminists. In particular, one of the former ministers of the French government spoke about the incident as follows: "Nobody died."

The French authorities have decided to abandon the use of the word "mademoiselle" in official documents. From now on, officials will address all women as "madam."In accordance with a circular from the government of the Fifth Republic, ministers and prefects are encouraged to remove the word "mademoiselle" from administrative regulations, forms and questionnaires whenever possible. According to the government's order, previously printed forms of documents with disused circulation can be used until they run out.

This decision was taken under pressure from feminists, who have launched a campaign since last fall against the traditional treatment of unmarried women as "discriminatory." They insist that men, regardless of their age or marital status, are addressed only as "monsieur" and that it is unfair to separate calls for married and unmarried women.

What is happening was assessed by the chairman of the Guild of Linguists-Experts, Doctor of Philology, Professor Mikhail Gorbanevsky.

Mikhail Viktorovich, how could you comment on the decision of the French authorities?

Mikhail Gorbanevsky: I respect the feminist movement and believe that the equality of women should be respected in everything. But it seems to me that in the West there is a certain maximalism in this regard. Rising in an American elevator somewhere to the 22nd floor, you can smile at a woman and greet her, and she will turn you over to the nearest security guard, accusing you of sexual harassment. Where is the golden mean, I do not know.

In general, the everyday issue here is very complex, there is a mystery here. When you walk into a bookstore and want to ask the saleswoman to show you a book, every time you think about how to go to her - Madame or Mademoiselle? Several times I asked my French friends, including linguists, how they get out of this situation. And each, smiling, answered somewhat vaguely.

One professor told me that he was trying to guess whether they were married or not, another said that he was age-oriented, a third said that one could say “mademoiselle” to any woman. In general, this is an unsolved mystery for me. I, like my French friends, continue to say "madam" when communicating with ladies I don't know. Once I had a case when somewhere I turned to a middle-aged woman “Madame”, and she insistently emphasized that she was “Mademoiselle”.

Probably, this interferes in some way and can put us in a somewhat difficult position, which, perhaps, the French feminists justly remind us of. Although, I repeat, I generally do not like any fanaticism, and gender too. When feminists get somewhere there and sing or do something just because they are, it reminds me of a gay pride parade.

In general, I am not surprised that this happened not in Italy or in Germany, but in France. There is a strong feminist movement.

Perhaps the unification of circulation would make communication more convenient?

M.G .: As I can imagine, it will be a little easier to draw up documents, register, take into account. Go figure it out - Madame or Mademoiselle. And so they decided to put things in order in their workflow. When I served in the army, the foreman - ensign Zagorodny - told us: “Do you know how the army differs from the collective farm? Uniformity ". And Ensign Zagorodny was right.

Do French women ever get offended when they hear mistreatment?

M.G .: The only time I was corrected by a woman, as I mentioned above. They are too well mannered to be offended openly. The person who accompanies you or someone else can give you a hint. It's okay if you made a mistake and called Madame Mademoiselle. I can turn to the woman "Mademoiselle Berthe", and the person sitting next to me will quietly say "madam". And Madame Bertha will not lead an eyebrow.

Speech etiquette in French, its triple formula, has been tested for centuries. We also have a triple formula, but it refers to the name of a person: first name, patronymic and last name. The French have a threefold formula in circulation: Monsieur, Madame, Mademoiselle. The late writer Soloukhin asked in one of his books: when will someone introduce us - probably by decree, he hoped - an official appeal. By the way, he is inclined towards the Polish version, where both married and unmarried women are referred to as "pani". And Soloukhin advocated the return to the Russian language of the words "sir", "madam". But this has never been a universal formula of Russian speech etiquette. This is not a return, this is an implantation. By decree, something can be corrected for document circulation, but not introduced into speech etiquette.

Can the norm introduced for state documents also apply to oral speech? The word comrade, originally used in the party, became common in the Soviet Union.

M.G .: In the Soviet Union, there was Article 6 of the Constitution, which officially spoke of the leading role of the Communist Party in all areas. There arose their own "monsters", which are still emerging. Remember how they addressed Brezhnev in the second part of his biography. He was not called "Comrade Brezhnev". An official formula was invented. How can you address a member of the Politburo in accordance with the formula of speech etiquette? Either Leonid Ilyich, or Comrade General Secretary, or Comrade Brezhnev. And at one of the congresses, already when his unbridled glorification began, the formula "Comrade Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev" was voiced. It was an outrage at the speech etiquette that existed then, not very successful, but nevertheless. And this influenced the oral speech, if a person spoke at a meeting, he said: "As our dear comrade Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev said." God forbid it was to say "comrade Brezhnev", it was perceived as some kind of familiarity. So there was an influence, but this is politics overturned into language.

I hope that our French colleagues will not have this and that there will be no impact on oral speech in the near future. And the French themselves are people with a sense of humor, and most likely they will not have any continuation of such undertakings. Except, perhaps, in situations of official communication.

In general, as a linguist, I do not advise anyone to decide something in the language by decreeing, with the exception of special cases of document flow. Let me remind you of the wonderful poem by Yaroslav Smelyakov "Russian language". It ends with a quatrain:

"Lords - and they disappeared
Instantly and surely
When accidentally encroached on
Into the Russian essence of the language. "

The language has its own essence, it is a living organism, and neither communism, nor fascism, nor capitalism, nor feminism could break neither French, nor German, nor Russian. Temporarily they could, but every time the tongue rebelled like a Phoenix bird. Although now, in the post-industrial era, new challenges are emerging.

That is, you think that following the officials, the rest of the French will not call all women in a row "Madame"?

M.G .: I don't think so, because there is no reason for this. Moreover, they do not have an authoritarian political system that dictates or controls rule-making.

In European culture, the rules of etiquette provide for addressing a woman in the form that corresponds to her status, age and marital status.

Definition

Madam- compulsory use of words in France and some European countries during official communication with the fairer sex. Initially, this form of polite treatment meant that a woman belonged to the upper class or noble family. Later appeal madam lost its pronounced class coloration, passed into the category of words used in etiquette formulas of speech, and began to be used in relation to women in general.

Ma'am- short form of address madam, which was actively used in England in the 18th - 19th centuries in relation to a woman who held a significant position in society. Currently, the English word address is ma'am is outdated and practically not used. In the values ​​" madam», « hostess», « mentor"It took root in the countries of North America and became part of the active vocabulary of modern Americans.

Miss and mrs- forms of polite treatment of women in England and America. Appeal mrs in combination with the husband's surname, it is used in relation to persons who are married. In relation to an unmarried woman, the rules of etiquette prescribe treatment miss.

Mademoiselle- polite treatment of girls and young women before their marriage, which in France until recently was considered a sign of good manners. With the spread of the French language and French etiquette in the Russian noble milieu of the 18th - early 19th centuries, this form began to be used in Russian speech. Modern use of appeal mademoiselle limited: under the influence of the feminist movement since 2012 in France, it is excluded from official use.

Comparison

It is customary to address married women in a uniform madam and mrs.

Miss- a form of appeal to unmarried women, which is used in countries that inherit the rules of English etiquette, regardless of the age of the fair sex.

The form mademoiselle as a polite address to a girl is gradually losing its meaning: since February 2012 in France, it has been officially replaced by the commonly used form madam.

Appeal ma'am widespread in America: it is used by subordinates in relation to a woman who has a certain official position.

Conclusions site

  1. Appeal madam to married women, it is accepted in France and some English-speaking countries of Europe.
  2. In the communication of Americans, the word madam transformed into short form ma'am and has partially lost its meaning indicating the social status of a married woman.
  3. Use of appeals miss and mrs common in England. The form mrs in combination with the husband's surname, it is used in relation to a married woman; miss it is customary to use in combination with the surname received at birth.
  4. Appeal mademoiselle can only apply to young unmarried women and young girls. It is excluded from official business communication in France, but traditionally remains in speech use.

Mademoiselle

Mademoiselle

1. nescl. The word attached to the surname of a girl of an aristocratic, bourgeois circle, in meaning. young lady, damsel.

|| Word, uptr. in a polite manner to such a girl. “- Well, how to translate" madame "and" mademoiselle "? Is it really "madam"? " Griboyedov .


Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary... D.N. Ushakov. 1935-1940.


Synonyms:

See what "Mademoiselle" is in other dictionaries:

    Mademoiselle O. Genre drama Director Jerome Fulon Country ... Wikipedia

    mademoiselle- and, and not., w. mademoiselle f. 1. Daughter of the brother of the French king. From her, the prince de Condé has daughters of princesses, .. whom the title is only given to just madmazelli, the devil of production, and to nobody else. Matveev Zap. 1 92. // Sl. eighteen.… … Historical Dictionary of Russian Gallicisms

    See the governess Dictionary of synonyms for the Russian language. Practical guide. M .: Russian language. Z.E. Aleksandrova. 2011. mademoiselle noun, number of synonyms: 6 ... Synonym dictionary

    - [dmoise], and, wives. 1. In France and in some other countries: polite address to the girl (usually before the name, surname), young lady. 2. The same as Madame (in 2 digits). Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

    - "Mademoiselle O.", Russia France, FR2 / PETROPOL / TELFRANCE (France), 1994, color, 102 min. Psychological melodrama. Based on the short story by Vladimir Nabokov. Cast: Maite Nair, Elena Safonova (see Elena Vsevolodovna SAFONOVA), Alexander Arbat, ... ... Encyclopedia of Cinema

    mademoiselle- mademoiselle. Pronounced [mademoiselle] ... Dictionary of pronunciation and stress difficulties in modern Russian

    mademoiselle- - [A.S. Goldberg. The English Russian Energy Dictionary. 2006] Topics energy in general EN mademoiselleMile ... Technical translator's guide

    Miss address to an unmarried woman in English speaking countries. It is an abbreviation for mistress, an obsolete form of addressing a woman. It can be used as a direct appeal to an unmarried woman, and in front of the surname of the one to whom they are addressing. In ... ... Wikipedia

    - (French mademoiselle) a polite appeal to a girl in France and some other countries (usually before her surname). New dictionary of foreign words. by EdwART, 2009. mademoiselle [ze], f. [fr. mademoiselle]. A polite address to a girl in France and ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

    mademoiselle- [dmoise /], not. and mademoise / li, f. 1) In France and some other countries, as well as in pre-revolutionary Russia: an appeal to a girl, to an unmarried woman, or a polite mention of her. So, write about the carriage for Mademoiselle Clemence? ... Popular dictionary of the Russian language

Books

  • Mademoiselle C, Berto Jean-Yves. The love confession of the beginning of the last century, clothed in the letters of a young Parisian woman, is perceived with that greedy curiosity that a good sensual romance usually evokes. This intriguing book ...
  • Mademoiselle S., Bertaud J.-I .. The love confession of the beginning of the last century, clothed in the letters of a young Parisian woman, is perceived with that greedy curiosity that a good sensual novel usually evokes. This intriguing book ...

1) a polite appeal to the girl; 2) the honorary title of the elder daughters of the brother of Franz. the king and the first princess of the blood while they were maidens; then he passed on to girls of noble birth, and then to any decent girl. Dictionary of foreign ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

mademoiselle- MADMOISEL, MADMAZEL mademoiselle f. And if I wanted to, they would have given such a madmazelle for me, more forceful than any governor's daughter. NI Pavlova In Troubled Years. // РВ 1893 1 65 ...

1. mademoiselle, mademoiselle, mademoiselle, mademoiselle, mademoiselle, mademoiselle, mademoiselle, mademoiselle, mademoiselle, mademoiselle, mademoiselle, mademoiselle 2. mademoiselle (Source: "A complete accentuated paradigm according to A. A.

Miss address to an unmarried woman in English speaking countries. It is an abbreviation for mistress, an obsolete form of addressing a woman. It can be used as a direct appeal to an unmarried woman, and in front of the surname of the one to whom they are addressing. In ... ... Wikipedia

mademoiselle- gadi) Francedә, һ. b. kayber illәrdә kyz keshegә mөrәҗәgat itү soze; tutash ... Tatar teleneң aңlatmaly sozlege

mademoiselle- see mademoiselle ... Dictionary of Forgotten and Difficult Words from the Works of Russian Literature of the 18th-19th Centuries

M lle George Birth name: Margarita Josephine Weimer (Weimer) ... Wikipedia

Mlle Fontaine or de La Fontaine Date of birth: 1655 (1655) Place of birth: Paris, France ... Wikipedia

Mademoiselle Mars. Claude Nike. 1820 Mademoiselle Mars (fr. Mademoiselle Mars, real name Anne Françoise Hippolyte Boutet S ... Wikipedia

Cher e Charmant Mademoiselle- * chère et charmante mademoiselle. Dear and charming Mademoiselle. Why weren't we taught in Latin? Wait, chère et charmante mademoiselle, Mr. Katkov will still erect you on this rock. OZ 1878 5 2 142 ... Historical Dictionary of Russian Gallicisms

Books

  • Mademoiselle Fifi (MP3 audiobook), Guy de Maupassant. A novel about love and passions during the war. The action takes place in France in the 19th century ... audiobook
  • Mademoiselle Fifi (CDmp3), Maupassant Guy de. A novel about love and passions during the war. The action takes place in France in the 19th century. Reads: D. Savin Total duration: 3 hours 52 minutes ...