Grammar and Bible study

Germans have two words for “you.” When you are speaking to a stranger, an older person, or an acquaintance, you use the formal Sie (always capitalized). So you might ask them,

Können Sie mir Helfen? [Can you help me?]

But if you’re talking to a friend, you use du. You might say something like,

Warum bist du müde? [Why are you tired?]

Americans here are known for rudely addressing people with du-form when we shouldn’t. The rules are complicated, I think. I get laughed at if I talk to another student with Sie, for example. Students always use du when talking with each other. Sounds easy, right? But what if a college student is taking my order at a restaurant? Well, then the age-rule is trumped by the business-rule. Because she is serving me, we both use Sie.

Who else can you address with du? Pets, kids, good friends, family, and God.

Are you shocked that a German addresses God with less formality than he does an old woman or his boss at work? Don’t be. If you’re Catholic or fundamentalist Christian, you probably address God informally, too.

Today we think of the King James Bible, always using thee and thou, as being very formal, but in fact thou was the English informal pronoun. Here is a bit of the KJV Genesis with a German translation.

And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
[Und Gott der HERR rief Adam und sprach zu ihm: Wo bist du?]

And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
[Und er sprach: Ich hörte dich im Garten und fürchtete mich; denn ich bin nackt, darum versteckte ich mich.]

And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
[Und er sprach: Wer hat dir gesagt, dass du nackt bist? Hast du nicht gegessen von dem Baum, von dem ich dir gebot, du solltest nicht davon essen?]

And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
[Da sprach Adam: Die Frau, die du mir zugesellt hast, gab mir von dem Baum und ich aß.]

Why does Adam feel so chummy with God that he can use du or thou? Well, having just been created by him from dirt, Adam speaks to God as his father, I think. Still today in Germany, people speak to their parents with du. A king, by contrast, should be called Sie.

So when Catholics and fundamentalists use the old-fashion Lord’s Prayer (Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name…), they are not being more formal, but less.

Who thought I would ever lead a Bible study?