Fräulein
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- The title of this article contains the character ä. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Fraeulein.However, it is also at least as likely to be spelled Fraulein in that case.
In German, (German pronunciation ) Fräulein (literally, "little woman" or "little Mrs.", pronounced /ˈfɹɔɪlaɪn/) was used as a title for young girls and unmarried women as opposed to Frau for married women. It is used with the first name or last name (Fräulein Anna or Fräulein Schmidt).
Today, the expression is mostly considered derogatory and is seldom used. It is now considered appropriate to address all women as Frau (plus last name)<ref>Oxford Dictionary. Writing Letters in German. Oxford University Press. Retrieved on 2006-09-29. “Note that in German all women are addressed as Frau (the equivalent of both Mrs and Ms) in formal and business letters.”</ref><ref>Exeter University Faculty. Exeter University Beginners' German. Retrieved on 2006-09-29. “The formal use of Fräulein to translate "Miss" is outdated and should be avoided, not least because the literal translation of Fräulein is "little woman"! You should instead use Frau.”</ref>. It may still be used when addressing very young women, such as high school students by their teachers, or underage girls.<ref>Oxford Dictionary. Writing Letters in German. Oxford University Press. Retrieved on 2006-09-29. “Use Fräulein only when writing to young girls.”</ref> It is also occasionally still used by elderly or conservative speakers. The use of the term came into disfavor during second-wave feminism, as "little" was seen as condescending towards women past school age.
Fräulein can be translated as Miss in English; Signorina in Italian; Mademoiselle in French; Senhorita in Portuguese; Señorita in Spanish; Maighdeann-uasal in Scottish Gaelic; and Iníon or Ógbhean-uasal in Irish.
[edit] Usage in culture
Literature and film have preserved the old usage very well, in some cases already in the title. Examples are E.T.A. Hoffmann's tale Das Fräulein von Scuderi (1819), Elizabeth von Arnim's epistolary novel Fräulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther (1907), and the comedy film Fräulein vom Amt (1954), whose title was a common phrase denoting a female operator at a telephone exchange. In an earlier comedy film, Unser Fräulein Doktor (1940), Jenny Jugo plays Dr. Elisabeth Hansen, a young attractive teacher at a gymnasium who has to fight to be taken seriously as an intellectual.
In English-language film, fräulein has been used as a tip-off word that the actors are actually speaking German, despite it being English for the audience's sake.
"Fräulein" is also the title of a 1960s song sung in German by Chris Howland [1].
