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Brooks's avatar

In South Korea, a fetus gets a nickname, often an absurd one, so that one can, in effect, talk to the baby or refer to it, without knowing anything about it. The nicknames I've heard are cute and silly, but seem to emphasize the fun side of pregnancy.

Germans also have the Du/Sie divide usually broken when the older of two people suggests that 'wir duzen'. A younger person can ask permission to use Du, which is sometimes denied.

As for Jules et Jim, Truffaut was famous for his witholding the right to 'tutoyer', even from his wife.

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Dr. Fraud (Darja M)'s avatar

Coming from a culture where we have the tu/vous distinction, it was so uncomfortable to address everyone with "you"...just felt really impolite. As for nicknames, I have gotten different ones, mostly from family...the most recent being "Neman" (it means "beast") and I am totally fine with it 😂

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