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HelpRe: Gretchen
in reply to a message by Billina
It's fine as a nickname for Margarete. If I remember correctly Margarete nn Gretchen was the name of the female main character in Faust. She's not a great namesake as she had a rather miserable life and an untimely death.
I don't like it as a full name at all. I'm half German and it wasn't used as a full name except for in the nickname name phase of the early 1900s. It sounds extremely cutesy and childish to me. Also when people who don't speak German pronounce it, it sounds very different from the original German pronunciation. It sounds quite soft in German but English speakers usually don't get the -chen sound right and it just sounds harsh and unattractive. Don't ask me to explain the -chen sound, it's impossible, a sound that doesn't exist in the English language. Maybe you can find an audio file or something.
It's fine to pronounce it the English way, of course. I just don't care much for it in general. I'd recommend using it as a nickname. Margaret, Margarete, Margareta, Margarita and Greta would work. Greta nn Gretchen would be my favorite. I know that Greta is a short form but it's not cutesy and Greta nn Gretchen makes sense and is more obvious than Margarete nn Gretchen.
I don't like it as a full name at all. I'm half German and it wasn't used as a full name except for in the nickname name phase of the early 1900s. It sounds extremely cutesy and childish to me. Also when people who don't speak German pronounce it, it sounds very different from the original German pronunciation. It sounds quite soft in German but English speakers usually don't get the -chen sound right and it just sounds harsh and unattractive. Don't ask me to explain the -chen sound, it's impossible, a sound that doesn't exist in the English language. Maybe you can find an audio file or something.
It's fine to pronounce it the English way, of course. I just don't care much for it in general. I'd recommend using it as a nickname. Margaret, Margarete, Margareta, Margarita and Greta would work. Greta nn Gretchen would be my favorite. I know that Greta is a short form but it's not cutesy and Greta nn Gretchen makes sense and is more obvious than Margarete nn Gretchen.
This message was edited 6/8/2013, 2:02 PM
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