Talk:Von

message: In the article of von you removed the reference.  I wish you wouldn't do that.  I took this mans intellectual property and placed it here.  This man should get the credit.  What basis did you use to remove the reference?  It is like stealing from the man!  Please don't do that.WHEELER 17:27, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC)
thread_title: References

message: It's a bit of a nitpick, but German noble families were often untitled.  This is different from the Peerages in Great Britain, to belong to which you have to have a specific titular rank--baron or higher.  In the German nobility, a family could have the name von X, implying noble status, but without holding any titular rank such as Freiherr, Graf, or Baron.  Many of the Junkers of Prussia fell into this category; if we were to translate the condition of an untitled German noble in the 19th century to England, the closest analogy might be the untitled gentry among whom so many Victorian novels were set.
So being "untitled" doesn't mean necessarily that a family is non-noble, particularly if they have "von" in their name.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Pithecanthropus (talk • contribs) 02:02, 24 February 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Titles 

message: What is the Wiki practice regarding the translation of "von" or "zu" in articles? I've noticed several instances wherein German/Austrian nobles, ie Prince Alfred von Auersperg (the first husband of heiress Sunny von Bulow, for instance, have had their vons and zus translated, in article titles and in text, as "of". This seems somewhat ridiculous, to translate what in many cases is now a surname rather than a noble title. Any observations/comments? Mowens35 15:59, 6 August 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Surely that depends on the context. It's worth looking at, especially if the word after the "von" or zu" is a "minor" placename. I would advise addressing these on a case-by-case basis.63.82.23.2 (talk) 16:26, 24 June 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Questions 

message: Does anyone know of a map that shows which parts of Germany where von was restricted to nobles?  Emperor001 (talk) 15:50, 25 March 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: What makes you think the use of "von" was restricted in parts of Germany to the nobility? Michael Bednarek (talk) 02:19, 26 March 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: I read somewhere (here maybe) that in some portions of the country, only nobles could use it while in other places, anyone could.  Because under the monarchies, Germany was always a group of united states (sometimes more united than others), each state had its own laws about these kind of things.  Emperor001 (talk) 23:03, 27 March 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: No need to speak of laws. I do not think it was ever forbidden to use "von" as part of an artist name. People just have a name which either includes von or doesn't. Then of course in the second case, they must not use it; in the first, it is colloquial to drop it. Now I hear that in the North of Germany, there still are some vons around who are not noble (similar to Dutch van). In the South, rather not. But of course, if you came to the South and were called von, you kept that, noble or not. Then also. --93.135.33.158 (talk) 20:25, 1 October 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: Places

message: The article could use a section on collation (e.g., phone book ordering). Jason Quinn (talk) 13:29, 2 December 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Collation 

message: I shall appreciate if somebody corrects my mistakes and helps me to «encyclopedize» the style (given the whole contribution is appropriate). For a prompt reply from me you may switch to my Russian user page and write there in English. Thanks in advance, Cherurbino (talk) 11:52, 13 July 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  von in Russia 

message: Is there any particular reason why some people, like Baron vom Stein have their names clearly indicating the masculine Dative, as in "Von dem"? Is this determined by the name that follows? Are most surnames which only feature "von" actually feminine or some kind of adjective? D Boland (talk) 23:48, 17 January 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Titles in the Dative 

message: "Ancient families distinguish themselves from newly ennobled ones by abbreviating von to v. This is also the traditional practice of nobles in North Germany"
I contest this statement. In Germany (I speak from experience as a noble), one has the right to abbreviate the von to v. regardless of the age of nobility. The distinction between von and v. is made at aristocratic balls organised by the organisation that preserves nobility (I forget what this organisation is called). All 'real' nobles are written v. and all 'false' nobles (i.e. people who do not fit the criteria for nobility, such as illegitimate or adopted children) have the von written out in full.
Compare: Josef von Sternberg ('von' was added as part of his stage name) with Wolf v. Engelhardt (member of the German nobility of the Baltic).  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mensuur (talk • contribs) 16:56, 28 March 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  von versus v. 

message: The original capitalization section had a very confusingly written second paragraph that was not-quite coherent:
This is in contrast to Dutch Van, which in the north (Netherlands) is capitalized when standing alone (unless part of a clause), and in the south (Belgium) is always capitalized – for instance, "A paper by Van der Waals", though "The van der Waals radius", and "The politician Eric Van Rompuy."
Seeing as I'm not a Dutch speaker and don't know the rules of capitalization in Dutch, I did the best I could to interpret what that meant. However, I'm not sure if I got it right, so will someone more familiar with the capitalization rules in Dutch look over the current version and the original excerpt above to make sure it's accurate?--98.119.111.176 (talk) 01:54, 7 June 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: I agree that the former phrasing was confusing. However, Instead of trying to clarify the situation in this article, I think it's simpler to refer to the article Van (Dutch) where it's much better explained. -- Michael Bednarek (talk) 05:11, 7 June 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Capitalization