It’s a common enough mistake made in Germany – Silvester, the name from New Year’s Eve, is named after Pope Silvester I, who died in the 4th Century A.D.
However, many people mis-spell it as “Sylvester”, like the cartoon cat. Even TV shows get it wrong, once in a while.
This week, I saw it mis-spelled on the door of a local supermarket:
About GrahamGraham Tappenden is a British ex-pat who first came to Germany as a placement student in 1993, returning in 1995 to live there permanently. He has been writing for AllThingsGerman.net since 2006. When not writing blog posts or freelancing for the Oberurseler Woche and other publications he works as a self-employed IT consultant and online community manager. In 2016 he gained German citizenship.
Wie schreibt man Silvester? (ggf. falsch…)
Wie schreibt man Silvester? Mit i oder mit y? Eigentlich mit i, aber das weiß offensichtlich unser Supermarkt nicht…
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I had noticed that too! Reading “Sylvester” immediately got me thinking of the cartoon cat, and not about shopping on Dec 31st.
I had noticed that too! Reading “Sylvester” immediately got me thinking of the cartoon cat, and not about shopping on Dec 31st.