Märchen Orders

[steepholm]

[Poll #1812768]

Comments

[nightspore.livejournal.com]

Or more accurately, I refer to them as theGrimms's fairy tales.

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

I now realise that I have spoken the phrase far more often than I have written it. Definitely "Grimms Fairy Tales" and I suppose I would put the apostrophe after the "S".

[mount-oregano.livejournal.com]

I would look it up to find out what is correct . . . and my dictionary says "Grimm's Fairy Tales."

[diceytillerman.livejournal.com]

I tend to say the word "Grimms," without the words "fairy tales." And mostly I say it verbally, so I skate away with no apostrophe commitment.

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

In aggregate I use the pluralizing apostrophe, but usually I'm talking about one specific story or another, in which case it is a tale from the Brothers Grimm. From, not of.

[gillo]

"Grimms' Tales" is my most usual term. Sometimes "Grimms' Fairy Tales", but they are about a lot of non-fairy things, so it doesn't feel exactly right.

[ashkitty.livejournal.com]

One of the first two, but with the caveat that I don't think I've ever written it down in my entire life, so would be speaking quickly. ;)

[houseboatonstyx.livejournal.com]

Grimm.

[karinmollberg.livejournal.com]

I grew up with the stories in german, which led me to think, it would be "Die Märchen der Gebrüder Grimm" (the fairy tales/stories of the brothers Grimm) but in fact just "brothers Grimm" seems more commonly used ("Gebrüder" is an old form of saying "brothers" in german, one can see it on old shop signs shortened to "Gebr.").
My parents had an old book from Oma (one gran) which said it all:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimms_M%C3%A4rchen
(that would be: Grimm´s Fairy Tales or just plain Stories)
Since it wasn´t a collection of stories of their own making the whole possessiveness discussion seems a little bit strange to me (but then, I am not a native english speaker and may well use my "´s" wrongly).
The full, old form in german of course is a bit heavy to translate (yes, I was one of those who voted for "The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm" in the poll) but I would find it more correct to pronounce the fact, that they had merely collected long existing "Children and House Stories" (Kinder und Hausmärchen) so: "from the Collection of the Brothers Grimm" would perhaps be correct but not so nice having to say each time. Of course they constantly kept working on and changing them, adding and removing expressions and whole tales.

The word "Märchen" itself is diminutive of the old word "Mar" (as I knew it from my gran who still spoke an ancient form of Plattdeutsch; the Altmark variety, therefore not "dütsch") or in other parts "Märe" which would mean tale, story, even news or saga. Almost as in nightmare;) the word "Mar" or "Märe" somehow expresses that it may not be the full and only Truth but still worth hearing.
Today it would be "Schwank", I think. Someone lately told me to tell one from where I live. (Will appear on my journal later...)

[drasecretcampus.livejournal.com]

I'd look it up to check the precise wording - but I think I'd go with Household Tales, as my Peake-illustrated Picador edition is called that. And is by the Brothers Grimm, which offers a new set of problems...

The Brothers Grimm's Household Tales
The Brothers Grimms' Household Tales
The Brothers' Grimm Household Tales


... which would probably default to Household Tales of The Brothers Grimm.

I think I have the Routledge/Zipes version somewhere.

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

I don't prefer the usage Grimm's, but that's what I'm used to seeing from childhood. I know it doesn't make sense.