From: phoenix@mediaone.net   
      
   SK wrote:   
      
      
      
   >The founder of the Chess Tower used to play chess with Ami’s   
   >grandfather.  He used to play with her as well, once upon a time.  He   
   >said that she used to play to escape her loneliness, but that doesn’t   
   >seem to be the case anymore.   
      
   Here is an example of how Japanese suffixes give a nicely refined   
   meaning to the relationship between people. The founder refers to Ami   
   as Ami-kun, a suffix generally reserved for men. However, it can also   
   show a friendly professional relationship between a senior and junior   
   person regardless of gender. In a relationship like this, -san would   
   be a bit too formal, -chan would be a bit condescending and no suffix   
   at all would be far too personal.   
      
   --   
   Phoenix   
   www.phoenixanime.com   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)