MSGID: 1:153/716.0 080ec094
REPLY:  dc03387a
CHRS: IBMPC 2
Hi, Alexander!  Recently you wrote in a message to All:

ak>  -----Beginning of the citation-----
ak>       His name was Rayner. First name unknown. By me,
ak>  at any rate, and therefore, presumably, by you too.
ak>  ----- The end of the citation -----

ak>  It seems I forgot it -- when I am asked "what's
ak>  your name" -- am I asked about my second name?
ak>  Or you have some variants? ;)


           A lot depends on the circumstances.  At informal gatherings I might
say "Alexander, I'd like you to meet my friend Bruce".  The use of first names
often implies familiarity & social equality, however... so things may be a bit
different where kids are involved.  If I were introducing you to a grade eight
class you'd be "Mr. Koryagin" to them and "Alexander" in the staff room.  OTOH
you may also, as an adult friend of the family, be called "Uncle Alex(ander)".

           Years ago... when I worked as a waitress... I was known by my first
name & entered by the back door while as a teacher I was known as "Miss XXX" &
entered by the front door, although for some time the two jobs overlapped.  It
was axiomatic back then that, as a customer, you'd be "Sir" or "Mr. Koryagin".
It didn't strike me as unusual when Dallas & I were in our twenties that a few
shop assistants in our neighbourhood were known to us as Mr. So-and-So because
they were much older.  We'd both seen how conservative our grandparents & even
our parents were WRT first names.  But nowadays things are generally much more
informal, and we may encounter a lot of people whose surnames we don't know.

           Sometimes that works, sometimes not.  Children & foreigners usually
get my first name right because they're open to experience & don't try to make
it conform to what they think they already know.  When the receptionist at the
dentist's office e.g. asks for my name I say "Mrs. Hinton" because it's easier
to spell.  She may think it's stuffy, old-fashioned, and/or elitist... but she
gets it right.  OTOH, you might find it more efficient to say "Alexander" when
you're waiting your turn & you're not likely to be confused with someone else.

           If you were employed in a military or quasi-military job, you would
probably wear a badge saying "Koryagin".  If you're reading about a fictitious
character who attended a British private school during the last century or so,
you might see him introducing himself as e.g. "Bond... James Bond".  In such a
situation the use of both names adds credibility, I reckon, just as it does in
Fidonet where there are potentially larger numbers of people involved.  But if
we're making a reservation at a local eatery there may be two or three Hintons
involved & the newbies at the front desk don't need to know all the details...
in which case the first to arrive will use only the surname.  Other members of
staff who know us well are not discouraged from using our first names.

           YMMV, of course.  I've never been to Russia... but I have noticed a
difference in levels of formality between the UK & the US.  :-)




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