I find it quite interesting how strong our feelings are about names and titles (there is an almost identical discussion going on at the moment in another group I am involved with).
I am in that camp which abhors titles and has no problems with children addressing adults by their first names. I have never liked titles and can see no good reason for labelling my gender and marital status to strangers - I particularly hate the way most computer forms do not permit a blank title. When we named our son, we gave him 3 forenames, all of which could be shortened or changed in some way so as to ensure he could choose a name appropriate for himself. We also decided that apart from blood relatives we would not introduce the idea of calling anybody auntie or uncle, but he would address people by the same name we would use ourselves to that person - generally a first name. This was reinforced for us when we lived for a time in Germany and found that it was common practice for very young children to address adults by their first names (something we had not anticipated having understood Germany was far more formal than the UK). I honestly can't remember when I last addressed anybody with a title. If referring to somebody to a third party, depending on circumstances I might use their family name with their forename, but never with a title. I think what interests me most about this whole subject is that attitudes seem to have little to do with age (I'm 56), minimal to do with upbringing, something to do with cultural roots and a lot to do with personal preferences and attitudes. Cheers Liz (aka Liz Thackray) in Sussex, UK To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
