slang and HP - Reckon

[Neil Ward]

Steve BBoy asked:-

<< I'm curious about the word 'reckon'. 
  
Do people in Britain actually use that word as much as we see it in 
the book? >>

Like Ali, I use that word a lot and would say it's a very common 
colloquial alternative to think/feel.  Most of the slang and 
colloquial language in the HP books seems pretty standard to me, but 
perhaps I'm just as out of touch as JKR and don't realise how 
stonkingly uncool I am.  

It hadn't occurred to me that a word like 'reckon' would seem odd to 
people outside Britain.  No wonder I got some funny looks when I was 
in New York, recently.

Neil