Hogwarts Location Confirmed in FB?

[Pam at barkingdog.demon.co.uk]

No: HPFGUIDX 14458

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Rena" <fmu30c at y...> wrote:

 Why don't we see more Scottish
> students
> > at Hogwarts, I wonder?  I can't really think of one character 
whose
> name
> > makes me think they are anything but English, except for Seamus
> Finnegan of
> > course.

How would you know whether students are Scottish or English?  It's 
practically impossible to write in the English language with a 
Scottish accent.  Further, there isn't just a single Scottish accent 
and in some parts of Scotland people speak with an accent that may 
sound more upper class English than Stephen Fry.  Relatively few 
Scots can actually speak 'Scots' and even fewer seem to understand 
it - Robbie Burns seems to be as difficult for young Scots to 
understand as Chaucer is for young English people.  

The names don't necessarily tell you where people come from.  They 
may tell you a little about their ancestors - you will find quite a 
lot of Finnegans in Scotland as you will lots of other Irish names, 
reflecting the migration between Scotland and Ireland.  Similarly 
with English names.  If you dine in my local Indian restaurant all 
the Scottish Asian waiters have accents straight out of the centre of 
Glasgow but their names are anything but and ditto with the local 
Chinese restaurant.  

I think that the Muggle/Mudblood issue was chosen to represent racism 
for the very reason that it is impossible to tell just by looking 
that someone is Muggle or Wizard.   I personally hope that Ms Rowling 
does not further specify the ethnic origins of Hogwarts pupils 
because I subscribe to the Star Trek approach to ethnicity.  Ethnic 
differences are totally unimportant, absolutely taken for granted and 
therefore wholly unremarkable.  

Cheers for now
Pam