forms of address

[Hannah]

No: HPFGUIDX 117378


> Carol:
> > As I don't have access to the Billy Bunter books, can you tell me
> > whether the boys refer to each other by last names, that is, 
whether
> > McGonagall is using British schoolboy patterns for her era? Do 
the
> > books reflect similar patterns to those used at Hogwarts? 
> 
Hannah: Well, my youngest brother is still at school in the UK, not 
even a posh fee-paying school like Hogwarts resembles, and he and 
his friends use surnames.  From reading far too many 'Just William' 
and similar stories set in the sort of schools/eras that JKR has 
apparently modelled Hogwarts on, I would say that surnames are used 
betwen boys most of the time, except between close friends (who even 
then may still use surnames).  The alternative is nicknames.  Use of 
first names would be less common than the other two, I think. 

Hannah