Teeth, braces, and the English Language or variations thereof.

[Geoff]

No: HPFGUIDX 190330

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, lynde at ... wrote:
 
Geoff:
> I worked for 32 years in a school in South-West London, dealing initially with 
> boys in the 11-15 range and latterly in a mixed environment with students of 
> 13-18 and that is how I would interpret your suggestion from my experience 
> of being bi-lingual, speaking both UK English and School Playground English.
> 
> Going back to the original quote in GoF which June supplied, it was:
> 
> >> '(Hermione speaking) "Mum and Dad won't be too pleased. I've been trying
> >> to persuade them to let me shrink them for ages, but they wanted me to 
> >> carry on with my brace."'

Lynda: 
> Your point is well taken, Geoff and I would agree under most circumstances. I do have one niggling question, though. Wouldn't Hermione have mentioned that she wore a brace or the presence of a brace on her teeth have been mentioned during the books if she was wearing one? I don't think buck teeth like Hermione's would have used merely a retainer she wore at night. So the presence of a brace on her teeth would have been noticeable and should have been mentioned. Rowling is not that poor a writer that she would leave out that detail!

Geoff:
We have had discussions similar to this over the years. This hasn't been 
mentioned because it has not been a vital part of the story line.  It has been 
pointed out in the past that we are not told when such events as Harry 
going to the toilet or Ron changing his socks occur because they are part 
and parcel of everyday life.

I had friends at school who wore braces or starting wearing glasses but 
you didn't make a point of talking extensively about this. These are not 
unique occurrences.