Re: Forms of personal address

> [mailto:CONLANG@listserv.brown.edu] On Behalf Of ROGER MILLS
> I think that must be a Southern thing.
> Admittedly I'm of a distant time, generation, and geography--
> when I was a
> child, my friends' parents/relatives etc. were ALWAYS Mr./Mrs
> Lastname. I
> seem to recall one friend who called his parents by their
> first names, but
> there had been a divorce so they were beyond the pale....
I think it's more of an Eastern thing.  Growing up on the West Coast
where just about everyone is on a first name basis.  We did use
titles for school teachers, but by high school there were a couple
of teachers that preferred their first name.  I was surprised when I
moved out East to find people referring to bosses as "Mr./Ms. xxx",
and customers.  Some areas seem to be more formal than others
though.