Re: Russian names (was: Re: A perfect day...)

At 11:49 02/02/00 -0500, you wrote:
>
>>First names alone, ty:  intimate or casual
>
>- Correct; but note that _ty_ goes better with the short form of first
>name. Russian speakers remember which short form is derived from which
>'official' name. Unlike what is usual in English, both forms are
>perceived as variants of the same name.
>
There seems to be such a system in Greece and in the Netherlands, where
people have generally an official first name and a variant used in every
life (like my boyfriend whose actual first name is Johannes, but who
everyone always call Jan). When I was in Holland, I shared a house with a
Greek girl whose first name was Melania, but her actually used first name
was Melina (and it seems to be a consistent system). I find it rather cool.
Too bad that the French don't have this system (what would be the short
form for Christophe by the way?)

                                                        Christophe Grandsire
                                                |Sela Jemufan Atlinan C.G.

"Reality is just another point of view."

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