[Augustine23610]

Until a few years ago, I never gave it a second thought to call someone near my own age or younger by their first name. Then, two things happened: I moved to South Carolina and I started reflecting on my own age. I also worked in retail where you have a large age range of customers. I found this to be the best policy: address anyone you don’t know by courtesy title and last name, unless it is a pre-teenager. Then they will let you know, one way or another, that they prefer to be called by their first name. This way you never commit the solecism of crossing the line and calling someone by their first name when they prefer to be addressed more formally. It’s just a matter of respect. Also, when I lived in Washington, D.C. for several years, I noticed that young unmarried people generally went by only their first names, even in the same apartment building or in an office setting. In South Carolina, generally speaking, people introduce themselves by first and last name, which seems normal to me, but in Washington, everything is first-name-only. I literally had neighbors and worked with people who did not remember my last name (it’s a simple one) even after I’d introduced myself with my full name! I wonder if this is because many people have ethnic-sounding surnames that are hard for others to spell or pronounce. Can anyone help me figure out why Washington is like that? Is this common in larger cities?

User Detail :  

Name : Augustine23610, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 40, City : Columbia, State : SC, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Author]

Posts