MSGID: 1:153/716.0 088be411   
   REPLY: 2:221/6.0 6082ac98   
   CHRS: IBMPC 2   
   Hi, Alexander!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:   
      
   AK>  So, if you are a headmaster in school,   
      
      
               Usage note:  as a female I might well be headmistress of a private   
   school in this country but principal (gender neutral) of a public school.  :-)   
      
      
      
   AK>  and you want to find out who is that naughty boy   
   AK>  throwing rocks, you will ask him, "Why you are   
   AK>  not at a lesson?   
      
      
               Assuming the incident occurred during class hours I'd probably say   
   ... as Anton suggested... "Why are you not in class?   
      
      
      
   AK>  What's your second name?"   
      
      
               I'd start by saying "What's your name?"  If he replied with only a   
   given name I'd pursue the matter further, because in a large high school there   
   could easily be dozens of kids who are known by the same first name.  The term   
   "second name" could be confusing, though, in English.  Let's say we have a boy   
   whose full legal name is on record in the office as   
      
                        John Jacob Jingleheimer-Schmidt   
      
   ... meaning he has two given names & a double-barrelled surname.  I think he'd   
   probably be called "John Schmidt" at school.  But some people use their middle   
   name, i.e. the second of two given names, in preference to their first.  If we   
   say "first name" they may or may not take that to mean the first name they are   
   usually called by.  In general I avoid terms like first name, second name, and   
   full name because I can't be sure how others will interpret them.   
      
               Now, what to do instead?  If Mr. & Mrs. Jones & their 2.3 children   
   use the surname "Jones" you can refer to it as a family name... but things are   
   often more complex these days.  A woman may prefer to use her maiden name, for   
   any number of reasons, and/or she may remarry.  IOW a parent's surname may not   
   be the same as that of the individual who's throwing rocks or whatever.  I say   
   "surname" because it covers a lot of territory including historical characters   
   like Harold Bluetooth who may not have had family names as we know them.  :-))   
      
               If "surname" is beyond the limits of the other person's vocabulary   
   you could try "last name", but this might not work with e.g. recent immigrants   
   from parts of Southeast Asia where the family name comes first.  "John what??"   
   works in many cases although it sounds unbecoming of a principal... [chuckle].   
      
      
      
      
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
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