> As Stephen P Martin considers use of the popular and affectionate
> nickname "Stevie" to be "an attack", ....
Just to inject a little (I hope) note of reason into this one: the use of
a diminutive form of a name can be treated as an affectionate one, true.
It can also be regarded as: well, a diminutive. Implying the person
referred to is "small" (in any sense of that word), and hence less
worthy of respect than someone addressed by the full version of the same
name. If you started calling me "Janie" I'd be quite upset.
Now, how can we get these minor differences of dialect (?) and useage into Glorantha??? Do northern Sartarites address everyone as "love", and wonder why southern Sartarites get upset? Which tribe has the habit of shortening everyone's name? Which one calls everyone "Jimmy"? Just how many inter-tribal wars have been fought over all this so far?
(It occurs to me that the diminutive of "Kallyr", if anyone dared use it, might be "Kali", also the name of an Indian goddess of war. I hope this is coincidence?)
Jane Williams jane_at_williams.nildram.co.uk http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~janewill/
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