serviette or napkin

The age long debate, which came to my attention today when someone mentioned a book by Kate Fox called "Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour", it looks at a peculiar tribe of people known as "The English". In one section she lists certain words that if used by someone can identify them as a member of a specific class - "serviette" is one of those words which automatically flags up the person as working class. It can be argued ( very poorly I think) that it would be inappropriate to ask for a napkin in Mac Donalds ( if your are ever brave enough to eat there, I always have a tummy ache within an hour of eating a cheese burger meal), that the staff would only know the word serviette.
But I have to say that it is always a napkin, and if it is made out of paper then it is a paper napkin. Nancy Mitford in the 1950 s was absolutely clear that "table napkin" was the proper term and was probably the best known of all linguistic class indicators of the English language. She was supported soon afterwards by John Betjeman's poem "How To Get on In Society" which is very much a tongue in cheeck look at English society. ie everything you should never say " You kiddies have crumpled the serviettes" is such an example.

But my main point is that whatever your fellow dining guests says, napkin, table napkin or serviette, never make them feel uncomfortable in the choice of their words, that is always the worst sort of manners.