Tuesday, April 16, 2013

'N' is for 'Names.'



‘N’ is for ‘Names.’ Theresa Bazelli asked if I’d talk a little about the naming conventions of my world. Here’s hoping she approves!

"She reminds me of your uncle..."
The world has seen several dominant cultures, and thus its share of naming conventions. Modern humans have hyphenated names, like Teffes-Ro. The first part is the personal name; ‘Teffes’ is no different than ‘Danielle’ or ‘Mohammed.’ The name usually consists of one or two syllables, including a consonant from the name of a male in the family and a vowel from a female in the family the parents wish to commemorate. Most parents decide to commemorate themselves.

The second part is an external name, often connoting family or a tribe; ‘Ro’ is similar to ‘Smith’ or ‘Goldstein.’ Most of the oldest and most vaunted family names are monosyllabic and privileged, including ‘Ro’; converting your name to one for the status can get you killed by someone protective of their familial or tribal brand.

This two-named form has existed regionally for at least two apocalypses, but was rendered the standard by The Empire of Gold and Jade who sought to count and categorize all citizens. This allows them to allot food subsidies, golems and military police, as well as organizing taxation. They pride themselves on knowledge.

The “Ky” Movement is an opposition, seeking people to give up their family or tribal names and use only “Ky.” To some it’s rebellion against the empire; to others, it’s a means of escaping their past. Converting yourself to a Ky is a lot like declaring bankruptcy; you forfeit all possessions and rights to others. There are so many people with the name that many law organizations will give up pursuing someone with the name. Few people live under the name for long, finding its stigma of worthlessness too dangerous. Others like Mahut-Ky, the villain of The Last House in the Sky, don’t care about or even enjoy the stigma. Stereotypes can be used as weapons.

Names are much less standardized in The Frontier. Many species have taken the old gremlin behavior of naming their families after things; one of the protectors of God’s Lap changed their family name to “Walls,” to become synonymous with the station they commanded.

The most famous gremlin convention was combining words, such as “Hillneath,” “Vineguard,” and “Skylane.” This invariably described a precious site, and then the people and slaves belonging to the site. Only imps and triclopes still bear names from this convention, having deeper affects from the gremlin empire’s slavery and breeding campaigns. They’re hard to shake, culturally.

33 comments:

  1. I am so impressed that you have such a well-thought out plan for your world's naming conventions. And I love this line: "has existed regionally for at least two apocalypses." It's the casual way it drops the fact that there have been many apocalypses.

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    1. It's a handy way to mark how old things are! It really isn't culture if it isn't at least an apocalypse old.

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  2. I am endlessly fascinated the more I learn of the intricacies of your world. Thank you.

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  3. Naming is one of the harder things to do. I'm impressed at the thought you've devoted to this.

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    1. It came about surprisingly organically after studying a few cultures. I don't even want to admit the horrible person who inspired the Ky-idea.

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  4. Thanks! I'm always interested in how others come to the naming process. It's one of the most fun aspects, but also most time-consuming parts of writing for me.

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    1. What do you find particularly fun about naming? I'm curious, particularly for why it would wind up stealing so much time.

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  5. Wow, nice job. You've put a ton of thought into details not even I've given more than cursory attention to.

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    1. Does the Pick-Ups series rely on earth naming, Larry?

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  6. I always find it interesting how authors choose names, my way is pretty boring, your way sounds much better!

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  7. I love that you give names the status of being a character/movement within the story. I try to pick names with such meanings too - sometimes giving them an "Easter Egg" effect for those trying to seek a hidden meaning (using Babelfish).
    My one requirement is that they're easy to pronounce in my own head - even if it's the wrong pronunciation. As a reader, I hate tripping over names in a book that are so whacked out syllable-wise as to be rendered unpronounsible.

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    1. I definitely have a few Easter Eggs, though I think they're better if I never say which. At least not until people catch me, right?

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  8. Now I am understanding a bit more. My curiosity is brewing. Your names are sort of like profiling. Like a club that can have bad or good reputations now.

    KaTy Did at: Life's Ride As I See It

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    1. Profiling is one of the big uses of naming systems. In some ways it's the precedent for a national bar code system.

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  9. I always assumed you just blazed up a doobie.

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    1. A limber mind requires no lubricants. Never drank, never smoked.

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  10. Nice system! And unobtrusive too -- the names are readable and sound plausible.

    Reminds me a little of the Iain M. Banks novel that had Sharrow as the protagonist.

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  11. This is only my 2nd visit to your blog but I am already fasciated by this world of yours.

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  12. Hey, we're topic twins today! You have a nice system here. I love the idea of word combining to come up with names.

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  13. LOL I like the idea of naming their families after things.

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  14. It seems like you've done a lot of background work in thinking about the names.

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  15. Names have always stumped me for unknown reasons. I can't think of any that are truly compelling.

    www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

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  16. Wow, that's a lot of thought into the names. And frightening that some lead to government investigation or worse.
    I name all the characters in my books in less than thirty minutes. Eache does have meaning though.

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  17. You are a serious world-builder, dude! I like that you have a system. I'm more of a random tagger, myself. I found my own naming tastes frighteningly like the old gremlins of your world.

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  18. This is a stunning post which I was not expecting to be so powerful. After all, "what's in a name?" Everything, it seems! I loved it, John!
    jean xox

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  19. That's very cool. I like how you made the human names. Unique.

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  20. Names are fascinating and many take them for granted. Great post.

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  21. I admire the Ky Movement because of their rebellious nature. Not only are they willing to give up the family name but also, astonishingly, relinquish all possessions and rights. Those that continue to live under the name despite the stigma are heroes not villains.

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  22. This is so so so so awesome! And it tells me that I have to work a lot still before I'll have a complete world. I never thought that names could be so interesting! I have to learn still a lot!
    Thanks for sharing!

    http://www.frannychallenge.wordpress.com/

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  23. I love the little details you bring to your world. I'm in awe. My brain just doesn't work that way. :) But I love reading it.

    Rinelle Grey

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  24. I wouldn't have expected you to put any less thought into this then you did. (Meaning that you put an extremely large amount of thought into it and that's completely in character for you, in case that wasn't clear.)

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