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Self introduction and naming conventions in Thörrthekan
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 23 Aug 2016, 02:50.
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In this brief article we will take a look at naming conventions in the Thörrthekan world. At the end is a short explanation of the various ways to introduce oneself in standard Thörrthekan, and brief description of a typical naming ceremony.Outside of Essetum, naming conventions in the Thörrthekan speaking world are consistent. A child will be given a nickname until the end of their first year, when all children born that year are named in a public ceremony. Usually the ceremony takes place on a local level, in the town square or similar public area.
Children usually receive three names, their family name and two given names, one from their parents and one from the state. In Essetum, the State names have become consistent across generations for the same House, thus the child will receive their House name, instead of a State name. Names are ordered Family Given State, or House Family Given.
Given names are compounds of a noun and nominalised adjective. Though given names are an open class, innovation is not particularly common. Usually, and almost exclusively for the upper class, the name will combine a virtue and some sort of positive adjective, e.g.
1.
Cnüs-syan (M/F)
honesty-clear
2.
Spei-thounat (M/F)
judgement-compassionate (lit. judging-heartfelt)
3.
Pru-gäsn (M)
respect-solid
4.
Bou-cnin (F)
wisdom-quiet
Both unisex and gender specific names exist, the distinction being made by distinguishing virtues. A man, for example, is expected to hold truer to his filial piety, since he does not leave his household, whereas a girl who grows into a wise wife that offers private counsel to her husband is prized (ex. 3 and 4). In the matrilineal court of Essetum, this is obviously somewhat different. The tendency is to use otherwise masculine names for girls, though to a certain extent all names have become more unisex.
Family names show considerably more variation in structure. Many are simply geographical features, sometimes compounded with another noun or nominalised adjective. Some are derived from titles or similarly to given names, from virtues. Professions, particularly in merchant and professional-class laymen, are also common.
5.
Praun
promontory
6.
Syeo-dyaiř
forest-long
7.
Dřik
valour
8.
Pkaipren
bread-person (baker, owner of a bakery)
State names are usually similar to given names, but decided by an official or respected person in the local area. For most families, the names are given in batches to all the children at the naming festival. For this reason they are likely to be unisex.
Aristocratic children, who are named at separate naming ceremonies, are given one state name each, which can be similar to a given name, but could also include animals or roles and occupations:
9.
Grei-skeiph (M/F)
dog-fierce
10.
Seo-pren (M)
fight-person (soldier)
11.
Mu-ssyan (M/F)
voice-clear
Naming for non-merchant/professional or aristocratic families varies a little from these standards. In the most extreme case, a child may never go to a naming ceremony, and so shall always be known by the ‘nickname’ they received at birth. For children who do receive formal names, the given name may not be the typical, two-root appellation discussed above, but instead one word. These are frequently nominalised adjectives, but geographic features are not unheard of.
12.
Fon (M/F)
diligence
13.
Ǧoun (M/F)
Ocean
Nicknames for pre-ceremony babies are the freest class of names. It is taboo for anyone but close relatives of the baby to use the name, and usually a child will not know their own infant nickname until they are much older. Frequently the name will be the diminutive form of an animal or household object, though the parents or sometimes grandparents are free to use any word they choose.
14.
Cne-ccine (F)
goose-DIMDiminutive
a smaller, lesser, weaker etc. version
Goosling
15.
Axm/Accine (M/F)
Bowl[-DIMDiminutive
a smaller, lesser, weaker etc. version]
'Bowly/Bowlette'
The diminutive above is also used in hypocorisms. Any name can have the diminutive ‘-ccine’ appended either to the whole name or to the first portion only;
16.
Cnüssyan>Cnüssyaccine/Cnüccine
‘Cushy, Cnush’, etc.
Applying the diminutive could be construed as effeminate for boys during or after puberty. For adult men, it is more common to reduplicate the first portion of the name.
17.
Speithounat>Speispeit
‘Spei, The Speizzer’, etc.
Since the final consonants of the first root are lost in compounding, it may not be immediately clear to a non-native speaker how to end a reduplicated nickname.
Note, these sobriquets are exclusively used by those close to the named person, and only in private. To use a hypocorism in public would be considered shameful for the named person, and is only done to embarrass.
Next, we will discuss the three major ways one can introduce oneself in Thörrthekan.
18.
Photet
do-1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.AVAgent trigger (voice)
Austronesian alignment; triggers Nom-Acc Cnüsyanit
cnüssyan-SWind element (gender/class).DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location cto.
be
I am Cnüssyan
19.
Idid
call-3PThird person plural (person)
neither speaker nor addressee, they/them.AVAgent trigger (voice)
Austronesian alignment; triggers Nom-Acc sou
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.ANAnimate (gender/class)
alive, moving.IDRIndirect (case)
indirect or oblique, vs direct Cnüssyanit.
cnüssyan-SWind element (gender/class).DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location
I am called Cnüssyan
20.
Photed
do-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.AVAgent trigger (voice)
Austronesian alignment; triggers Nom-Acc siten
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.ANAnimate (gender/class)
alive, moving.DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location-POSPossessor
generic possessive article kheicer
name-SWind element (gender/class).DRDirect (case)
unmarked case, vs oblique or indirect Cnüssyan
cnüssyan-SWind element (gender/class).IDRIndirect (case)
indirect or oblique, vs direct cto.
be
My name is Cnüssyan
As a pro-drop, trigger aligned language, first parse of these glosses may be somewhat confusing for beginners.
Starting with Ex. 18, it should be noted that the pronoun has been dropped, since information regarding the person of the verb is contained in the ending ‘-et’. A more complete (though less natural) sentence might read ‘photet sit Cnüsyanit cto’, with the pronoun ‘sit’ restored. We also see here the copula-postposition ‘cto’. Though it is a little beyond the scope of our work here, briefly, equative phrases in which both portions are nouns expressed by means of ‘phot … cto’, or ‘do … be’. Syntactically, ‘cto’ behaves exactly as a postposition, and indeed is derived from one, but it is now exclusively used in equative phrases.
Ex. 19, perhaps the most common way to introduce oneself in Thörrthekan, demonstrates the semantics of the Thörrthekan ‘id’, which are slightly different to the english ‘call’.
Whereas in English, the name is usually the direct object of the verb ‘to call’, e.g. I am called Sue, in Thörrthekan, the name is always an oblique adjunct in the dative case. Assuming the trigger case is active, verb participants would be: a generic third-person plural, akin to ‘people’ or ‘they’, as the agent; the person named, as the patient and, as stated above; the name in the dative case. A more direct translation of Ex. 19 would be ’they call me Cnüssyan’, though the third person verb ending here is a generic term, similar to the fourth person of some languages or English ‘one’ (as a pronoun).
The final example is very uncommon in Thörrthekan. It also employs the copula-postposition.
The Thörrthekan year begins in Spring. Around one month before the new year ceremony, an auspicious date is chosen by a local authority and word spread to any families with children born that year. Children born very recently will be omitted - it is considered worse for a parent to loose a named child, and infant mortality rates are higher in newborns. The longer between the birth and the naming, the better.
When the naming day arrives, parents bring their children to the designated area, frequently a market square or sometimes an open field. The children will be naked, except for elaborate grass and flower headdresses woven by the family. The festival is a popular one, usually the first Spring festival, and is commonly attended by nearly everyone in the local area. Children will be brought to the front of the gathered crowd by their mother and held aloft. The mother will call out the child’s given name, and all fathers of children being named that day will call out in chorus the state name of the child. The fathers are gathered in a group behind the mother.
After the calling, the next part of the ceremony varies somewhat depending on location, but usually the child will be spoon-fed watered-down and honey-sweetened mead and have it’s feet and hands reddened with a paste of clay and dye. The dye stains the child’s skin. Their skin will remain dark for ten or so days after the mixture is cleaned off.
After all naming is completed, the festival continues in a typical fashion, with large group meals, music and drinking. Naming days are informally considered the first ‘day off’ for new parents. Their children will be taken by grandparents or other family members whilst the parents enjoy fully the festivities. Second children born nine or so months after their elder siblings naming day are referred to as ‘beyauden pauc’, or ’Children of sweet mead’, referring to the non-watered-down honey-sweetened mead adults enjoy at the festival. ✎ Edit Article ✖ Delete Article
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