NationStates Jolt Archive

Seeing as most of the nation names are a smörgåsbord of languages, I don't really know how any are pronounced, or where they come from. Explain how your name is pronounced by comparing it to other words, and how you got it.

For example, "New Limacon" is pronounced "new" (no surprise there) and then the word for the curves created by the polar graph r=a+sin(b). That is, "Lima" (like the city in Peru, not the bean) followed by "son" so that it rhymes with "on." The o is slightly nasal, because I think it makes it sound more French. I got this because my last nation, Naturalog, had a math-based name and I wanted to continue the tradition. I added the "New" because a nation called Limacon already existed.

Dinaverg. Um..."di-nah" and "verg"?

or just Dina, which is more "Dee-nah"

I probably had the word 'diverge' in mind.

guess (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization:_Call_to_Power)

Dinaverg. Um..."di-nah" and "verg"?

or just Dina, which is more "Dee-nah"

I probably had the word 'diverge' in mind.

I've always had you as more of a divina type affair, its weird I have always pictured you presenting big brother in my head:p

Got mine from an ancestor that was never really king, which is kind of funny considering that he's regarded as the pinnacle of kingly acheivement. But you know the translational F*ck-ups that occur when chronicling a mostly oral history.

The true Awthyr was most likely a pretty impressive general, he just assumed the kingly aspect from other guys as a complex history with varying sources was codified. And given the tales about the foreign lands he visited, it's more likely that he held relatively minor lands, and that when invaders came a-knocking, he gathered up support from colleagues to face a bigger issue.

Added 'the Great' to differentiate myself from a dead nation.

luh-REHN-yuh (both u's are as in the word "mud").It came from sticking various sounds together until I had one that sounded nifty. It's been a long, long time since my first nation existed (way back when when they had only 30 issues, IIRC), so I needed a new name (hence the South part.)

I've always had you as more of a divina type affair, its weird I have always pictured you presenting big brother in my head:p

Seriously? Sweet, that sounds much cooler. :p

Zilam= Zuh Laam. Rhymes with salaam, haraam, your mom.

Vet as in veteran plus the ending "alia", which has no particular meaning except as a name ending.

Vetalia's name, in our language (for you RPers out there): Веталиа

Seriously? Sweet, that sounds much cooler. :p

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davina_McCall

U-turn like the road sign?
It's from a country in a novel I'm writing (NaNoWriMo!), the idea being that they are going backwards. Most of the darn thing is puns so...

Keer-ee than just Atlantis. I wanted Neo Atlantis, but that was taken. So I took my favourite Naruto village and name it after that. Kiri means mist in Japanese.

It's kind of a paradox because Atlantis was the ideal society and Kirigakure (Village Hidden in the Mist) is a city in a war torn country.

Chandelier. :)

Or Chandy (sounds like Shandy, not Candy) for short.

Dryk. Just a random name I made up. It's pronounced as if it was spelt "Drike" (ie it rhymes with pike).

"Phase four". Anyone thinking "Phase eev" should just...I dunno...*getting tired *

Dryk. Just a random name I made up. It's pronounced as if it was spelt "Drike" (ie it rhymes with pike).


i like it, kinda looks like a bad spelling of drake. i like the y in place of the i, very cool.

When I set up this account I wanted either Hereward or Lacedaemon*. Both seemed to be taken, so I settled for this.

I have no idea how it should be pronounced. Some people have suggested Lack-a-day-man, but I would prefer Mr Sexy (also taken :mad:)

tek (like "tech" in technology) with -ania (ay-nee-ah) to make it nation sounding...

"Phase four". Anyone thinking "Phase eev" should just...I dunno...*getting tired *

After the movie?

Dododecapod = Dodo + decapod. Should be easy to work out.

When I set up this account I wanted either Hereward or Lacedaemon*. Both seemed to be taken, so I settled for this.

I have no idea how it should be pronounced. Some people have suggested Lack-a-day-man, but I would prefer Mr Sexy (also taken :mad:)

Lack-a-dye-mon?

My nation name came to me in a dream. Srsly.

The Blaatschapen...

The 'aa' and 'a' should be pronounced like the 'a' in um.... Aachen.

The 'sch' should be pronounced like 'sg'. Or if you happen to know how to pronounce Scheveningen, yes, the 'sch' sound of that.

The 'e' should be pronounced like the 'e' in Naples.

I hope it's clear now :)

Zilam= Zuh Laam. Rhymes with salaam, haraam, your mom.

Ah but what does it mean?

Vallidus, from Latin validus, meaning strong, just with two Ls.

Pronounced "wal ee doos". Yes, a W not a V. And the oo in doos as the oo in foot. Not as in rune. The a should be pronounced like father. Not fan.
If pronounced as you might find in a Harry Potter movie, "val-ih-duhs", because they're idiots that don't know how to pronounce Latin.

Posi

Paws-eeee

Origin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posi

"Leonstein" doesn't really have much of an origin, I just sorta made something German-sounding up (turns out though there actually is a real-world place called Leonstein (http://nona.net/features/map/placedetail.436485/Leonstein/)). The "Neu" is the German word for "New" and came after Katganistan threw my old nation in the bin.

It's pronounced "Noy Léonshtine".

My name has started many arguments.

To pronounce my nation, just say the letters X and Y. It's that simple. :D

My nation is pronounced like you would say "Oh shucks, I forgot our name", except that you run the words closer together and try to pronounce them as one word.

Pronounced "wal ee doos". Yes, a W not a V. And the oo in doos as the oo in foot. Not as in rune. The a should be pronounced like father. Not fan.
If pronounced as you might find in a Harry Potter movie, "val-ih-duhs", because they're idiots that don't know how to pronounce Latin.

I knew that. But I never remember V = W, and I hate that V = W.

I knew that. But I never remember V = W, and I hate that V = W.

Makes it sound ugly, doesn't it?

When pronouncing my name, you should try to trill the "rr", like in Spanish, but say the word with an Irish accent.

I had 200 monkeys typing for 7 years. My user name was the result.

Your keyboard smell now?

I had 200 monkeys typing for 7 years. My user name was the result.

Mine is pronounced "ebit", i.e. like "debit", but without the d.

Does it mean anything specific? Or did you just make it up/take it from something else?

No, it doesn't mean anything specific. I got "begorrah" from reading the works of Dave Barry, and I added "land" to it, and presto! Begorrahland! It's supposed to be a lot like Ireland.

When pronouncing my name, you should try to trill the "rr", like in Spanish, but say the word with an Irish accent.

Does it mean anything specific? Or did you just make it up/take it from something else?

Dare T-oi-tone-ik (as in icky thats gross)-air

It was my attempt (as I am in US, and have studied German) to name the German peoples the Teutons, in German from what I already knew, its standard German pronunciation

I honestly can't remember where I got Sylvonia from. It just kinda came to me.

As for pronounciation, it's Sill-VAHN-ya.

Ah but what does it mean?

IIRC, i found out, that in kurdish, it meant "the fellow/the man"

I found a kurdish site just chalked full of my name, no definition though :S

http://www.rojakurdistan.com/modules.php?name=Kose_Yazilari&op=printpage&artid=17

I came by the name "Soviet Houston" thusly:

"Soviet" came from having seen what I call "Soviet reversal jokes", such as "In Soviet America, taxes pay YOU!" and others like that.

I got "Houston" from Superman II, where an astronaut inadvertently misleads General Zod to believe that Earth is called "Houston".

I put the two together, and decided my motto would be "On Soviet Houston, Zod kneels before YOU!"

Makes it sound ugly, doesn't it?

I like it myself, you know, it makes t more Latin... way better than English....

Does it mean anything specific? Or did you just make it up/take it from something else?



http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006031807605

I honestly can't remember where I got Sylvonia from. It just kinda came to me.

As for pronounciation, it's Sill-VAHN-ya.

Thou haveth been messaged in a subliminal fashion.

I like it myself, you know, it makes [i]t more Latin... way better than English....

I like everything about their pronunciation other than that V = W thing. It. in my opinion, makes it sound ugly when pronounced on its own. Even if it's better than English.

It sounds great if you put it in a sentence, though.

The first "e" in Peorgie is completely silent. The word rhymes with "orgy".

It is pronounced as in "Georgie Peorgie, puddin' and pie", etc.

I got the name from the Firesign Theatre album Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers.

My nation is The Republic of INDIVIDUATION. Similar sounding words: individualization.

Dictionary definition of INDIVIDUATION:
1. The act or process of individuating, especially the process by which social individuals become differentiated one from the other.
2. The condition of being individuated; individuality.
3. Philosophy
a. The development of the individual from the general or universal.
b. The distinction or determination of the individual within the general or universal.
4. In Jungian psychology, the gradual integration and unification of the self through the resolution of successive layers of psychological conflict.
5. Embryology Formation of distinct organs or structures through the interaction of adjacent tissues.

Source of definition: dictionary.com

PRACTICE INDIVIDUATION, LIVE INDIVIDUATION

I like everything about their pronunciation other than that V = W thing. It. in my opinion, makes it sound ugly when pronounced on its own. Even if it's better than English.

It sounds great if you put it in a sentence, though.

I like it all, the hard 'g' the hard 'c' (and lack of 'k') the lack of 'j' (in Classical Latin), that the vowel 'i' can be used at the beginning of a sentence as a consonant, making the 'y' sound, and the 'ae' diphthong are probably my favourite differences over English pronunciation

Plus the fact that it is a dead language makes it more archaic and cool

I like it all, the hard 'g' the hard 'c' (and lack of 'k') the lack of 'j' (in Classical Latin), that the vowel 'i' can be used at the beginning of a sentence as a consonant, making the 'y' sound, and the 'ae' diphthong are probably my favourite differences over English pronunciation

Plus the fact that it is a dead language makes it more archaic and cool

I like the hard G and C, and the "ae" diphthong. But I don't like the I being a consonant when beginning a sentence.

But I agree with the archaic/cool part.

Well, the I = Y thing is OK, but it's not my favorite.

Well, the I = Y thing is OK, but it's not my favorite.

I dunno, I really like then again, I really dislike English, so maybe it's that I'm easy to impress? Lol

Smunkee= S-monkey

Smunk- S-monk

not hard to figure out.

how is 'ville' pronounced? I always imagined the 'r' was silent... does that make me weird?

Smunkee= S-monkey

Smunk- S-monk

not hard to figure out.

what 'r'?:confused::p

and ville is like......uh......it would rhyme with "will"

Lol, I know, its just that you didn't say anyhting about, so I had to be as ridiculous as possible.... :p

how is 'ville' pronounced? I always imagined the 'r' was silent... does that make me weird?

what 'r'?:confused::p

and ville is like......uh......it would rhyme with "will"

Lol, I know, its just that you didn't say anyhting about, so I had to be as ridiculous as possible.... :p

:D made me laugh, slightly.

:D made me laugh, slightly.

Well, at least I got something, usually people just roll their eyes, lol

UH-per Bahts-WAVE-ee-ah.

It comes from the name of the imaginary country my little sister and I had when we were kids. There is no Lower Botswavia, by the way.

UH-per Bahts-WAVE-ee-ah.

It comes from the name of the imaginary country my little sister and I had when we were kids. There is no Lower Botswavia, by the way.

No? Then why is there an Upper Batswavia? What ever happened to just plain Batswavia?

Don't ask.

Simple, really. Though Vectrova is a made-up word, it flows well.

Veck (Rhymes with Heck), Ti-roh (Rhymes with Bro), Vah (Rhymes with Uh). Vectrova.


As for how I came up with it... my mind just generated the letters as I typed them and I ended it when I saw Vectrova.

http://media.putfile.com/Kiryu-shi
It comes from the city Kiryu-shi in Japan.

"Phase four". Anyone thinking "Phase eev" should just...I dunno...*getting tired *

Heh. I always thought it was 'phase four'.

Now - now, it will always be 'phase eev' for me, I'm afraid. You just had to put that in my head.

Hoyteca. pronounced hoy-teh-cuh. Yes, hoy rhymes with toy and boy. I'm thinking of starting a band called "Hoyteca's Band". Hoyteca is such an awesome word I made up.

After the movie?
Indeed - you get a golden cookie.

Heh. I always thought it was 'phase four'.

Now - now, it will always be 'phase eev' for me, I'm afraid. You just had to put that in my head.

You get an anti-cookie. :p

Indeed - you get a golden cookie.

You get an anti-cookie. :p

Soooo.... Wouldn't they cancel each other out? I think you just handed out nothing. :D

Majority, as in 'majority' and twelve, as in the number. Obviously.

i-NEE-ka Why I named it this? It was the first thing to pop into my head XP

Ah-RID-dya

Derives from a nickname I've had for about 11 years now.

Please note the spelling. Two Ds, not two Rs. Almost everyone gets it wrong.

Err.
http://www.core77.com/blog/images/extreme_ironing_competition.jpg

To pronounce it correctly, I would have to pull out your tongue.

Jel-Low Bee-ah-fra

As in, the former lead singer of the Dead Kennedys. So chosen because he was one of my political heroes at the time I created this nation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alma_mater

Picked because my nation was supposed to be one completely centered around the running of a (global) institute of higher learning.

My nation since died of neglect but the name lives on !

As said somewhere in the wiki (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Lapalam) page, the name came out of the bottle ... eheh ...
and pronountiation is with every "a" being an italian "a" so like the english "sun" ...

To pronounce it correctly, I would have to pull out your tongue.
Since I'm Dutch I can do it.

Ifreann, there.

guess (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization:_Call_to_Power)
Man, Alpha Centauri was awesome. Esp. with the whole unit customisation thing.



You say mine like "Utopia". But that was taken, and I was pure gutted. At the time, Yewtopia was also taken. So Yootopia it was.

Man, Alpha Centauri was awesome. Esp. with the whole unit customisation thing.


At the risk of hijack... yes! It so was! I loved that element of the game... and nothing's come close since.

To pretend like on-topic... my nations name is prounced like a 'graven idol'. The reasoning is on several levels... mainly arguments against organised versions of religion.

Jel-Low Bee-ah-fra

As in, the former lead singer of the Dead Kennedys. So chosen because he was one of my political heroes at the time I created this nation.

Jello Biafra rocks. His contribution alone, to the latest Revolting Cocks album, made it worth the money. :)

Indeed - you get a golden cookie.

You get an anti-cookie. :p

That's worrying. Now, if I should ever accidentally meet Dodecapod on the street, there's a risk we'll spontaneously destroy each other with a huge release of energy. :(

In- (L. "not")
TANGE- (L. tangere, "to touch")
-on (Gk. noun-forming suffix)

The connecting "L" serves to smooth pronunciation between the terminal "E" of the base and the initial "O" of the suffix.

Pronunciation = in-tan-jell-on

Meaning: When I was thinking of a name, I thought that this would be a nation that I could create, command, write about, invent stuff for and role play, but could never visit or touch. I thought, "intangible", and used my amateur etymology skills to fill in the rest. "Intangible" is the official adjective for things from and about Intangelon...it was chosen after "Intangelonian" proved too cumbersome.

So despite one's presence in the name, angels had nothing to do with the idea for the name...unless you're counting muses among their number.

That's worrying. Now, if I should ever accidentally meet Dodecapod on the street, there's a risk we'll spontaneously destroy each other with a huge release of energy. :(

Don't carry your respective cookies around with you then. I'll leave it to you as to how you'll store your anti-cookie.:p

Johnny B <doesn't say last name>. Taken from an old rock'n'roll song by Chuck Berry.

I'm not actually sure how my nation's name is supposed to be pronounced. It's the sanskrit word for "angel" though.

simple. "sovie" "stan" it comes from my former love of the USSR

Then again, I suppose I could try and get a pronunciation. Although that would require finding my microphone and recording myself saying the one. Or more than one, Lovecraft gave at least three different pronunciations.

"Bolol"

Google search result...many things...some in English, many of international origin and a few that seem to be complete nonsense...

Exact word origin: Unknown
Word meaning: Bupkis (ther ain't nun!)

In all honesty, "Bolol" is just a word that I came up with, and it just stuck. Now I use it as a screen name for other websites.

There's no precise origin and I'm not sure there's any apparent meaning. It just sounded good at the time!

"Bolol"

Google search result...many things...some in English, many of international origin and a few that seem to be complete nonsense...

Exact word origin: Unknown
Word meaning: Bupkis (ther ain't nun!)

In all honesty, "Bolol" is just a word that I came up with, and it just stuck. Now I use it as a screen name for other websites.

There's no precise origin and I'm not sure there's any apparent meaning. It just sounded good at the time!

B-oh-lowel?

Cat-gan-i (short i)-stan.

Jiffy Peanut Butter, Origin Commercial or according to Wikipedia In 1890, George A. Bayle Jr. began to sell ground peanut paste as a vegetarian protein supplement for people with bad teeth.[4] In 1893, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg originated an early variety of peanut butter at the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan. Kellogg, along with his brother, W.K. Kellogg, patented a process for making peanut butter in 1895,[5] but it used steamed peanuts rather than roasted peanuts. Contrary to popular belief, the renowned botanist George Washington Carver had no hand in inventing this food

Jiffy is a combination of Jif and Skippy peanut butter. I figured a brand name was as good as anything.

Since I'm Dutch I can do it.

Ifreann, there.
The Dutch can pronounce anything. It's like a nation-wide superpower.

Pronounced just like it's spelled.

Comes from a significant Spanish viceroyalty in the new world.

Cookesland - the "e" is silent, other than that its pronouced like it's spelled

Land of Cooke ----> Cooke's Land ----> Cookesland

Don't ask.

rotfl :D

The Dutch can pronounce anything. It's like a nation-wide superpower.

Then get them to tell us how to pronounce "CthulhuFhtagn"

rotfl :D

Then get them to tell us how to pronounce "CthulhuFhtagn"

rotfl :D

I think he's a minister in the Dutch Parliament.

I think he's a minister in the Dutch Parliament.

Yep, you guessed it - rotfl AGAIN :D

Mine is pronounced just like it's spelled. I got the name from a small nearby town.

No? Then why is there an Upper Batswavia? What ever happened to just plain Batswavia?

Well, it is BOTswavia, and when you are creating an imaginary country, you don't have to follow the rules of logic. Plus, we were seven and three at the time, so making it make sense was not high on our list. We just wanted to be princesses, not worry about correctness of our geographical nomenclature.

Today I just find it amusing that we never had a Lower Botswavia.

In my name, you pronounce the "k" just like John Cleese did in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which is where I got the name from. But don't draw out the "n" like John Cleese did the first time he said it: "You and all your silly English knnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnniggits!" He says it correctly the second time later in the movie: "Hello, daffy English kniggits..."

Well, it is BOTswavia, and when you are creating an imaginary country, you don't have to follow the rules of logic. Plus, we were seven and three at the time, so making it make sense was not high on our list. We just wanted to be princesses, not worry about correctness of our geographical nomenclature.

Today I just find it amusing that we never had a Lower Botswavia.

Yours is the one name I seem to have been mispronouncing then - I had it as similar to Botswana - with a swar as opposed to sway.

Ha, finally a new thread on this - I was desperately waiting for one to dust off my new puppet made solely for such an occasion. :p

It's the New Zealandian pronunciation of "fashionable reggae" and it just about killed me when I heard it on the radio recently.

The Blaatschapen...

The 'aa' and 'a' should be pronounced like the 'a' in um.... Aachen.
Yeah, because that totally helps all the English speakers. :rolleyes::p

The 'sch' should be pronounced like 'sg'. Or if you happen to know how to pronounce Scheveningen, yes, the 'sch' sound of that.
Oh please. That's awful. Your name should clearly be pronounced with an "sh" as in "fish". *nods*

I got the name "Johann Gambolputty" from Monty Python's Flying Circus. It is pronounced like Graham Chapman pronounced it there. The FULL name is: (*takes deep breath*)

Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfernsplendenschlittercrasscrenbonfried Diggerdingledangledongledungle Burstein von Knackerthrasherapplebangerhorowitz Ticolensicgranderknottyspelltinkle Grandlichgrumblemeyerspelterwasser Kurstlichhimbleeisenbahnwagen guten Abend bitte ein Nurnburger Bratwurstlegerspurtenmitzweimacheluber Hundsfutgumberaber Schonendankerkalbsfleischmittleraucher von Hautkopft of Ulm

Generally it takes about a week and a half to pronounce the whole thing all the way through. lol :D

Layarteb

Layer - teb

easy there :)