NICKNAMES, YOU EITHER LOVE THEM OR YOU HATE THEM. A NICKNAME IS AN INFORMAL NAME USE TO REPLACE SOMEONE’S FORMAL ONE. ITS THE REASON PEOPLE NAMED ALEXANDRA GO BY ALEX OR ALLIE, ELIZABETH BETH, ZACHARY ZACH, JOSEPH JOE, OR IF YOUR NAME IS RICHARD YOU MAY EVEN GO BY DICK.
WHY IS THAT?
WHY ISNT ALEXANDRA ANDY OR DRA. ZACHARY ACHARY. WHO MADE THESE CONDITIONS FOR HOW A NICKNAME IS DERIVED?
[Jennifer Cole] In linguistics we take a scientific approach to the study of language.
THAT WAS LINGUISTICS PROFESSOR JENNIFER COLE, WHO SERVES AS THE LINGUISTIC DEPARTMENT CHAIR AT NORTHWESTERN UNIVERISTY.
[Jessica Watts] My name is Jessica but I go by Jess because Jessica has kind of a lot to say and Jess is just cuter and easier.
[Seryoung Park] My name is Seryoung Park I go by seren because my parents decided that a more westernized name would be easier.
[JC] When people remark that a certain name or word is difficult to pronounce that’s almost never really about a physical difficulty with making sounds, and more about whether the word or the name that they’re trying to pronounce is very much like other words or names that they already use very frequently in their language.
THIS CREATES OUR FIRST UNWRITTEN RULE IN MAKING NICKNAMES. TO USE SOUNDS THAT ARE FAMILAR TO US.
[JC] Sounds that are very common across languages tend to be sounds that are relatively straightforward to implement using your vocal tract. But more importantly, there also sounds that can be perceived accurately most, all the time.
[Rebeca Huang] My name is Rebeca, some of my friends would just call me Becky, And I’d be too nervous to correct them.
[Maxwell Milo] When I was in middle school I had a nickname that was Meelo. When I first came to the school they didn’t know how to pronounce my last name Milo. The nickname just kinda stuck.
[JC] The pronunciation of words changes over time and that’s a natural process In language. All words undergo changes and those changes usually involve processes that make the word shorter or easier in some way. Things get shortened, compressed, easier to, to produce and the parts that get retained are the parts that are the clearest, the loudest, the more, most likely to be heard clearly by the listener.
SO THAT MAKES TWO RULES NOW. SIMPLE MISINTERPRETATION OF A NAME CAN BE USED TO CREATE A NICKNAME THAT IS DEEMED TO BE MORE ACCURATELY HEARD.
[JC] Oftentimes nicknames are a way that we show social intimacy with somebody. If you adopt a slightly different name for them, a pet name, a kidding around name, or a a special version of their name, it’s a way of showing that you have a social connection with them, which is somehow more intimate, more close.
[Caleb Shim] My name is Caleb Shim and a nickname people have called me before is Shimmy. Because obviously, my last name is Shim. So then they just add the y to the end. Because like it’s also like a dance move or something
[Maureen McGee] Why don’t we call her molly because Molly Mcgee its got a ring to it.
[Abigail Lev] My name is Abigail Lev, most people call me abs and I think that it started from when I was really young, my mom always hated the nickname abby so she tried to rack her brain in order to think of other options to call someone named abigail.
AND THERE GOES OUR THIRD RULE. WELL NOT REALLY A RULE BUT MORE SO A CONDITON. SOME NICKNAMES ARE CREATED BECAUSE THEY JUST SOUND NICE AND IS A UNIQUE TWIST TO A PERSON’S NAME. A CREATIVE WAY TO SHOW A CONNECTION TO SOMEONE.
SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE UNWRITTEN RULES WHEN IT COMEES TO THE CREATION OF NICKNAMES. DOES YOUR NICKNAME FOLLOW ANY OF THESE RULES? WAS IT CREATED OUT BECAUSE ITS EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO SAY, AN INCORRECT PRONOUNCIATION THAT JUST STUCK OR SOMETHING CUTE CREATED BY A LOVE ONE AS A SIGN OF AFFECTION.
WHATEVER IT MAY BE, IT STILL FOLLOW THESE CONDITIONS IN ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.
FOR WNUR NEWS, I’M KARRAH TOATLEY.
