Re: CHAT: Brithenig-heads

CONLANG@LISTSERV.BROWN.EDU writes:
>
>> > The names we give ourselves give us identity.  Men seem to be more
>> > satisfied with their names than women.  Comments?
>
>I wasn't satisfied with the name my parents gave me - they wanted me
>to have a name that couldn't be shortened, mangled, varied, made into
>nicknames, etcetera, so they named me something that rhymes with just
>about every rude word in the Dutch language and it made my life hell
>for twenty years. So when I became Orthodox at twenty-four, I chose
>some female saints that I liked and tried their names on myself, a
>full day for each one, and found out that I wasn't an Elizabeth
>(worse luck), but I could very well be an Irina.
Your parents didnt think much about that, did they? Anyway, I dont mind my
name. I remember as a child I liked my middle name more than my first name
(James). Oddly I was never given a nickname by anyone, though some people
would joke and call me blueberry, etc. No one ever called me B.J. though.
I remember my parents used to call me "Bear" (everyone where I live says
Barry, and berry the same, and the first syllable of my name sounds like
"bear")
>
>
>>      I have to disagree, at least in my case.  I *really* dislike my
>given
>> name, Matthew -- it sounds nasal and pinched to me.
>
>I think 'Matthew' is all right - probably because I know someone
>called that (one of my best friends is married to him) and he's very
>nice indeed, so that's who I think of.
I think Matthew is all righ as well. Most of the Matthews i've known went
by "Matt" instead. This reminds me, i know that I associate certain names
with either good or bad traits. For instance, most of the Charles and
Jasons i have known have been kind of slimy or mean. Also, two of the
grandsons of our former neighbor next door were kind of terrors as kids
(although the older brother Jason turned out to be decent, his brother
Charles is still probably a horror). Though, my associations with the name
Jason have changed since one of the nicest, and coolest guys i've met at
my University is named that.
>
>> I prefer the nickname
>> I was given in Russian classes, and which I've managed to keep in a few
>> social circles (Nikolai); it sounds much more intriguing, having
>elements
>> of culture with a few rough edges.
>
>My French teacher named me 'Rosalie' and I hated it!

Hmm, I was never renamed by any of my Spanish teachers. I guess they just
weren't into that (although one used to call a friend /hason/ (stress on
the last syllable), since his name was "Jason").

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 The rattan basket criticizes the palm leaf basket, still both are full of
holes.