Why do they matter?

Image: Name tag

Names, why do they matter? Upon the birth of a child parents or carers would name them, often naming them after great individual. For an example I was named after Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. In hopes that I would be as successful, influential or important as him in the world, in hopes that I would gain traits similar to this great individual and be identified somewhat similar to him. When identified, objects, items or beings are often named after what traits they have, although this may be possible in the opposite circumstances too, as our minds create an imagery of certain words.

For example, Adam Alter from the site newyorker.com talks about how our thought process determines what form a word takes, although vaguely he touches down on how the imagery for the word malumas is round and smooth whereas taketes is edgy. This may be due the sounding of these words as malumas sounds smooth whereas taketes sound far more rough and sharp in its pronunciation. By traits we can name objects, images and as for people these names can be incorporated into an identity.

Over the web we hosted a group page for people as my ethnic race. Its original name was called, Rotary Asians, to my opinion I suggested adding the word Hmong into it so it’s more specific on our ethnicity. Tuan (1991) stated that, “a "mount" is already to impart to it a certain character, but to call it "Mount Misery" is to significantly enhance its distinctiveness.”
The inclusion of the word Hmong was not needed but it added a significant identity with it that belonged to us which created a place from a space.

So why does names matter? Well parents’ name a child after someone influential in hopes of gaining similar traits to this individual. With the pronunciation of words it can give a visual identity, whereas in another case names give a distinct identity to objects, items and people.  












References

Alter, A. (2013). Tthe New Yorker. Retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-power-of-names

Name tag. [Photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://names4real.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/hello-my-name-is.gif?w=640

Tuan, Y-F. (1991). ‘Language and the making of place’. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 81(4), 688. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2563430.pdf