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Bźatga: Difference between revisions
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==Personal Names== | ==Personal Names== | ||
Personal names usually consist of three elements: | |||
# A '''forename''', usually given at birth by the family and retained for life. These names consist of traditional elements, some of which do not occur as common words, and are intended to be aspirational, imbuing a sense of prestige and dignity on the bearer; | |||
# An '''epithet''', given at some later point in life and generally applied by the wider society. These names are descriptive and are designed to identify individuals, so are always common nouns or adjectives. They may change several times throughout a persons life. | |||
# A '''family name''', derived regularly from a prominent ancestor and generally used only in formal circumstances. | |||
In addition, individuals may use a '''title''' based on their social position. | |||
===Forenames=== | |||
A person's forename, as in English, is the usual name by which they are called. In Bźatga this name usually consists of two elements which are taken from a relatively limited set of traditional words, many of which are inspired by nature or desirable characteristics. Below are the most common name elements: | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
! width="150px;" | Animals !! width="150px;" | Natural World !! width="150px;" | Society !! width="150px;" | Adjectives !! width="150px;" | Suffixes | |||
|- | |||
| ''Bleźa'' "wolf" <br> ''Braca'' "horse" <br> ''Crava'' "stag" <br> ''Cų, Côn-'' "hound" <br> ''Euga'' "horse" <br> ''Mada'' "horse" <br> ''Rata'' "bear" || ''Blada'' "flower" <br> ''Douna'' "world" <br> ''Dreto'' "strength" <br> ''Eja'' "type of tree" <br> ''Eura'' "type of tree" <br> ''More'' "sea" <br> ''Rauta'' "silver" <br> ''Veza'' "tree" <br> ''Vrena'' "type of tree" || ''Aźa'' "freeborn" <br> ''Mała'' "prince" <br> ''Mava'' "servant" <br> ''Teźna'' "lord" <br> ''Źi'' "sovereign" || ''Dava'' "good" <br> ''Cita'' "first" <br> ''Mara'' "great" <br> ''Viga'' "handsome, beautiful" <br> ''Vida'' "white, pure" || ''-ga'' "like" | ''-ńa'' diminutive <br> ''-ńava'' "knowing" <br> ''-vala'' "power (of)" <br> ''-vena'' "born (of)" | |||
|} | |||
These elements are combined in pairs to form meaningful compounds. The first element of the compound usually loses its final vowel, e.g. ''Bleźmara'' "great wolf", ''Radńa, Rańa'' "little bear", ''Vidźi, Viģi'' "white king". The endings ''-ga, -ńa'' may be added to existing two-element names, e.g. ''Cônteźńa'' "little hound lord". | |||
All forenames are unisex and words such as ''mała'' "prince" or ''teźna'' "lord" are considered equally applicable to males and females. | |||
===Epithets=== | |||
An epithet can refer to any distinguishing feature of a person and so can theoretically be almost any common noun, adjective or combination of the two. Common examples of epithets would be: | |||
* physical characteristics, referring to hair or skin colour (''dova'' "black, dark", ''vida'' "white", ''łeda'' "grey", ''dôna'' "brown"), defects (''ćaga'' "purblind, having one eye, glee-eyed", ''caba'' "crooked"), or other notable features (''baŭmara'' "big penis", ''drônga'' "big hands"). | |||
* mental characteristics or personality (''mala'' "bad, evil, corrupt", ''dava'' "good", ''mera'' "mad", ''cada'' "wise") | |||
==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||