Fantasy Names

[Dragongirl]

Dragongirl, check out the link in my post above. The Onomastikon was reposted there - sounds like the site you are takling about (or at least has Ethiopian and Armenian names, and was taken down from it original site a while back)

ooooooooo yes it was the Onomastikon! Thanks!!!!!

 

[LostSoul]

ps exactly how do you pronounce Kyrghyz

Keer-ghitch? Just taking a guess.

 

[Forrester]

Speaking of fantasy names...What is the word (term) for names like Quickbeam, Silverleaf, etc. where you combine a two nouns and or an adjective?

Lazy.

 

[Maerdwyn]

Speaking of fantasy names...What is the word (term) for names like Quickbeam, Silverleaf, etc. where you combine a two nouns and or an adjective? I forgot and have been racking my brain for days. I even called my mother to ask if she knew.

Regards,
Mean DM

Originally posted by Forrester

Lazy.

More seriously, I'm pretty sure the term is "dithematic".

Lots of Germanic-based names were/are like that (Beowulf-> "Noble Wolf," Alfred -> "Elf Counsel", etc.)

 

[s/LaSH]

Here's how I generate new names:

First principle: Have a language theme. Languages tend to have a unique sound, and often have their own little quirks. Examples include the German tendency to compile words (there was one word that described in intimate detail the professional life of a Danube river captain), the Japanese syllable alphabet, or the context-variable letters in one language I created for an alien race. The sound itself can be based on an existing culture or an emotion - or you could mix two together, like the ankkheris I created who speak deep in the throat and have vaguely Asian/Russian words. Ankkheris features lots of khs. Kiamakhal is their equivalent of 'bye'.

Second principle: Consistency. It's tricky, but if you come up with a few pieces of language they're easy to tesselate into new topics. And you can easily compound them together in new ways to create distinctive words. German is a very good basis for this, and you can do it with any fantastic language (after all, you're making the rules; might as well make 'em easy).

That's about it, really.