My dictionary says onomatopoeia is the fact of words containing sounds similar to the noise they describe, for example hiss or thud. of course, being the quintessential thick head that i am, i could not recollect what sound words are technically called. No matter how strongly i clenched my fists to cast my memory back to the pages of an elementary grammar book, 'nym' of 'homonym' kept on moving round in circles, distracting me from thinking clearly; when a friend , who, incidentally, will feature in the latter part of this article, rescued me from the whirlpool and enlighned me about the existence of 'onomatopoeia'. But that's another story. I introduce my readers to the purpose of this blog entry- which is to extend the concept of onomatopoeia to names of friends. 'Sounds' weird?
Just think of the word 'Rohini'-erase all images of her, if you know her, because those will be a distraction here. Just extricate the name. Ro-hi-ni. The way i pronounce it, the name has a sliding effect. 'Ro' is huge and rolling-t gradually slopes downward into a timid 'ni', with no separate emphasis on 'hi'. This sliding effect, as i christened it, reminds me of the rise and fall of pitch in music. Think of the waves you find in a 'media player' visualization when you play ' All my bags are packed...'. 'Ro' is the rising limb till 'bags' and 'hini' together falls from 'bags' to 'are packed'.
Another name which is similar is 'Pranav'. It too is a wave, but a sharper and more abrupt one. It's a distinct rise and a straight fall. Unlike 'Rohini', which is soft, soothing music, 'Pranav' has two rigid beats.
'Sanjeeta' is also onomatopoeic, but not musical. It's a name that reminds me of a kid standing in the middle of nowhere, calling out into the bleak horizon to create echoes. 'He-lll-ooo-ww', he screams, his lips openeing and gradually shutting like petals. The point notable here is that the short 'He' int he beginning doesn't take part in the echo-making. It is a starting push-a stimulator to the rest of the rolling word. You pronounce 'sanjeeta' the same way: 'san-jeee-tahh.' Like 'He' in echoed 'Hello', 'san' here also serves the same purpose. 'Devpriyo' also has that short beginning punch as 'Dev'. But you can't pronounce 'priyo' to produce echoes. it is 'tough' and 'strong' like 'pranav', although there's a slight tripping over at 'iyo'.
It is ironic how masculine names are turning out to be less musical and more aggressive that girls' names. However there are always exceptions. Take "Angshuman", for example. Find a more lyrical name for a guy, and I'll eat my words. It has everything- the beats, the rhythm, even the echo-producing quality if you stretch the middle 'shu'. It is also the first name in this entry that is absolutely symmetrical in sound-a perfect wave.
I think all names come with a sound. Some maybe really complex and polyphonic like 'yajnaseni',and there are simopler ones, which remind you of the furious bang of a door('snaket' and 'nirban') or the swish os a magic wand ('isha', 'toshali' and 'dishari'). names, irrespective of the person they belong to, create symphonies, and if you, like me, have nothing better to do, catching those veiled sounds can be a interesting pastime. :-)
Just think of the word 'Rohini'-erase all images of her, if you know her, because those will be a distraction here. Just extricate the name. Ro-hi-ni. The way i pronounce it, the name has a sliding effect. 'Ro' is huge and rolling-t gradually slopes downward into a timid 'ni', with no separate emphasis on 'hi'. This sliding effect, as i christened it, reminds me of the rise and fall of pitch in music. Think of the waves you find in a 'media player' visualization when you play ' All my bags are packed...'. 'Ro' is the rising limb till 'bags' and 'hini' together falls from 'bags' to 'are packed'.
Another name which is similar is 'Pranav'. It too is a wave, but a sharper and more abrupt one. It's a distinct rise and a straight fall. Unlike 'Rohini', which is soft, soothing music, 'Pranav' has two rigid beats.
'Sanjeeta' is also onomatopoeic, but not musical. It's a name that reminds me of a kid standing in the middle of nowhere, calling out into the bleak horizon to create echoes. 'He-lll-ooo-ww', he screams, his lips openeing and gradually shutting like petals. The point notable here is that the short 'He' int he beginning doesn't take part in the echo-making. It is a starting push-a stimulator to the rest of the rolling word. You pronounce 'sanjeeta' the same way: 'san-jeee-tahh.' Like 'He' in echoed 'Hello', 'san' here also serves the same purpose. 'Devpriyo' also has that short beginning punch as 'Dev'. But you can't pronounce 'priyo' to produce echoes. it is 'tough' and 'strong' like 'pranav', although there's a slight tripping over at 'iyo'.
It is ironic how masculine names are turning out to be less musical and more aggressive that girls' names. However there are always exceptions. Take "Angshuman", for example. Find a more lyrical name for a guy, and I'll eat my words. It has everything- the beats, the rhythm, even the echo-producing quality if you stretch the middle 'shu'. It is also the first name in this entry that is absolutely symmetrical in sound-a perfect wave.
I think all names come with a sound. Some maybe really complex and polyphonic like 'yajnaseni',and there are simopler ones, which remind you of the furious bang of a door('snaket' and 'nirban') or the swish os a magic wand ('isha', 'toshali' and 'dishari'). names, irrespective of the person they belong to, create symphonies, and if you, like me, have nothing better to do, catching those veiled sounds can be a interesting pastime. :-)
you've made me pause and think about this onomatopoeia of names....and i relized that, strangely enough, most people's names are almost a reflection of their characters. "titas", for example is multifaceted, it is rather dependent on the person pronouncing it. The 'ti' pronounce fast and sharp, followed by a comparitively leisurely 'tas' gives the impression of a sporty, fun and active nature....while a long "tiiii" followed by an even longer "taaas" sounds lyrical and fluid, almost like the river which is your namesake....
ReplyDeletehowever, sanjeeta's name is perhaps the best suited to her persona....childish, immature, confused and lost.... :)
And Shakespeare said, "What's in a name?" Clearly, the old dude knew nothing about names! :P This can serve as a good example of how joblessness can inspire...innovation!
ReplyDeleteyou bet, rick!
ReplyDelete