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Showing results for tags 'etymology'.
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I can't speak for anyone else, but personally, I've always loved the cursing in Brandon Sanderson's works. ...Which is strange, because I myself never use any curse heavier than "drat," and I've been known to gasp and dramatically faint if even the mildest obscenities are uttered in my presence. But that is all beside the point. What I'd like to draw attention to is the fact that most of the curses found in the Bandersnatch's worlds are clearly connected to an element of the setting. People on Roshar say "storm it," people on Scadrial say "rust" or "Lord Ruler," and people on Nalthis will exclaim "colors!" In the Fractured States you can find many people cursing by the name of Calamity, but two other profanities we find in the setting are "slontze" and "sparks," which bear no obvious connection to the world or its quirks. So where did these words come from? In the case of "slontze" in particular, what is it's in-universe etymology, and how did Brandon come up with the word?
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- slontze
- no not you
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I just did a similar post on the real-world etymology of another name, that of the city of Stormseat, called Narak by the Listeners. I think this one, on Kaladin's name, belongs in another thread because they're different names. I don't know how things are organized on this forum... Kaladin's name, in fact most Vorin names sound like a fantasy counterpart of Hindi words. I think, this is primarily because of how these words are spelled in a manner that they seem equi-stressed, that is, they are constructed to be pronounced so that all the syllables are stressed equally. I think Alethi pronunciation would be officially different, simply because Brandon is American. Altough, I think I've read a WoB in which he basically suggests that readers pronounce names how they wish. Anyway, Kaladin's name came from Paladin but it too has a thematically appropriate interpretation, Kala + Din, which means Black Day. His theme of combating depression, the Bridgeruns, the oaths, his history, his string of misfortunes... I hope it doesn't become meme-y. I really like Kaladin as a character. tl; dr: Kaladin's name can be interpreted to mean 'Black Day'
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Just a note on the origin of the word 'Narak'. In-world, in Roshar, it means Exile. 'Narak' is, however, also a real-world word. It is a Hindi word, referring to Hell or Underworld. It seems thematically appropriate too, for the setting. This information probably belongs in the introduction or trivia section.
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- shattered plains
- narak
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