StrikerEZ he/him Posted June 13, 2017 Report Share Posted June 13, 2017 Okay, so one thing that's always bothered me about the names of the planets in the Cosmere has been how (mostly) unrelated the names seem to the planet itself. I guess the one exception of this is that Roshar is both the in-world name of the continent and the entire planet. And Threnody works because of that whole, sad songs/weird name thing going on. We know from a WoB (can't remember which one-help finding it would be appreciated) that the planets' names come from Cosmere-aware people. I just wanna know where they got the names from. Sel: I have no idea what this even has to do with the planet, so I'm not gonna bother with this one. Scadrial: Okay, I've never really decided how this is supposed to be pronounced, though I've usually pronounced it Scah-drial or Scaw-drial. And I've always pronounced skaa as scaw. So, I had this crazy idea, what if Scadrial gets its name from the skaa? So, it would've been Skaadrial, but that looks dumb, so Scadrial became more widely used. Of course, that still leaves where the 'drial' came from, but whatever. Nalthis: I have no idea. Threnody: Again, this fits with the strange naming system that goes with that planet. Roshar: Already explained. First of the Sun: This is easy, as it is the first planet in orbit around the sun of the system. This isn't a huge, groundbreaking theory, but I couldn't get the idea out of my head. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calderis he/him Posted June 13, 2017 Report Share Posted June 13, 2017 I've never really given planet names in the Cosmere, or any fiction really, much thought. The name of a planet is derived in world. Look at our solar system, why is earth, earth? The other planets are all named after God's of a dead religion that has no real significance anymore. If you take that process and apply it to Scadrial (which I've always pronounced Scay-dree-el) we have no way of knowing if Brandon doesn't feel like sharing. The name probably developed prior to Rashek's Ascension, in a culture we know almost nothing about. I still like the idea that Threnody is named in memory of a dead Shard. For all the others... I got nothing. Now you have me thinking about it, though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrikerEZ he/him Posted June 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2017 Yeah, I've always figured that most world names are just names that the author comes up with that sound cool or interesting, I just think that, knowing Brandon, there could also possibly be some sort of hidden meaning behind the names. Probably not, though it never hurts to try. If I ever get to go to a Brandon Q&A, I'll probably ask him that during the signing portion, along with any other, more important questions I come up with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calderis he/him Posted June 13, 2017 Report Share Posted June 13, 2017 6 minutes ago, StrikerEZ said: Yeah, I've always figured that most world names are just names that the author comes up with that sound cool or interesting, I just think that, knowing Brandon, there could also possibly be some sort of hidden meaning behind the names. Probably not, though it never hurts to try. If I ever get to go to a Brandon Q&A, I'll probably ask him that during the signing portion, along with any other, more important questions I come up with. I'd definitely ask. It's either an interesting but unimportant tidbit which would be fun to know and fun for him to answer, "I just liked the way they sounded," or some crazy important hidden RAFO that no one's thought of. Go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Extesian he/him Posted June 13, 2017 Report Share Posted June 13, 2017 Yeah Braize and Ashyn came to my mind with this coz Braize, well, it's like braise. And Ashyn, I figure being so close to the sun there would be volcanic activity. I could believe scadrial as called that after the skaa unless we know it was named that for a couple of thousand years. Yolen we know is simply a dedication to Brandon's hero. Sel, no idea. It's French for salt, old English for great hall, Norwegian for seal. Direct help me Nalthis i still think could have a correction with Nalt, Trell's god- brother from the TLR's time. No idea about the etymology though. That's all i got Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calderis he/him Posted June 13, 2017 Report Share Posted June 13, 2017 1 minute ago, Extesian said: Sel, no idea. It's French for salt, old English for great hall, Norwegian for seal. Direct help me The Norwegian version seems to fit with the Form Focus on Sel. And we've seen a Scandinavian influence on Sel through Fjordell. So... Maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrikerEZ he/him Posted June 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2017 13 minutes ago, Calderis said: I'd definitely ask. It's either an interesting but unimportant tidbit which would be fun to know and fun for him to answer, "I just liked the way they sounded," or some crazy important hidden RAFO that no one's thought of. Go for it. I'd actually Ben really happy to ask him that question. If he ever comes to the Dallas/Fort Worth area and I get to go, I'll need to remember that question. Also, if I got a RAFO from him, I'd be so happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoolofwhool Posted June 13, 2017 Report Share Posted June 13, 2017 2 hours ago, StrikerEZ said: Scadrial: Okay, I've never really decided how this is supposed to be pronounced, though I've usually pronounced it Scah-drial or Scaw-drial. And I've always pronounced skaa as scaw. So, I had this crazy idea, what if Scadrial gets its name from the skaa? So, it would've been Skaadrial, but that looks dumb, so Scadrial became more widely used. Of course, that still leaves where the 'drial' came from, but whatever. Feels unlikely to be honest. I doubt TLR ascended before the planet was named, and even if had I doubt they would've named the planet after what basically amounts to the slave class. Other than that, I don't really know about the names. I don't think it's come up as a question to Brandon yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Complexityspren Posted June 15, 2017 Report Share Posted June 15, 2017 (edited) Sel may be a derivative of sycla, the name of the continent fjordell is located on. This is probably a stretch, but weird things happen when words are put into other languages. Edited October 18, 2017 by Complexityspren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts