Re: Silly place names

From: Andrew Raphael <raphael_at_research.canon.com.au>
Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 19:40:09 +1100 (EST)

I didn't know that Corflu was a joke name in the tradition of Swenstown until this afternoon when I read it in the digest. I thought that the explanation in the published sources was perfectly reasonable, though I now see the joke.

It was satirised by the Cult of Gestetner in Different Worlds all those years ago and I didn't get it. That's what comes of missing the glory days of spirit duplicators by this much and working for a photocopier company.

But then, I'm a skip, and so I think towns named after the spouse of the town's founder or someone they wanted to honour are perfectly normal. I haven't visited Alice Springs or Darwin yet, but I know why they're named that way.

Since Sartar and Corflu are places settled by immigrants, I think we can grant them the right to name their towns the way we name them in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the USA. Any old way.

Note that it's possible to have a fictitious world with placenames like Djelibeybi and Hersheeba and make pots of money off it, so perhaps Greg should have done more, rather than less, no matter how much it sets Martin's teeth on edge.

Regards,

• -- Andrew Raphael <raphael_at_research.canon.com.au> "Oh! I see, it's your birthday. It's your big day, and I forgot."

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