Message text written by INTERNET:glorantha_at_chaosium.com
"Jim did you actualy read my post?
Of course the initial naming makes as much sense in the US (although I dont
think any of my celtic ansestors would have named their hill or town after
a
game show..but then they probably did name it after a good pub or religious
site..which amounts to the same thing I guess....). But the settelers in
the
US were men and women of a very different era than the Celts and Saxons who
settled the British lands here in the Celtic fringe of the UK. That can be
seen in the place names. Places are named after things that happened or
made
the place noteworthy here whereas in a lot of cases US places were named
just for the sake of naming something. Not that there arnt examples of
places just being named for the heck of it or for a ulterior motive in pre
US days (Greenland fer example!) or for more 'traditional' reasons in the
US
(the Bronx....using a already quoted one).
HOWEVER.....the big difference is that the names in long settled areas have
had a chance to evolve and mutate over time...and this DOES change their
nature. Classic example is a street in the nearby town of Penzance ;-
Market
Jew Street. Its the site of the local Jewish quater....but has nothing to
do
with Jews......Its the Jew is a corruption of The cornish world for
Tuesday......Tuesday Market Street. Tuesday was of course market day. US
place names havent had much of a chance to evolve 'cos some paper pushing
swine wrote them all down...and the locales stuck to what he wrote 'cos
they
could read it as well. Not to mention the fairly new invention of civic
pride as oposed to clan or familly loyalty.
Abitratry and therefore often politicaly or relgiously or even pop culture
motivated names are fine for newly settles areas or places where A central
goverment is busy renaming things for political reasons (ie the non-native
american names in the US and Canada or the place names used in the old
USSR)
but just dont cut it in a area settled for a long time..although a new town
or settlement or two isnt out of place.
I imagine the towns and villages springing up in the Lunar Grantlands of
Prax have some pretty odd damn names (especially to Praxian ears!!), anyone
want to visit 'All praise the Glory of the Reaching Moon Town' ?
(population
10 and a goat). But 'new' feel place names should be rare in a place like
Heortland or Sartar that have been settled for hundreds of years.
Especially
areas with low percentage literacy.
Go take a map of the US...then look at one of Europe....you can immediately
tell which one was settled most recently....and the same should be true of
Glorantha.
"
Hmm, I sure did read what you wrote!
Let's look at it this way:
First human RESETTLEMENT of Dragon Pass: c. 1315 "Present" time: 1621-25
Gap 310 years
First permanent English settlement of North America: 1609
Present time: 1999
Gap 390 years
In fact, given the great catastrophes, including mass genocides and following resettlements of Gloranthan history, most "modern" Glorantha is more like the Americas than Eurasia. So you have just reaffirmed my point. Knowing nothing of Chinese names, Kralorela might be closer to present-day China in its naming habits.
Jim Chapin
End of The Glorantha Digest V7 #224
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