In my novel, there is an incredibly beautiful avian species with iridescent, rainbow scales and a long, narrow tubular snouts. They are sentient, and sing beautiful music through their flute-like snouts. Their life cycle begins as underwater larvae, which then pupate in bubble-sacs floating on the water, and hatch into the baby avians.
The problem is I can't think of a name for them that doesn't sound corny. The working name has been Fluters, and there's no way that's gonna fly past the first draft, but I'm stumped.
The world was colonized by humans about a millenium ago, so the name would probably be a corruption of a word the humans called them when they first came to the planet.
Please help me name these wonderful beings? (And be advised that if I hear one that really works, I would like permission to use it in my novel. Thanks so much!)
Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :
Just a few thoughts... there's quite a bit of imagery you could draw on. The fact that they are scaly and have long snouts sort of reminded me of dragons. So a few names I'll toss out are related to that line of thinking.
None of these [dragons] particular stand out as winning possibilities, but in the interest of stirring creative juices...
Tatsu These are Japanese dragons, with three claws on each foot. They live in lakes and springs. They represent the Mikado, imperial power, and spiritual power. Tatsu are based on an early type of Chinese dragon.
Chiao Chiao, Chiao-Lung, or Kiao, are the scaled dragons. Some Chiao are said to start life as fish, and turn into Chiao apon reaching a great age. According to some sources they symbolise the statesman.
Going on the musical thing:
Quaver[s] A shake, or rapid and tremulous vibration, of the voice, or of an instrument of music.
Considering that human colonies would likely name things similar to what they knew on Earth (or read about Earth as the case may be):
Here's a quote I found: "The North American hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus), for example, would be an easy source of inspiration. Its song is clear and flute-like, consisting of a key note followed by four or five motifs or phrases set at different pitches..."
So, you could have Catharians? Or some variation?
Here's a few bird links you might find helpful/interesting:
What would they call themselves? What caracteristics define them to themselves?
Posted by Jeraliey (Member # 2147) on :
Could your characters make a name that's imitative of any of the sounds they make? I'm thinking of bobwhites and jays on this one. Or you could name them after the way they move, or after anything they remind your characters of from back home.
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
You could combine a couple of simple descriptive terms. Like calling them Singing Tatsus or something. Of you could come up with a nice long Latin species name and apply some contractions to it.
Calling the species by a functional name might be a problem because not all of them are musicians by profession.
Posted by Monolith (Member # 2034) on :
Ok, here's my little contribution. You could call them a variant of the Incan God 'Quetzalcoatl' or something like that. The feathers and the irridecent (SP) scales gave me the idea for that, but I don't know if you were wanting to go in that direction or not. Just an idea to bat around.
-BHJr-
Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :
Quetzalcoatl is actually Aztec. I like that idea, though, Bryan. (I think of the feathered serpent as a Central American "dragon.")
I don't recall if there is an Incan name for the feathered serpent.
The Mayan name for the feathered serpent is Kukulcan, in case that is more inspiring.
These sound more like scaled birds than feathered serpents. What if they called them "Archies" after archaeopteryx?
Posted by goatboy (Member # 2062) on :
They would probably have more than one name. Humans on discovering them, would apply a name that would be descriptive "Snout nosed whistlers". If sentient, they would probably have a name for themselves that would simply mean "people" in their language, and so would not necessarily be terribly flowery.
Posted by Scapegoat (Member # 2076) on :
For my two cents: If they are sentient then they would undoubtedly have a name for themselves. From the sound of their vocalization it would probably be unpronounceable by humans. The two ways I could see the naming happening would either be a human word that approximates the sound they make when naming themselves, or a mythological and/o descriptive name from human culture. Some that came to mind for me based on your descriptions: Phoenix, Angel, Roc, Bennu, Senmurv, and Tlanuwa.
Hope this helps
Posted by NewsBys (Member # 1950) on :
Also, do the humans like them, or is there friction between the two groups. If there is friction they might call them "fluters" or "puddle podders" or something as a sort of slang term, or racial slur. Similar to "buggers" in Ender's Game. Scientists would have another name for them, probably Latin, with a shortened, simpler version for common use. If the humans hold them in high regard, or consider them to be god-like, we would probably have a very symbolic name for them, like "singing angels" or something.
Posted by autumnmuse (Member # 2136) on :
Thanks for the bit about the different Chinese dragons, I may use something like that. I also like keeping "Fluters" as a derogatory term, there is a group that would just as soon see these creatures become extinct.
Humans do not know they are sentient, until my protagonist discovers it halfway through the novel. Humans do use the bones of these animals as a musical instrument, and as the novel begins, some unsavory characters have started hunting them for their bones. I didn't necessarily intend to draw a parallel between elephant poaching in our world and these creatures, but since it happened I'm gonna go with it.
I have noticed that names are a big problem with me. Part of it is that I know that names are important and have a lot of significance, so I feel that I have to choose just the right one; but it is also partly lack of inspiration. Because so many of my ideas involve aliens or completely different human societies, I like the names to be consistent with their cultures, which means I can't flip through phone books for inspiration.
Does anyone else struggle with this? If so, what do you do?
Posted by hoptoad (Member # 2145) on :
Hi Couple of suggestions Why not 'fifers' rather than 'fluters'?
Or you could describe the sound more than the creature.
Have you heard of an 'aeolian harp' ?
Maybe they could be 'aeolians' or 'harpers'
'Aeolian' does set-up the Alien-aeolian thing but may be OK, Aeolian would probably devolve into something like 'yolan' over the centuries or 'Elyan' or even 'Illian'
Oh! and here's that grain of salt, you can take this all with.
[This message has been edited by hoptoad (edited September 09, 2004).]
Posted by autumnmuse (Member # 2136) on :
Hoptoad - yes I love aeolian harp. Have you ever heard of Andreas Vollenweider? He is an incredibly talented musician who plays almost everything, a. harps among others. One of his best CD's is called "Eolian Minstrel" and has a gorgeous flavor, medieval and rich. If you wanna talk music, that needs a whole 'nother forum! I could go on for hours. But for Kathleen's sanity's sake, I'll restrict myself to just the one recommendation.
The "Fifers" idea is also cool . . . I will ponder that a bit.
Posted by autumnmuse (Member # 2136) on :
Do you guys think it would be stupid to simply call them Bards? It sounds kind of like saying 'bird' with a corny country accent, but of course means a musician here on earth.
Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :
Sounds okay to me.
But then, I'm more of a visual reader than an audio reader--I don't usually "hear" stuff when I'm reading it. (I didn't realize that Tom Bombadil was speaking in his funny little rhythm even when he wasn't singing until I read LORD OF THE RINGS out loud to my daughter.)
Audio readers might notice the bird/bard sound connection, but then again, they might not.