Thread: colonial names
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Old February 14th, 2006, 08:15 PM   #17
Lara
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Long time ago, when I was trying to deduce the structure of colonial socity/ 12 colonies from the small scraps of info we are given, my 'solution' was to assume that the mother culture was Egyptian and pre 5thDynasty, but the colonies were in keeping with classical history as we know it to keep the mystery of the earth connexion alive.

The Galactica is a Caprican Battlestar. Its principle characters are Caprican, and their names loosely fell around Greek naming.. Their nature is logical, technical and democratic.

The rest of the colonies we have very little info on, but assuming they have different cultures, just as earth's continents have different cultures, it is a case of pick an ancient civilisation and assign a colony.
This logic ran to Minoan / Taura/ arts & culture, Greek/ Caprica/ technical & democratic, Roman/ Scorpia/ militaristic & domineering..

This also fitted to a certain extent with a capricans/ Americans analogy, which would explain the dominance of Caprican culture in the ongoing war, (note: not in any blame america sense, just in the technological/ size of standing army way)

Its full of exceptions, and rough, but it was a way of getting some variation, and of reconciling the were are the Egyptian names in a Greek named scenario??

The other, more tongue in cheek, solution was to 'assume' that anyone with an obviously 'odd' name (Jolly, Greenbean, Boxey) probably had a longer more complicated one. (and egyptian names are long and complicated...try Hetepsekhemwy, Khasekhemwy or Menkhauhor)
This naming practice was alive and kicking for the first half of last century at least, where 'family' names were passed down, but were so difficult or deeply unfashionable that a kid got a nickname and it stuck. My husband's family history is full of Uncle Snow, or Jack or Bluey because of family names that came out of more obscure places in the bible.

sad justifications, they may be, but when faced with actually naming characters, it becomes something you have to consider,

Cheers,
Lara
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