Hi,

Just wanted to drop a brief note that this month’s post over at Apex Book Company continues my series on How To Create an Alien Language with names and naming conventions.

In this post, a talk about how names and naming conventions are often a reflection of culture rather than a mechanical permutation of letters. Here’s a quote:

Whether you’re describing our world or an alien planet, any intelligent life form will associate values with a particular place or location. Some languages employ proper nouns that don’t have a meaning associated with it. Other languages that describe certain locations may translate to a string of phrases and is truncated for the proper noun. “Tall Mountain” may be one way of describing a mountain top. “Gateway to the gods” might be another. When it comes to naming conventions, there’s really no right or wrong way to do it, because the names are often a reflection of culture and technology. Take, for example, how common surnames like Miller, McGilroy, Johnson, etc. were created. Some were based on where you lived, who your father or clan was, or what you did for a living. Consistency in naming conventions depends upon where you live, your genealogy, and what period of history you live in. –SOURCE: Creating an Alien Language: Names and Naming Conventions

If you’re interested in this month’s article, be sure to hop on over to Creating an Alien Language: Names and Naming Conventions at Apex Book Company.

Cheers!