Alo and De Names #50
(PD) Alo and De Lake on Land.
Copyright ©2018 October 29, 2018
Yan: I laughed at myself when finding an ancient word that was similar to my own name... the ancient word meant 'explain, inquire, opinion, talk, to write down', which I thought was a favorable meaning behind a person's name, especially here at the lake... but then I found other meanings also... one of the meanings, when speaking my name a little differently, means 'here, how, where, why'... which was also okay, but then I found a different meaning that made me laugh... 'be bored, be satisfied, detest, dislike, satiated'... I laughed, knowing, that I would have preferred to have not known the last meanings.
Alo: Ha! Now you will feel that you must live-up to the better meaning...
Yan: Yes! And it is funny that pronouncing a word slightly differently, can make the name mean something else entirely, but, not always funny... sometimes not funny at all.
Alo: Oh, just today I saw another use of your name in the ancient texts... I was amused that I had not seen the word before... there was a Yan, who was a student of the master writer... honorable name... no need for meanings...
Yan: Really? Ha! Thank you, that is appreciated to know... then, my smile is pleased that my name has been worthy of at least one good man...
Alo: Also seen today... near your name in the ancient texts... was a form of the word 'jun'... means 'also, equal, even'... identical twins, about as equal a person can get... De... character, ethics, favor, goodness, kind, kindness, possession, morality... Jun, also... my nervous smile, was a little spooked...
Yan: Ha! Funny coincidences... surely... but... so many now... growing large, too many to pretend to not notice...
Alo: De and Jun, their names were given because the names are very pretty, and are easy to pronounce... the names harmonize... flow well together... their parents did not know the meanings. But Yan, your voice... you found other words, that now trouble you...
Yan: Yes... but I have learned to not speak of things, that can cause unhappy thoughts... better to not know, than to always remember.
Alo: Good... and yes, there are many similar words, that when spoken correctly within their native tongue, sound bad in our modern language... some words imply the greatest beauty in the ancient language, but, today, the same words have no beauty... not blame word, the cause is just a different language within a different culture...
Yan: And now I understand why you have used specific pronunciations of ancient words that are obviously incorrect... not use, not explain... simply not speak.
Alo: Yes... give mind to other people, care to arrange one's words as best as is reasonable... arrange one's words to be spoken with harmony of today's cultures... like the word 'dao', it can be pronounced many different ways today, and each way is acceptable enough... no harm that dao is never spoken as the ancients spoke the word... whether a person says 'day-oh', tay-oh', 'dow' like 'towel' but without the 'e' and 'l', or another, none of which are close to the original 'tdow'... each way is acceptable, because the sounds of the words do not mirror sounds of bad words...
Yan: It was interesting to me, when I first gave mind to being aware of how I interpret ways that words are spoken... like the words 'to, too, two'... dictionaries say that the words are pronounced the same, but when a person listens, it is easy to discern which word is being spoken... tones of voice, how the words increase or decrease emphases, lengths of words, patterns of rising or falling tones... how the words are used in a sentence... similar for the ancients' language also...
Alo: Yes... it is unfortunate that we will never have the opportunity to speak many ancient words with heart... mere words, read from paper, have little heart... the ancient pronunciations, would be beautiful to hear... like speaking the word 'dummy', if spoken from the heart, and flavored with a soft tease, the word carries no harm... the word is received as a caring playfulness... but when spoken as outsiders speak, the word then becomes cruel. I have heard the ancient language spoken cruelly, and also with heart... those who speak the words with heart, those people are beautiful...
Yan: Agreed.... oh, also, I came across a word that is similar to Shan's name... the word means 'friendly, good, good person, gentle, improve, kind, merit, perfect, strong point'... I do not want to find any other meaning... I am happy to only know the good meaning.
Alo: Years ago, I saw that a common name among our people, which has a good and honorable meaning, had a bad meaning in the east people's north lands... the word, is used as an insult by east people... languages, spoken words, it is inevitable that similar-sounding words with opposite meanings will exist... the different meanings, are a part of why cultures are not always friends...
Yan: If it were not for word songs, and other good writings, as well as to hear Jun's voice, I think I might prefer to not say, nor hear, spoken words...
Jun: Be as De, and Alo...
Yan: True... communication is important... nature of body needs communication... not need for word communication, if communicating by heart, and by body language... eyes say so much...
De: Outsiders... words only, aware...
Alo: Unfortunately, true...
Yan: Thinking about the government school... the foreign language teacher told me that my name was pronounced differently in the foreign language... ha! I was very not pleased with the idea that even a person's own name must be pronounced differently in different languages... to me, my name is my name, regardless of where I am, and regardless of which language... put me on the moon, I will still be Yan... put me in the city, and I can be any number of names... Yawn... Yarn... Yayne... accents can harm a name, make the name mean different.
Alo: The large south king, who rode a little horse, his name is spelled similar to some kinds of buildings... people today, only a hundred miles north of us, cannot pronounce his name correctly, not even pronounce the famous city's name that is named after the king... separate people by a hundred miles, sometimes less, and their words will change... if different people within their own single culture, cannot agree on how to speak a word, then there is far less reason to be fussy of how an ancient word might be pronounced... the ancients, they had as many or more different accents and pronunciations as do modern cultures...
Jun: Word songs... people cannot pronounce the authors' names...
Yan: Precisely! Most people are not able to correctly pronounce even their most venerated people's names... then, now I am feeling much more comfortable... it is okay to not be perfect of words, especially where is it not possible to be perfect...
Alo: I did not want to learn words when I was little... words mean nothing contrasted to life... mean nothing compared to body language, vocal tones, aromas, tastes, feelings... if, I could go back in time... be newborn again... I would choose to only learn one word... the one and only word that has ever held meaning to me... De.
De: Alo.