Generating names for a product, brand or company is part of the copywriter’s repertoire.
With the dotcom explosion having monopolised nearly all names and permutations thereof, wordsmiths have resorted to semantic associations, creating hybridised names as a creative way out of this impasse. e.g. Valprod (value + product) or Intel (intelligent + electronics).
Nickel artwork by Uwe Pfaff
However, the latest, most subtle form of name generation involves utilising sound symbolism – crafting combinations of vowels and consonants whose “sound packages” are tagged phonemes by linguists.
Sound associates not only with meanings but also emotions. For example, Laurentian’s Dr Whissel has proven how the sounds “l” and “s” are associated with pleasant feelings. Studies have shown that symbolism within phonemes (and the clustering of meaning) cuts across all cultures. Choosing a good hybridised name imbued with sound symbolism therefore ensures that prospects (potential customers) will subliminally understand the qualities of the brand irrespective of their national language.
This universality might suggest to esoteric linguists the premise of a universal tongue, long forgotten, as per the Tower of Babel myth. It’s actually simpler than that and is a consequence of our shared anatomy beyond racial skin type. Speech is a function of our articulation, which is dependent upon the human vocal apparatus – the shape of our mouth as a voice box, with the tongue, lips, jaw and other speech organs working in concert.
An “ahhh” sound is made with an open mouth and throat. Contrast an “l” or long “e” or final “y” – where the lips and back of the throat are almost closed. Examining the Muslim word for God, “Allah”, in sound symbolic terms, shows that it is divided into three phonemes: “Ah”/”l”/”Ah”, which connotes large / small / large, and suggests an individual feeling truly “little” before (and in awe of) the perceived Almighty. This insight is gleaned from Robert M. Hoffsteins’ “A Mystical Key to the English Language”.
Margaret Magnus, in “Gods of the Word”, points out how “str-” invokes linearity and predictability: straight, string, strip, stripe, street. [c.f. Afrikaans: straal, strand, strek, strik, string, stryk, straat]. Hold that concept. Now one sense of “-ap” is flat: cap, flap, map, lap, etc. Put “str” and “ap” together, and, voilà, you get “strap” i.e. a flat line.
Phonosemantics is applicable whether the word is spoken aloud or not, because, even while reading, individuals have been shown to sub-vocalise. Thought and sound are flip-sides to the coinage of language. I think it was Dorian Haarhoff, storyteller extraordinaire who said, “Let’s learn together to dance the dance of words with greater élan, engagement and enthusiasm, thereby engaging fully with our Source energy…” You’ll surely be surprised by the overlay of meaning which you intuit when listening to the secret whisperings of words.
No rose would smell sweeter by any other name.
