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ArchivesAuthenticity in character names
I am using this website to create authentic names for characters of various nationalities. I have a question, why do so many writers use names that are unauthentic to the language of the character? On a related note is Ilosovic an actual Slavic name and is the usage of that name in Alice in wonderland just another example of pulling out random names because they sound "exotic"? If not, what is it?
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Honestly, I think a lot of it is because the author didn't do the research on the culture or because they're thinking in stereotypes. For example, Law and Order featured a Brazilian character named Javier in one episode. Javier is a Spanish name, not a Portuguese one - the proper Portuguese form would be Xavier.
As a fan of Tim Burton, I know that a lot of elements in that movie were not in the original book, but that's a discussion for another day.
As a fan of Tim Burton, I know that a lot of elements in that movie were not in the original book, but that's a discussion for another day.
This message was edited 8/17/2023, 3:02 PM
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You brought up the idea of stereotypes by arguing that he is just another stereotypical example of Eastern Europeans being depicted as antagonistic mercenaries.
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I didn't say that.
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why do you mean that they are thinking when you say that they are thinking in stereotypes?
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Please explain the point you are making about a name 'used' in Alice in Wonderland. I assume it is a translation, but into what language? I don't recall it in the English original.
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I want to say that the name Ilosovic is either Serbian or some other Slavic language. It is the name the Tim burton film gave the knave of hearts.
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Preliminary research seems to show this name was invented for the character in the film. Some times movie directors or producers will try to deliberately make up a name they know no one in reality is likely to have, in order to prevent the possibility of being sued by someone whose name is accidentally the same as the character's.
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Can you use examples of actual Slavic surnames that have the same sound like Milosevic etc.
This message was edited 8/8/2023, 8:52 AM
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what do you mean by preliminary research when talking about whether or not "ilosovic is a Slavic surname?
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Googling "Ilosovic -Stayne -Alice" in order to remove references to the film character, and not having any examples of its use in a Slavic country come up.
By the way, in the film Ilosovic seems to be the character's given name, with Stayne being his surname.
By the way, in the film Ilosovic seems to be the character's given name, with Stayne being his surname.
This message was edited 8/8/2023, 8:53 AM
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how do you remove references to the film character by googling ilosovic-stayn-alice? isn't that a refrence in of itself?
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can you list actual "ovic/ovich" surnames instead of "ilosovic"?
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I do not understand this question. Of course someone could make such a list. For what purpose and where are you asking about making such a list?
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to show that Ilosovic is not a real name.
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Non-existence is hard to prove, AFAIK no one in the world has a complete list of all surnames, not even the Mormons eagerly hunting for genealogical data nor the NSA (they would keep the thing secret, if they had it). Depending on the local laws, people can create new surnames at any time and go by them.
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I typed *ovic and Ilosovic is nowhere to be found, suggesting that it is a made-up name for the movie.
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