Text/Wang Minguan
In rural Shanxi, most adults give their children a nickname in addition to a formal name. And this nickname, some of which are pleasant to listen to, easy to remember, loud and catchy, memorable and memorable. But there are also very few people who have a strange nickname, which makes the caller uncomfortable and the called person more embarrassed. Moreover, some nicknames even surpass the big names. Nicknames follow people all their lives, and they are well-known and hard to listen to, and those who are not well-known are also very uncomfortable.
However, it is purely the parents' personal will to name their children whatever they want. It is natural to call them if they are fluent, and it can only be so if they are not pleasant to hear. Of course, in a positive sense, most of these nicknames are called by human gender, zodiac, animals, astronomy, geography and natural plants. Although most of them feel very rustic, for example, in many places in Shanxi, children are called "pro-balls", but they are also very individual and reveal a strong emotional flavor. Out of Shanxi, some places are not clear about what this "pro-balls" means. If we put aside the literal meaning of literature and simply speak from the preferences of the people and individuals, what to call or not to call is entirely an unconscious behavior influenced by parents' personal preferences and regional culture. More often, it is parents' sustenance and yearning for their children's better life in the future. Even if the name is unpleasant or even weird, it can still be understood and recognized.
From what the author has contacted and understood, it is also "a glimpse of a leopard in a tube", which is only a small part of the world, but it will still make people laugh when they think about it, and they will feel more cordial when they listen to familiar nicknames.
First of all, name from gender. For example, there are many "balls", including big balls, two balls, three balls, four balls, five balls, small balls and hairy balls. As long as they have a boy, they will keep calling until the old ball; There are also "eggs", big eggs, two eggs, three eggs, four eggs and five eggs, which are also called "balls" or "pro-balls", as well as hairy eggs, dog eggs and leftover eggs; Jenny also calls more, such as Minnie, Junni, Cat Ginny, Tiger Ginny, Ugly Ginny, Silly Ginny and so on. In fact, people named Minnie and Junni are not necessarily beautiful, and those named Ugly and Silly are not necessarily ugly and silly. There are also girls, big girls, two girls and three girls; There are even farts. I remember when I was a child, there were two farts and three farts in the village. There are also people named GREAT GHOST, Ergui, Lazy and Laigui, who sound scared. Maybe they are still a little girl.
Secondly, it is named after the zodiac. Let's talk about mice first. I haven't heard much about them named after the word mouse. Occasionally, I heard that there are golden mice, silver mice, white mice, rat treasures, altar mice and new mice. Children born in the Year of the Ox are named Niu Niu, and Daniel, Er Niu and Xiao Niu are also called everywhere. There are also Taurus, Silver Bull, Iron Bull, Jade Bull, Shi Niu, Black Bull and Yellow Bull, which are also a kind of beautiful sustenance; Tigers are called nicknames, and borrowing animals is also a tiger's power, such as tiger, tiger, tiger, tiger, tiger, or tiger; There are many rabbits born this year, such as Tutu, Rourou, Baibai and Mao Mao. People born in the Year of the Dragon have better nicknames, such as Dragon, Dragon, Erlong, Xiaolong, Jinlong, Silver Dragon, Yulong and Hailong. In year of the snake, most of them are not called snakes, but more are called Xiaolong and Erlong; There are also many children born in the Year of the Horse named Golden Horse, Silver Horse and Jade Horse. It is also common for sheep to be called sheep, big sheep and little sheep. Year-old monkeys have a nickname after animals, such as hairy monkeys, big hairy monkeys, small hairy monkeys, two hairy monkeys, three hairy monkeys and four hairy monkeys; Born in the year of the rooster, there are fewer names that are homophonic with chickens. People mostly change their names, such as Tiantian, Liangliang, Mingming, Qiqi, Benben, Lele, Jiajia, Beibei, etc. The name of the year of the dog is also very distinctive. Some are called dogs, dogs and puppies, and some are called black dogs because of their dark skin when they were young. There are many dogs left, eggs and dogs ignored. In the Year of the Pig, fat is the beauty, and people named pig, chubby, fleshy, chubby and toot-toot have also heard of it. In addition to the zodiac, there are Jinfeng, Yufeng, Yinfeng, Fengfeng and Huanghuang, which are related to the phoenix, and Jiji and Xiangxiang, which are homophonic with elephants.
Once again, it is named after everything in nature. It is homophonic with the sun, moon, stars, natural scenery, beautiful mountains and rivers, land plants, etc., and there are many nicknames such as red, moon, stars, mountains, Sichuan, water, army, apricot, peach, jujube, pear, cherry and fruit. Some have a lot of gold, silver and jade; Some people weigh several kilograms at birth, so they are called several kilograms, such as three kilograms, four kilograms, five kilograms, six kilograms, seven kilograms, eight kilograms, nine kilograms and ten kilograms. Some people call the newborn a brother or a sister in order to continue the birth of the child, hoping that the latter can have a younger brother or sister; There are also children in Taiyuan, Wenshui and Fenyang who are named after their elders (at least grandchildren), such as those who are sixty, sixty-seven, seventy and eighty; Others show intimacy and read smoothly. Some parents give their children nicknames because they feel that calling their children by their first names is too formal and seems to be insufficient to express their deep affection, so they make nicknames for internal use. Some directly use the reduplication of the last word, such as Xiaoxiao, Mengmeng, Xinxin, Shishi, Dongdong, Guagua, Doudou, Taotao, Shuai Shuai, Shuishui, Haihai, Taotao and MengMeng; Some simply call their children powder, baby, little darling and so on. Anyway, it's a nickname with no rules, so it's called what it looks like to be intimate and read smoothly, and the carriage is empty and not subject to any constraints; For example, some are called Maodan, Wowotou, Sweet Pumpkin, Stinky Tofu, Blind Fart, Iron Rooster, Few Fans, Poked Goods, One-track-minded, Two-faced, Three Bald, Four-faced, Five Goods Only, Six Tricks, Seven-faced, Eight-faced, Nine-faced, and Ten-faced. Some keep pace with the times and follow the trend of the times, such as liberation, national day, army, navy, air force, leap forward, cultural revolution, etc. are also very fashionable; There are also names given in the place of birth, such as Jinsheng, Jisheng, Jingsheng, Jinsheng, Husheng, Jisheng, Qisheng, Lu Sheng, Qiansheng, Yunsheng, Chuansheng, Chusheng, Huansheng, Yusheng, Hesheng, Jiangsheng, Haisheng, etc., which are all branded with regions; Some nicknames are associated with historical or contemporary figures, which should also have a certain level, otherwise, it will be tacky to call; Even more, when naming names, they follow the trend and take one word from the names of famous people in history, which also seems to be far-fetched and neither fish nor fowl.
Of course, when choosing a nickname, we should pay attention to some homophonic words. Like Shi Zhenxiang, a ghost, a hungry ghost, a beggar, a black dog, an asshole, a wolf's heart, a dog's lung, an owl, a stinky egg, being ignored, and a bad fetus, some of them call names or are suspected of having nicknames. There is a place in Henan where people's surnames are "cursing", which is not suitable for anything, but it is a good thing for others to scold themselves, because this "cursing" surname is remembered by others at once. There is a saying in the countryside that the worse it is, the better it is to raise it. In fact, these are all superstitious statements, and there is no truth in pediatrics.
In any case, when they were young, adults gave their children a nickname, which is not only a good wish, but also a pleasant nickname. Some of them may be ugly, such as the nickname "Smelly Smelly", which seemed close when they were young, and they all grew up to seventeen or eighteen years old. If they still call it, they will feel that it doesn't smell like that. If people are middle-aged, they will still call it that. In a family, as children grow up, if they don't feel good, they don't have to scream. As children, they shouldn't be too demanding.
Of course, the most basic principles of nickname should be grasped as follows: First, it should be smooth, pleasant to hear, easy to remember and easy to shout; Second, when a nickname is given, there is generally no surname in front of it, and it should be preceded by a small character, or followed by a word or a reduplication; Third, the nickname should be able to express a certain meaning and entrust some beautiful meanings; Fourth, when choosing a nickname, we should try our best to avoid indecent homophony and ambiguity, and never make a nickname or nickname; Fifth, when choosing a nickname, it is also a good thing to learn a little about birthdates and give children a nickname that is pleasant to listen to, easy to remember, loud and satisfactory. What's more, when I was a child, I took a nickname. When I grew up, I was sensible, got a job, and stepped into the society. Slowly, no one knew it, let alone called it. But on formal occasions, it's better to address people by their first names.
If there is a nickname that can follow your life, or even surpass your name, it is also a blessing in life. Just like the current screen names, some of them are really good, catchy and easy to remember, which is also a good thing. Why not?
Therefore, when giving a nickname to a person, it is better to be cautious and safe, which is concise and catchy. It's a sign of cultural self-restraint, not only showing affection but also avoiding rudeness and vulgarity. Everyone likes a nice name, and it takes a certain amount of wisdom and culture to get a nickname that everyone likes and likes, but it must not be too casual.
(published at 17: on March 1, 221 in Taiyuan Road)