Names and Values
posted by Frank Pasquale
Just a couple updates on topics I’d blogged earlier this year:
1) The cultural battle over naming is spreading to Thailand:
For as long as people here can remember, children have been given playful nicknames — classics include Shrimp, Chubby and Crab — that are carried into adulthood. But now, to the consternation of some nickname purists, children are being given such offbeat English-language nicknames as Mafia or Seven — as in 7-Eleven, the convenience store.
The trend worries Vira Rojpojchanarat, the permanent secretary of the Thai Ministry of Culture. . . . [who] is embarking on a campaign to revive the simple and often more pastoral nicknames of yore.
Perhaps names, like clothes, are becoming a part of the fashion cycle. And as with fashion, it may be impossible for governments to effectively intervene–or unwise/unfair.
2) Transvaluation of Values Watch: I’ve covered vanity; here are some thoughts on (what some may call) gluttony.
August 31, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Posted in: Culture
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Responses (1)
Daniel Goldberg - August 31, 2007 at 5:34 pm
Apparently, George Costanza was right; the name was ahead of its time.
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