Written by Joanne Villavieja
It’s Valentine’s Day today and couples around the world will be calling each other an assortment of pet names.
As data analysts and name researchers, our team analyzes patterns that appear in names to help identify the ethnicity of an individual. The same analysis can be applied to pet names, as many languages have a certain formula for turning a regular word or name into a cute or romantic moniker.
Endearing Endings across Cultures
The Japanese suffixes “-chan”, for females, and “-kun”, for males, can be added to the end of a name to signify endearment or closeness to the object or person. Compared to the polite “-san” that is usually attached to a name when addressing someone in public, the suffixes “-chan” and “-kun” are applied to the name of a friend or younger family member. In Japan, a couple will tend to drop the honorific suffixes as a whole, referring to each other just by their first name. Once married, Japanese couples sometimes refer to each other as “anata”, which translates directly to “you” in English, but is used more like the term “dear”.
In Spanish, the suffixes “-ito” and “-ita” can be added to names to denote endearment. For instance, Jose and Juana become Joselito and Juanita by their loved ones. Words can also be made cutesy, such as the word “amor” – “love” in Spanish – which can become “amorcito” to strengthen affection.
Chinese speakers can turn a name into a sweet nickname by taking a syllable and duplicating it. For example, a person with a name like Li Jing would most likely be called “Jing Jing” by those close to them. The word “xiao”, meaning “little”, can also be added to the front of the first name, making another possible nickname “Xiao Jing”.
For Russian, there are several endings that turn a name into a nickname, such as the suffix “-ya” or the infixes “-chk-“, “-shk-“, and “-enk-“. For example, the feminine name Anna can take on many forms like Anya, Anechka, or Annushka. The male name Ivan can turn into Vanya, Vanechka, Vanyusha, or Vanyushka.
Loving Monikers around the World
The ways for displaying affection for loved ones don’t stop at diminutive suffixes. Pet names often come in the form of nouns and adjectives that conjure up pleasant emotions or objects that are small and “cute”. A familiar English example would be the words ”honey” or “baby”. In German, a commonly used term is “schatz” (“treasure”), Tagalog has “mahal” (“love”), and French uses “mon petit chou” (“my little cabbage”) or “ma puce” (“my flea”).
Other languages express their affection by calling someone by a name with a grand image or importance such as the Greek term “matia mou” (“my eyes”), the Spanish term “mi corazon” (“my heart”), or Hindi’s “jaanu” (“my life”). One of the more dramatic examples is Tibet’s phrase “nyingdu-la” which translates to “most honored poison of my heart”.
There are subtle linguistic patterns that influence social interactions, like addressing a loved one, which provide cultural insight into the behaviors of people from different demographics. Build a stronger relationship with your audience by understanding their many “love languages.”