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Old 11-24-2020, 10:18 PM   #4
khorboth
 
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Denver, CO
Default Re: How do you name planets?

I keep in mind that humans are really terrible at naming things. Like... REALLY terrible.

I live near such wonderful places as "Green Mountain" "Table Mesa" and "Buena Vista." There are tons of cities named Springfield. It's a spring in a field. Oooh. Every third valley was once "hidden valley" because you couldn't see it from the other side of the hill. Denver got its name because the founder wanted to curry favor with Mr. Denver, the governor of the territory. Think critically for a moment about the place names near you and I bet you'll come to a similar conclusion.

So, from there, I ask how much language drift has there been? If the language hasn't changed much, then leave the stupid name. The planet is Dantooine because some Star Wars nerd named it. Or it's New Earth-7 because they were all registered in order when news came back to Earth. I had a station called Torus station because it was shaped like a Torus.

If language drift has happened, consider what kind of drift. Was there an alien race before humans? Did different cultures conquer the area? What changes would that make?

Hello Future me did a great video on this. Honestly, I recommend his whole world-building series.

Last edited by khorboth; 11-24-2020 at 10:22 PM.
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