From: jclander@texas.mitre.org (Julian C. Lander)
Subject: Re: Culture (was Re: Ah, Fashion.)
Reply-To: jclander@texas.mitre.org (Julian C. Lander)
Organization: The MITRE Corporation, McLean, Va
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1992 13:06:03 GMT

I think it's a waste of time, but I'm unable to resist wading into
this with the heaviest cudgel I can find.  Not very heavy, perhaps, 
because I'm tired today, and rapiers are out of the question--I'm not
that sharp.

But young Mr. Melmon is beginning to show himself to be appallingly
ignorant, and I find myself compelled to suggest, as forcefully as
possible, that he really should try to think a little before he
posts.  To disagree about who is or is not an icon is to express an
opinion.  But the article quoted below involves objectively determined
facts, especially the latter part.

In article <mattm-081092134906@mcmelmon.apple.com>, mattm@apple.com (Matthew Melmon) writes:
|> In article <ld8v2tINNmq8@spim.mti.sgi.com>, dauber@tattoo.mti.sgi.com (Jeff
|> Dauber) wrote:
|> > 
|> > AAARRRGGG!!!!!
|> > 
|> > Not to spelling flame, but if you are going to try and be clever, 
|> > at least spell correctly.
|> > 
|> > It is Jezebel.  There is no "i" in the word. 
|> 
|> I've only known one woman with this name, and she spelled it with an
|> 'i.'  Kind of like Shawn vs. Shaun.  Kathy vs. Cathy.  Kris vs. Chris.
|> John vs. Jon.  Qadafi vs. Khadafy.  /etc/etc

I'm not expert on name origins (and I note that the linguists seem to 
be sitting this one out, which is probably wise, but what have I got
to lose?), but there are explanations for these pairings.  (I'll get to
"Jezebel" later.)

Shawn and Shaun - Aren't these variations of an Irish name (whatever the
correct term for the language of origin is; I mean the non-English language
native to Ireland)?  And isn't the "authentic" form, at least for men, 
spelled "Sean"?  These are just attempts to preserve sound quality without
regard for spelling as we cross a language barrier.

Kathy and Cathy - Yes, these really are "twins" as far as I know.  There may
be some accouting for variation depending on how they entered the American
name set.

Kris and Chris - To me, Kris is short for Kristen, while Chris is short
for Christopher or Christine.  I tend to categorize the former as Scandinavian,
and the latter as German.

John and Jon - Nope.  These are different names.  Both Biblical, both Anglicizations
of Hebrew.  John corresponds to the Hebrew Yochanan (the "ch" is a guttural,
as in "ach" or "loch").  It is the name of the Baptist and of one of the Gospel
authors in the New Testament.  Jon is short for Jonathan, in Hebrew Yonathan,
David's friend.  They even have different resonances for me as names:  while
Jonathan is a reasonably common name for Jews to use, John is rare to
the point of disappearance.

Qadafi and Khadafy - These really are the same.  It's an attempt to transliterate
Arabic with two different systems.  I wouldn't characterize this as an
English name (as I would the others).  It's much like Beijing and Peking.  
In speech, there should be only one correct pronunciation.

|> 
|> Really.
|> 
|> A spelling flame over a name?  There is seriously only *one* way to
|> spell 'Jezebel?' 

Not to put too fine a point on it, in English, yes.  It's another Biblical
name.  (And I would expect, perhaps in vain, that anyone brought up in 
this country, which is overwhelmingly Christian in culture, would, on 
hearing the name "Jezebel", know that it was Biblical and, vaguely, that
the Biblical Jezebel was not a nice person.)  

I took the opportunity to check the details in the _Encyclopedia
Americana_: Jezebel appears in Kings I and II, two
of the books of the Old Testament.  Jezebel was the wife of
Ahab, a king of Israel. She introduced the worship of Baal.  And
she has a lousy reputation.
 
|> It was not based on the movie.  

Nor is the Bible.  But the name of the character was, I'll almost
guarantee you, chosen because of the Biblical character.

In general, if a fictional character has a name that is Biblical, 
especially if it's uncommon, there is a Reason for it.  It's
probably useful to find out something about the Biblical predecessor
of the name--he or she may provide insights into the character.

|> It was a name that
|> sounded like 'Jess.'  It seems to be very chic around here to modify
|> names.  Not wanting to be anything other than chic, I adopted the 
|> silly little game.  It's actually kind of fun.
|> 

I think it's dreadful.  You may refer to me as Julian, Mr. Lander, 
or Sir.

Julian C. Lander
jclander@mitre.org
Newsgroups: soc.motss