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Naming of storms/Geological events | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Philological Room |  | |
 meramarina Diglot Moderator United States Joined 5968 days ago 1341 posts - 2303 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: German, Italian, French Personal Language Map | Message 1 of 12 25 October 2012 at 7:40pm | IP Logged | ||
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I'm curious about how severe weather or geological events are named around the world, and in which languages. Isn't everyone?
I have noticed several times, when reading European news, that big storms are given human names. I didn't know that. I wonder which nation/language/culture gets to name the storm? Is this commonly done or only for really significant ones? Tropical sea storms have have been given human names for a long time and you can see a list of them here. Pacific storms seem to come from many different languages and cultures than Atlantic storms. I like those words/names better - to me, just more interesting. Tropical Storm Names This year North Atlantic winter storms will receive names for the first time. A lot of people think this is silly, but it's no sillier than coining words like "Snowtober!" for snow in October. This, in my opinion, HAS to stop. USA Winter Storm Names These come mostly from classic literature and mythology. They seem so very, very serious. I'd hate to see a "Brutus" fizzle out to a few puny little flakes. But then again, having your home and property wrecked by something called "Bud" is kind of insulting. I think I remember that the Iceland volcano that erupted recently had an Icelandic (of course!) name, but I don't recall if it was human or what it meant. I never heard of an eathquake or tsunami being named, except by the year in which it occurred, but I also never knew that European storms had names until I read news in other languages. And I don't know if this happens only in parts of Europe and not others. Are weather/geological events in other areas of the world given names or other titles, even locally, and if many languages are spoken in the area, which one provides the name or word? Edited by meramarina on 25 October 2012 at 7:41pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| iguanamon Pentaglot Senior Member Virgin Islands Speaks: Ladino Joined 5263 days ago 2241 posts - 6731 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Creole (French) | Message 2 of 12 25 October 2012 at 8:03pm | IP Logged | ||
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As someone who lives in the Caribbean, I am quite familiar with hurricanes and tropical storms and their names. Here, everything dates from the storm that damaged or destroyed 95% of the buildings on the island in 1989- Hurricane Hugo- or just plain old "Hugo" suffices. There's before Hugo and after Hugo. Just as in New Orleans there's before Katrina and after Katrina. In Grenada there's before Georges and after Georges.
The National Hurricane Center in the US names hurricanes and tropical storms. Here's a link to the background on why: Naming Storms- National Hurricane Center and a brief excerpt:
Apparently, prior to this system coming into place these storms were given the names of Saint's days. In the US, no names at all, the hurricane that destroyed Galveston, Texas had no name. The NHC gives storms names based on the languages spoken in the Carribean- English, Spanish and French. Hurricanes are called "typhoons" in the Western Pacific basin. The names are based on East Asian languages. The names in the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific start at the letter "A" and go to "Z". If there are more storms after the end of the alphabet- they are given names from the Greek alphabet- Alfa to Omega. Here's hoping "Sandy" spares the east coast of the mainland US, Canada and the Bahamas on its march northward. Edited by iguanamon on 25 October 2012 at 10:54pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| meramarina Diglot Moderator United States Joined 5968 days ago 1341 posts - 2303 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: German, Italian, French Personal Language Map | Message 3 of 12 25 October 2012 at 8:28pm | IP Logged | ||
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Yes, Hugo is legendary in South Carolina, too, where my family is from, and demolished a good part of the coastal and even inland areas. My late Grandma said she had never been through anything like it. "Hugo" is a good monster storm name. Not sure about "Sandy" though. However, I just learned the name "Frankenstorm" and anything is better than that!
Please, weather people, no Frankenstorm, no Stormageddon, please, please, please . . . give the thing a respectable name, at least! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Chung Diglot Senior Member Joined 7157 days ago 4228 posts - 8259 votes 20 sounds Speaks: English*, French Studies: Polish, Slovak, Uzbek, Turkish, Korean, Finnish | Message 4 of 12 25 October 2012 at 8:49pm | IP Logged | ||
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I may be in the minority, but I'm not all that keen on naming storms despite the NHC's reasoning. Something about assigning given names to these inanimate phenomena just rubs me the wrong way. In these days of information overload, it's enough for me to know that a storm is on the way and get information on expected levels of damage, precipitation or wind associated.
And yes, the crude portmanteaus ("snowmageddon"), clichés ("perfect storm") or overused puns ("white stuff") coined and then repeated mindlessly by weather-nerds / meteorologists or weather-nerd wannabes in the media who think that they're trendy or "in-the-know" irritate me more, though. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Cabaire Senior Member Germany Joined 5600 days ago 725 posts - 1352 votes | Message 5 of 12 25 October 2012 at 10:43pm | IP Logged | ||
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In Germany, for forty years anticyclones were always given male names, cyclones female names. Then women organisations protested, because good weather was usually male, but bad weather female, so now female and male names are given them alternatly. Edited by Cabaire on 25 October 2012 at 10:44pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Ari Heptaglot Senior Member Norway Joined 6583 days ago 2314 posts - 5695 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese Studies: Czech, Latin, German | Message 6 of 12 26 October 2012 at 7:52am | IP Logged | ||
Oh man, "Frankenstorm"! That's so awesome! "Stormageddon" is pretty cool, too, but "Frankenstorm" is genius! I also like "Snowtober". Keep 'em coming! What other awesome neologisms don't you like? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| meramarina Diglot Moderator United States Joined 5968 days ago 1341 posts - 2303 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: German, Italian, French Personal Language Map | Message 7 of 12 26 October 2012 at 11:28am | IP Logged | ||
I thought of one of my own, but it is not appropiate to print here! I know there have been many others, so I went Google-searching and found this: How to name your blizzard Snowmaggedon. Snowpocalypse. Snowgnarok The author here points out a link between stupid human names and stupid storm names. Weathers words such as the above come from an overactive media culture, though, I think. Is there any other, perhaps more sensible, culture that does this naming thing a lot better, or should I just turn the forecasts off, hide in shame, and call the latest one It-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named? EDIT: I also just realized that Googling a little partly answers my question. But . . . Orkantief Yoda? Really? Meteomedia Edited by meramarina on 26 October 2012 at 11:50am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Ari Heptaglot Senior Member Norway Joined 6583 days ago 2314 posts - 5695 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese Studies: Czech, Latin, German | Message 8 of 12 26 October 2012 at 1:54pm | IP Logged | ||
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They certainly vary in quality. "Snowgnarok" sounds a bit forced, really. I love the list of "stupid" (according to the author) names, too. Many really nice ones. Great to hear there's some creativity so we don't have to live in a boring world of Johns and Janes. "Colt" is an amazing first name, and I really like "Londyn", too. Got a nice ring. Hooray for creativity!
On topic, if it'd be up to me, I'd be naming those storms after Lovecraftian horrors. "Dagon is fast approaching the east coast of the US and people are evacuating to flee from the destruction". Hurricane Chthulhu. Hastur. "Nyarlathotep continues to wreak havoc in the Caribbean." "Continuing our coverage of the terrible tornado Yog-Sothoth, which is devouring everything in its path ...". 1 person has voted this message useful |
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