Can the name Jala come from Jalapeno?

[Fry]

Jalapenos are hot and so is Jala anyone?

[Spiderus Prime]

No he's name was a Maori word that make Lego a name change to Jaller. Not a Spicy Chile.

[JAG18]

The original BIONICLE names were based on the language of the Maori people. Its a fair assumption, but it couldn't possibly be true. Sorry.

[ALVIS]

I am constantly surprised by the inability of this forum to take a joke.

 

Jala is super hot, BTW. Probably why he gets shipped with everyone.

[Just A Dot]

I am constantly surprised by the inability of this forum to take a joke.

 

Jala is super hot, BTW. Probably why he gets shipped with everyone.

Dude, JalaxHahli. HOT.

[bonesiii]

The original BIONICLE names were based on the language of the Maori people. Its a fair assumption, but it couldn't possibly be true. Sorry.

Actually it's very possible it was at least a subconscious reason. Although in Jalapeno it's pronounced Hala, not Jala, but the spelling could have affected it. Choices of etymology can have more than one influence. I often go with words that have multiple coincidentally fitting etymologies for my stories; the more the merrier in other words. Also, Jalapeno is common in English, and Bionicle did have etymological influences from English all along -- the title itself is the prime example.

[JAG18]

 

The original BIONICLE names were based on the language of the Maori people. Its a fair assumption, but it couldn't possibly be true. Sorry.

Actually it's very possible it was at least a subconscious reason. Although in Jalapeno it's pronounced Hala, not Jala, but the spelling could have affected it. Choices of etymology can have more than one influence. I often go with words that have multiple coincidentally fitting etymologies for my stories; the more the merrier in other words. Also, Jalapeno is common in English, and Bionicle did have etymological influences from English all along -- the title itself is the prime example.

 

I know you couldn't know this, but I know how it pronounced since I live in the heavily Spanish part of Texas.

 

And I agree with you on all points that you made, but I meant more that it wasn't a one-to-one connection that someone hacked off the end of a word on stuck it on a Matoran of Fire.

[Aurora the cat]

This... Somehow.... What.....

 

 

I could see that somehow.

[fishers64]

Possible.

 

But not likely.

[AdaptingChaos]

I am constantly surprised by the inability of this forum to take a joke.

 

Jala is super hot, BTW. Probably why he gets shipped with everyone.

I agree

Back to your statement tho, it was pretty much covered by the posts above. Although its a pretty interesting and funny thought you came across.

Edited March 3, 2014 by AdaptingChaos

[LordofBionicles]

Oh come on people! Seriously? I don't mean to sound too pessimistic but there's no way "jalapeño" was an inpiration for his name.

[Aanchir]

No he's name was a Maori word that make Lego a name change to Jaller. Not a Spicy Chile.

No, the name Jala was NOT Maori. The Maori language has no letter "J", nor even a "J" sound. Not all BIONICLE names were from Maori, even in 2001. In fact, "Ignalu", the word for the sport of competitive lava-surfing, is a combination of a Hawaiian word ("Nalu", meaning surf or waves) and a Latin root word ("Ignis", meaning "fire").

 

Jala is, however, a word in at least one Polynesian language. In Rotuman (a language spoken in Rotuma, an island group that makes up part of Fiji), as a transitive verb it means "to burn, set fire to" and as an intransitive verb it means "to flare up". This is much more likely to be related to the real-world name origin than "Jalapeño", since most 2001 Matoran, Turaga, and Toa names were derived from Polynesian words with names very directly related to their elements.

Edited March 3, 2014 by Aanchir: Rachira of Time

[Tilius]

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Edited April 27, 2021 by Tilius

[Fry]

This is possible! I can imagine some writter who has to come up with a name, and he passes a chile's and gets the name Jala!

[Katuko]

The point would be that both Jalapeño (a spice which burns your tongue) and Jala (the Matoran of Fire) also gets its name from the base "jala", which is a word related to fire and burning. Whichever word came first in their search, the story team was likely aware of both relations in Jaller's name when he was first conceived of.

[Aanchir]

The point would be that both Jalapeño (a spice which burns your tongue) and Jala (the Matoran of Fire) also gets its name from the base "jala", which is a word related to fire and burning. Whichever word came first in their search, the story team was likely aware of both relations in Jaller's name when he was first conceived of.

Except that's not the case at all. The word Jalapeño comes from Xalapa/Jalapa, a place name, not from any root having to do with fire or burning. And of course it certainly didn't come from a Polynesian root word.

 

(And I hope everyone here knows better than to take Tilius's post seriously — there was never a Matoran named Peno, nor did Greg confirm anything related to Jala's name origin)

[Katuko]

Ah. I misread, then. Sorry about that.

[Tilius]

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Edited April 27, 2021 by Tilius

[Kopekemaster]

Actually I do think that Greg once said that the name did come from Jalapeno. There's also a Ta-Matoran in the MNOLG called Peno so I think this is true.

I...can't...tell...if...you're...joking or not.

 

AUGH

 

That would be so hilarious if it was true (though it would have to be MNOG II in that case, because I know that there isn't any "Peno" in the first).

 

Nope, that's totally a joke.

[Tilius]

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Edited April 27, 2021 by Tilius

[Aanchir]

But again, in MNOG2 there was no such Matoran. Ta-Matoran in that game included Jaller, Kapura, Aft, Agni, Aodhan, Brander, Kalama, Maglya, Nuri, Tiribomba, and Vohon. Plus Takua, if you want to count him (since it hadn't been revealed yet that he wasn't actually a Ta-Matoran). No "Peno".

[Tilius]

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Edited April 27, 2021 by Tilius

[Katuko]

The BioMediaProject has a save game editor for its MNOG2 hosting. If I weren't so short on time right now, I'd go and check for this Peno myself. He's not on BS01's list of Matoran, but he could have been missed. Where is he supposed to be in Ta-Koro?

[ALVIS]

...

 

Do any of the regulars here even know how to identify a joke?

[Hitoshura]

...

 

Do any of the regulars here even know how to identify a joke?

Probably not.

 

Back on topic, maybe Lego had a SENSE OF HUMOR and of all the fire related names they thought of they picked that one.

[Aanchir]

 

...

 

Do any of the regulars here even know how to identify a joke?

Probably not.

 

Back on topic, maybe Lego had a SENSE OF HUMOR and of all the fire related names they thought of they picked that one.

 

They definitely had a sense of humor. Remember the Mukau (later renamed the Mata Nui Cow because the original name was deemed "too silly")?

 

I have a sense of humor too, so Tilius, don't think I'm not amused by the number of people who took your posts at face value. At the same time, I can't exactly help people learn about BIONICLE name origins if I simply play along.

 

All that said, I think a Polynesian root word makes more sense given what we know of 2001 BIONICLE character names and their origins. Especially since if his name were derived from "jalapeno", what incentive would they have to change its spelling in 2003?

[bonesiii]

...

 

Do any of the regulars here even know how to identify a joke?

*raises hand timidly*

 

That said, can we please stay on topic?

[Katuko]

...

 

Do any of the regulars here even know how to identify a joke?

There is a difference between a joke, and a deliberate lie. A joke is supposed to be funny. He even said this in his post: "Jokes are meant to be funny"; which implies that he is at the very least aware of how not funny keeping up such a joke would be. The first post about "Peno" was kind of funny. The two follow-ups where it was called out as a joke and then denied is not. That turns it from joke and into lying to our faces, if it is still not true. A waste of time, if you will.

 

At the same time, the MNOG2 had some rather strange names - look at "Brander", "Peno" would fit right in - and it's unclear exactly how the list on BS01 was made. Likely it was just one guy who went around and checked the names, since the articles are all mostly copy-paste and each Matoran doesn't really have anything useful to say in the game.

 

So when left with 3 options:

1) Someone missed a Matoran when making the BS01 list

2) Booker thinks he is right, but is misremembering

3) Booker is lying to our faces after already denying that he was joking

 

I choose to just go check, once I have some extra time to devote. It's not that hard, and it saves us a ridiculous argument. After years on the internet I can recognize both jokes and sarcasm, thank you very much, but people who claim not to be joking/lying when prompted are either right, misinformed, or lying... but no longer joking. And yes, there is a joking way to say you are not joking, but this does not register at an example of it, at least not in text and without any emoticons.

 

 

@bones: Stay on which topic? The original question has pretty much been answered.

[Aanchir]

 

...

 

Do any of the regulars here even know how to identify a joke?

There is a difference between a joke, and a deliberate lie. A joke is supposed to be funny. He even said this in his post: "Jokes are meant to be funny"; which implies that he is at the very least aware of how not funny keeping up such a joke would be. The first post about "Peno" was kind of funny. The two follow-ups where it was called out as a joke and then denied is not. That turns it from joke and into lying to our faces, if it is still not true. A waste of time, if you will.

 

At the same time, the MNOG2 had some rather strange names - look at "Brander", "Peno" would fit right in - and it's unclear exactly how the list on BS01 was made. Likely it was just one guy who went around and checked the names, since the articles are all mostly copy-paste and each Matoran doesn't really have anything useful to say in the game.

 

So when left with 3 options:

1) Someone missed a Matoran when making the BS01 list

2) Booker thinks he is right, but is misremembering

3) Booker is lying to our faces after already denying that he was joking

 

I choose to just go check, once I have some extra time to devote. It's not that hard, and it saves us a ridiculous argument. After years on the internet I can recognize both jokes and sarcasm, thank you very much, but people who claim not to be joking/lying when prompted are either right, misinformed, or lying... but no longer joking. And yes, there is a joking way to say you are not joking, but this does not register at an example of it, at least not in text and without any emoticons.

 

 

@bones: Stay on which topic? The original question has pretty much been answered.

 

Even the MNOGII Matoran names had meanings that were very directly related to their element. However, instead of being drawn more or less exclusively from Polynesian languages, they were taken from languages all over the world, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. It's very fascinating. I have a spreadsheet here with many of the names from 2001–2003 and their probable origins. It's not complete, and I ought to go back and try filling in some of the missing information someday (for instance, finding specific languages for the names that I could broadly identify as "African" in origin, and finding origins for names like Ahkmou, Nuparu, and Kotu). But it still has a number of valuable insights.

[Meiko]

After Aanchir said that there was no character "Peno", I searched "bionicle peno" on Google.

 

Third result, http://www.ebay.com/sch/?&_nkw=jala

 

On that ebay search page, I see both jalapenos and a Bionicle Jala polybag. Perfect evidence.

 

Half Life 3 Jala's name's origin confirmed!

[Tilius]

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Edited April 27, 2021 by Tilius

[Toatapio Nuva]

@Aanchir: You have one mistake in the spreadsheet. Pekka does not mean rock in Finnish, but it's a common name used in Finland.

[Aanchir]

@Aanchir: You have one mistake in the spreadsheet. Pekka does not mean rock in Finnish, but it's a common name used in Finland.

It doesn't literally mean rock, but it's the Finnish form of the name "Peter", which comes from the Greek Petros (rock/stone). Same case in Romanian with Piatra. I probably should have made that clearer. Edited March 5, 2014 by Aanchir: Rachira of Time

[Fry]

Wow, I never thought that this post would get so big! But, for the record, I am 100% sure Jala comes from jalapeño. It's more fun to think that 😆

[fishers64]

All that said, I think a Polynesian root word makes more sense given what we know of 2001 BIONICLE character names and their origins. Especially since if his name were derived from "jalapeno", what incentive would they have to change its spelling in 2003?

Given that a lot of Bionicle names were changed in 2003, its possible that they changed the name just to be consistent with the other characters. Or maybe they just wanted a cooler name (or a more serious one, consistent with his role as captain of the guard) , and used the name-change thing as an excuse.

 

It's worth noting that in the "trans-blue plant rabbit scene" in MoL Takua's pronunciation of Jaller sounds like Jala. If that name was a big universe-rending issue, surely that scene would have been rerecorded.

[bonesiii]

All this has made me suddenly wish LEGO just would have "used the Jalapeno defense" to keep the spelling the same.

[Aanchir]

 

All that said, I think a Polynesian root word makes more sense given what we know of 2001 BIONICLE character names and their origins. Especially since if his name were derived from "jalapeno", what incentive would they have to change its spelling in 2003?

Given that a lot of Bionicle names were changed in 2003, its possible that they changed the name just to be consistent with the other characters. Or maybe they just wanted a cooler name (or a more serious one, consistent with his role as captain of the guard) , and used the name-change thing as an excuse.

 

It's worth noting that in the "trans-blue plant rabbit scene" in MoL Takua's pronunciation of Jaller sounds like Jala. If that name was a big universe-rending issue, surely that scene would have been rerecorded.

 

None of the character names changed in pronunciation — the official pronunciation of the name "Jaller" was always the same as "Jala". And it would be silly for the name to be changed "just to be consistent". After all, Hafu's name didn't change, nor did Takua's, nor did Hahli's, nor did Makuta's, nor did the names of the Toa and Turaga. Those were all characters who featured prominently in BIONICLE: Mask of Light. If consistency were the goal, wouldn't some of those important names have been changed as well?

 

Come to think of it, though, it's possible that there was a reason other than cultural sensitivity — perhaps some of the shorter, simpler names like Jala, Maku, Huki, and Puku were not trademarkable in all the markets where the LEGO Group planned to distribute the movie and the corresponding sets.

Edited March 6, 2014 by Aanchir: Rachira of Time

[Tilius]

.

Edited April 27, 2021 by Tilius

[ALVIS]

 

 

All that said, I think a Polynesian root word makes more sense given what we know of 2001 BIONICLE character names and their origins. Especially since if his name were derived from "jalapeno", what incentive would they have to change its spelling in 2003?

Given that a lot of Bionicle names were changed in 2003, its possible that they changed the name just to be consistent with the other characters. Or maybe they just wanted a cooler name (or a more serious one, consistent with his role as captain of the guard) , and used the name-change thing as an excuse.

 

It's worth noting that in the "trans-blue plant rabbit scene" in MoL Takua's pronunciation of Jaller sounds like Jala. If that name was a big universe-rending issue, surely that scene would have been rerecorded.

 

None of the character names changed in pronunciation — the official pronunciation of the name "Jaller" was always the same as "Jala". And it would be silly for the name to be changed "just to be consistent". After all, Hafu's name didn't change, nor did Takua's, nor did Hahli's, nor did Makuta's, nor did the names of the Toa and Turaga. Those were all characters who featured prominently in BIONICLE: Mask of Light. If consistency were the goal, wouldn't some of those important names have been changed as well?

 

Come to think of it, though, it's possible that there was a reason other than cultural sensitivity — perhaps some of the shorter, simpler names like Jala, Maku, Huki, and Puku were not trademarkable in all the markets where the LEGO Group planned to distribute the movie and the corresponding sets.

 

 

Hate to be pedantic, but Hahli's name did change. It was Hali originally.

[Aanchir]

 

 

 

All that said, I think a Polynesian root word makes more sense given what we know of 2001 BIONICLE character names and their origins. Especially since if his name were derived from "jalapeno", what incentive would they have to change its spelling in 2003?

Given that a lot of Bionicle names were changed in 2003, its possible that they changed the name just to be consistent with the other characters. Or maybe they just wanted a cooler name (or a more serious one, consistent with his role as captain of the guard) , and used the name-change thing as an excuse.

 

It's worth noting that in the "trans-blue plant rabbit scene" in MoL Takua's pronunciation of Jaller sounds like Jala. If that name was a big universe-rending issue, surely that scene would have been rerecorded.

 

None of the character names changed in pronunciation the official pronunciation of the name "Jaller" was always the same as "Jala". And it would be silly for the name to be changed "just to be consistent". After all, Hafu's name didn't change, nor did Takua's, nor did Hahli's, nor did Makuta's, nor did the names of the Toa and Turaga. Those were all characters who featured prominently in BIONICLE: Mask of Light. If consistency were the goal, wouldn't some of those important names have been changed as well?

 

Come to think of it, though, it's possible that there was a reason other than cultural sensitivity perhaps some of the shorter, simpler names like Jala, Maku, Huki, and Puku were not trademarkable in all the markets where the LEGO Group planned to distribute the movie and the corresponding sets.

 

Hate to be pedantic, but Hahli's name did change. It was Hali originally.

 

I've heard rumors of that, but never saw for myself. Wasn't her first appearance in the Bohrok online animations? She was called Hahli in those if I'm not mistaken. But perhaps she appeared before that and I never knew.

 

EDIT: Yep, her name is spelled Hahli in Episode 7 from 2002. So if her name did change, it must have been significantly earlier than the big wave of name changes in mid-2003. Still not impossible, since the word Tohunga and the suffix -Koronan were both replaced with Matoran as early as 2002, so if you have a reference to Hahli with an earlier spelling, I encourage you to share it with me.

 

EDIT 2: Just for the sake of thoroughness, I also checked the chronicle updates corresponding to Hahli's 2002 appearances. She isn't mentioned in any of them as far as I can tell.

Edited March 6, 2014 by Aanchir: Rachira of Time