Kanohi Mahri Renamed
Entry posted by ToM Dracone
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One of the many reasons I like 2001 and 2 best of the Bionicle years is the sound of the names, either borrowed from or based on Maori. (Ignore the fiasco resulting from the former for the moment.) 2001 established the Pacific islander sound, and 2002 added the terminal k and silent h's that completed the general sound and appearance of the names.
2006 and 2007, however, changed this. The general phonetics remain, but now there are all manner of new consonants and consonant combinations, and the names sound far more like English than Maori. Maxilos. Spinax. Hydraxon. Carapar. Mantax. Zakaz. Zyglak. You see? Even if the name isn't specifically English-derived, it's anything but Maori. It makes perfect sense – Bionicle has changed enormously, and the tropical island feel has been completely lost, and as we're going to new places we find new styles of names. But all Matoran speak the same language, so one thing I'd like to keep constant is the orignal sound – or close to it – for Matoran names... like the Kanohi.
The Mahri's Kanohi names are one thing I specifically dislike. I don't mind anglicized names for other stuff (besides Matoran themselves), but I would rather the Kanohi adhered to the original sound of Bionicle.
Faxon – Kanohi Faso :: There were almost no x's at all, so that became an s, and "on" is a distinctly non-Maori ending. So it became o.
Arthron – Kanohi Araho :: "Th" is another sound absent from early Bionicle (but h was very common), and three consonantal sounds in a row was something unheard of on Mata Nui. The only time there were even two consonants in a row was a diphthong like "ng" in Kongu, so those were separated, and, in th case of the second r, dropped.
Tryna – Kanohi Tanau :: This I just made up because I thought the name Tryna sounded too weak for such a powerful mask as Matoro has. Tanau is a much stronger word. Y was also not to be found as a vowel early on...
Zatth – Kanohi Zatahu :: Augh! Z was another almost absent sound early on, but there was at least the Krana Za, so I kept that. But a combination like "tth" is just illogical anyway, hard to figure out how to pronounce literally, and above all absolutely nothing like Maori on more than one level.
Kanohi Garai :: I like this one. Simple, no consonantal diphthongs, only a vowel one, which is very common in Bionicle. I also think it has an earthy sound to it, fitting for a mask of gravity.
Kanohi Volitak :: While I'm not thrilled with the name, it at least follows all the rules established in 2001 and 2...
So there you have it. My thoughts on the names of the Mahri's Kanohi, since I prefer the Maori feel of 2001 to the English feel of 2007...
Additionally, I'm getting my wisdom teeth out tomorrow. Aaaaugh! *tries not to panic* To those of you who have had them out already, how long does it take to heal afterward? And what about eating?
*runs around in circles*
~ ToM
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