Which Way, Western Man?

  • Erika3sis [she/her, xe/xem]
    ·
    5 months ago

    Fun fact: the name "Miyazaki" comes from 宮 miya (shrine) + 﨑 saki (small peninsula). The saki becomes zaki due to rendaku, a sound change that often happens in Japanese compound words; there is also "Miyasaki" as a variant reading of the surname without rendaku.

    In any case, this means that the surname Miyazaki is essentially identical in meaning to the surname Kirkness, and the toponym Kirkenes, if we treat churches and Shinto shrines as equivalents to one another in the respective cultures.

    • EllenKelly [comrade/them]
      ·
      5 months ago

      I'll treat anything as anything if i get to compare some words 🤤

      this is great, thank you, Erika!

      • Erika3sis [she/her, xe/xem]
        ·
        5 months ago

        Actually, I didn't notice this until now, but the surname Harkness also works as an equivalent to Miyazaki, since OE hearg meant "altar; sacred place; temple".

        People apparently just really like naming their families after sacred peninsulas! Who knew!

    • booty [he/him]
      ·
      5 months ago

      i prefer miyazake (a shrine where we worship booze)

        • booty [he/him]
          ·
          5 months ago

          i have no idea, i just knew that sake can do the same consonant shift lol

    • Evilsandwichman [none/use name]
      ·
      5 months ago

      rendaku

      Hey, we have that in English too; for example old English words like knigt gets rendered, or rendaku, into knight! (idk I'm just kidding; I'm really tired and when the thought occurred to me I thought it too funny not to post it)