Children often have trouble pronouncing certain words or sounds. Their little mouths are just not ready to make some sounds.
Sometimes those mispronunciations stick. A nickname is born.
My uncle Keith is a good example. One of the many babies could not manage his name for some reason. It always came out as Deke.
Everyone in the family called him Deke. It just seemed natural after a while.
Deke attended school in the same town as we did. He was 5 years older than me. Often after school or sports practice or before a sporting event he came to our house instead of going home to the farm.
One day there was a knock on the door. Mom answered it. There was a young man from school wanting to know if Zeke was there.
Mom had no idea who Zeke was. The young man had heard us calling him Deke and thought his name was Zeke.
We laughed about it for days after. To us Deke and Zeke sounded nothing alike.
Deke died almost two years ago. We still called him Deke.
Dear Emma i think you are very right here ,I myself have observed that children in beginning some of them are unable to pronounce exact names of people and things and rarely it sticks with them forever
ReplyDeleteAs far as is nickname it was very common in our time like thirty forty years ago,now people mind if someone try to call them from nicknames
Hope you are doing completely fine dear friend!♥️
Thank you baili for asking. I am well. Because I was so close in age to my uncles they gave me so many nicknames. About 6 of them have stuck over the years. Little mouths are just not always able to make the sounds they try to make. It is all part of the learning process.
Deletethecontemplativecat here. I love how children figure out something and then expect adults to understand them.
ReplyDeleteAnd we accept them for what they are. That is how language works.
DeleteNot only children like to call people in nickname.
ReplyDeleteAdults too.
Those in workplaces are happy to do that too; the nicknames are linked to either their names, or their behaviours.
Funny, or the opposite?
Unless the nickname is meant to be hurtful it is fun. People who try to hurt feelings by calling someone a bad thing are not people I wish to be around.
DeleteMy cousin Philip was six years older than me and I am told that I first called him Pahbah and a little later Phibit. My son and his wife wanted their grandson to call them Pops and Coco. The boy says Coco fine but calls my son Pots. The rest of us have started doing that too!
ReplyDeletePots is adorable. I wonder how long Phibit lasted.
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