Vernicious Knids

Random musings and snapshots about life, love, travel and everything in between...

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Why is my blog called Vernicious Knids?

There are a number of reasons that I chose this particular moniker:
  • I've always loved Roald Dahl's books - both children and adult versions!
  • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was a particular favourite - after all what's not to love...a lifetime supply of free chocolate?!
  • One of the things I loved about Dahl's books were the imaginary creatures with the extraordinary names - particularly the Vermicious Knids (what first attracted me was the fact that the "K" in Knids was not a silent one!)
  • I wanted to include a Japanese twist to my title since this is my current place of abode.

So how exactly did I add the Japanese flavour? Simple...I switched the "M" for "N".

For those of you who haven't suffered the torture of attempting to master - or at least understand - Nihongo, this presumably makes no sense whatsoever. So here comes the enormously riveting part of my post...

English has an alphabet with singular sound forms ("c" "h" "o" "c" "o" "l" "a" "t" "e" becomes "cho" "co" "late" or "chock" "late" if you're an Aussie!). The Japanese alphabet is comprised of compound sounds (e.g. "cho" "ko" "re" "e" "to" = chocolate) with some singular sounds ("a" "i" "u" "e" "o" "n" "m"). Stay with me now, I'm getting there... The Japanese singular "n" and "m" pronunciation are used interchangeably - with some extensive grammatical exceptions that I will not bore you with!

So there you have it, my blog name is not a typo - there was, in fact, a highly complex methodological approach to my choice!

(and here you all thought I just didn't know how to spell?!)

So what's the story behind your blog's name? If it includes a free language lesson I'll be mightily impressed :p

18 Comments:

  • At 8:20 am, Blogger Bearette said…

    wow, that was complicated!! but now i know the truth ;)

    in high school, a friend and i used to sing, "potatoes in the mist...exchanging glances..." instead of "strangers in the night." it's strange, i know. but there it is :)

     
  • At 9:35 am, Blogger verniciousknids said…

    A-ha, I had been curious about your blog's name bearette...it always made me think of "Gorillas In the Mist"...then reading your posts I thought it was some obscure vego reference?! Now I know the truth :p Thanks for sharing.

     
  • At 10:59 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I don't have a blog but I like reading yours :-)

     
  • At 3:53 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    There's no trick to mine... it's just a name that reminds me of libraries. :)

     
  • At 11:32 am, Blogger verniciousknids said…

    Thanks Antonia - you really should get one though because they are so much FUN!

     
  • At 11:32 am, Blogger verniciousknids said…

    And a very effective name it is, Liz!

     
  • At 1:08 am, Blogger Lou said…

    Thanks for stopping by my site. I really enjoyed going through your posts. Very informative stuff. Also, thanks for the clarification on the name. I was wondering what it was all about. Great site!

     
  • At 5:35 am, Blogger Caro said…

    I'm impressed.

    How many languages do you speak?

    My blog doesn't have anything special in the name. I started it one night when I needed to vent!

    I loved "Willy Wonka" also. My husband was the one who actually read the book. I only saw the two movies.

     
  • At 8:15 am, Blogger verniciousknids said…

    Welcome Lou, and thanks for your kind words. I loved your drawings too - especially that towel :)

    Your blog's name reminded me of sharing my shower with geckos in Thailand :p

     
  • At 8:18 am, Blogger verniciousknids said…

    Carolyn, only the two so far - English and Japanese...but I'm adept with a phrasebook when I travel :p

    I enjoy reading your vents!

     
  • At 4:23 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I just came across your blog. Very interesting combination of topics. Keep up the good work.

     
  • At 5:04 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Nice touch to base your explanation on chocolate!

     
  • At 5:45 pm, Blogger verniciousknids said…

    Thanks for your kind words blog reader!

     
  • At 5:45 pm, Blogger verniciousknids said…

    I wondered if anyone would notice this anon - it seemed the obvious word to choose given my blog's name :p

     
  • At 3:34 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    A very interesting read.

     
  • At 11:24 am, Blogger verniciousknids said…

    Glad you enjoyed it anon...

     
  • At 7:31 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I've never read Roald Dahl myself so it was a compelete education. My blog's name is a portmanteau of homonyms and human.

     
  • At 12:21 am, Blogger David Edward said…

    no offense- you are so wacked out!!! I named mine Sugarloaf mountain, because it is the highest point in our valley 9952 ft elevation (3033 meters) and then I climbed it for the first time im May.

     

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