Seeking Russian placenames ...

[vashtan.livejournal.com]

Hi guys, this is a somewhat strange request ... (and sorry if it's too off-topic):

I'm looking for Russian-based fantasy names for locations (a whole planet of locations, but half a dozen to a dozen would be a great start). It can be bastardised Russian, even archaic Russian, and I'm looking for a good sound and good look above "authenticity", but it would be great if Russians reading the map wouldn't die laughing. :)

The planet we're talking about is a mountainous, very windy, harsh place to live.

Names like "Stormy ocean", "grandfather mountain", "barren earth", "testing ground", "dead colony" in Russian would be perfect (if they sound/look good). Please also provide a translation - and, yes, in English transcription (where possible). I can read cyrillic, but the target audience can't. All help much appreciated.

Please, help?

Edit: embarrassing typo.

Comments

[cheytobot.livejournal.com]

it's interesting.
how about some more detailed explanation of what you exactly want by email?
if you want, write to adskiy_sotona@mail.ru

Message sent*

[vashtan.livejournal.com]

Heya,

I sent you a message

Message

[stepanich.livejournal.com]

Please, send me the same.

[freedomcry.livejournal.com]

Lovely idea. I'll try three of them:

stormy ocean – Buremoir (буря+море, with a Gaelic kind of soft ending)

grandfather mountain – Daedgora (дед+гора, spelling reflects the archaic ě (yat) in дед)

dead colony - Giblagir (гиблый, a nice word for something dead that isn't a creature + лагерь "camp"; we can presume it's haplologized from *giblă-lager^*). I'm worried about лагерь being a Germanic loanword, which I'm not sure isn't an anachronism (though some Germanic borrowings are very old), but the euphony would be a pity to lose.

Woah...

[vashtan.livejournal.com]

... these are great. Look great, sound great. "Lager" is German, but "lagir" is a good bastardisation. Please, do go on. We have a lot more planets to detail, and the Russkians were in several places! So, the more the merrier. :)

Re: Woah...

[freedomcry.livejournal.com]

Well, suggest more meanings. It's better when you have something to begin with (though right now I can't think of anything of the same quality for the rest of the first batch).

[brazhe.livejournal.com]

село Ветродуево (village Vetroduevo)

[vashtan.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

What does it mean, what is the root? :)

[brazhe.livejournal.com]

"Ветер" stands for wind and "Дуть" for to blow

[brazhe.livejournal.com]

And some more:

Пустырище (Pustyrishe -- that's for barren earth)
Бабоягинск (Baboyaginks -- from the folk character, an infernal old lady)

It is also notable, that Russians normally don't like to use too pathetic places, however harsh the conditions are. We usually put some diminishing and humour to them.

[brazhe.livejournal.com]

sorry, meant don't like too pathetic _nameplaces_, i.e. don't like to call the harsh place a harsh name :)

Ah...

[vashtan.livejournal.com]

... great. :) So, give me ironic names. "eye of the storm" or "calm", or "pretty" or any of the examples with a Russian-ironic twist to it.

At the moment, bodies of water would be great... ("calm/nice/pleasant ocean", "weelcoming coast", "peaceful gulf", "great/welcomuing island")

Thanks!

[oryx_and_crake]

I don't think so. Remember Nekrasov's:

Заплатово, Дырявино,
Разутово, Знобишино,
Горелово, Неелово,
Неурожайка тож.

[mladshii.livejournal.com]

pustyrishe sounde really greate, very lonely and hazardous

[stepanich.livejournal.com]

"grandfather mountain" - "Dedova gora"(as for me this is beter than "Daedgora")
"barren earth" - "Pustosh" (free/leaved place, from word "pustota" - "emptiness")
"Stargorod or Stargrad" - "star"(old)+"gorod/grad"(town)
"Shmoni" - "rumble's"(real village:)

What book you are writing? If it's not a secret:)

[n0mad-sexhex.livejournal.com]

2 initial poster. Beware: Shmoni definitely = frisking (like in cop's ransack) for every 3rd Russian I know %)

[oryx_and_crake]

I think Ded-gora is great - don't forget that people tend to personify places like mountains and rivers.

[oryx_and_crake]

And "Shmoni" definitely does not sound Russian to me. Which Russian word do you derive it from?

[stepanich.livejournal.com]

Это название древни просто врезалось в память когда прошлым летом ездил в Кировскую область на машине. Вообще много совершенно потрясающих названий видел, к сожелению большинство из низ непереводимы:)

[stepanich.livejournal.com]

"Mutnya" river - muddy/troubled
"Shirokaya" river - wide; broad
"Glubokoe" lake - deep
"Zmeinoe" gorge, ravine, "Zmeiniy" canyon - snakes
town/village "Gopa Mira" - very far away, literally "ass of the world":)))
"Krasniy" Ocean, "Krasnay" river, "Krasnoe" sea - red/beautiful/(colour of blood)

[kehlen-crow.livejournal.com]

This is a really cool question. Here are the names I have come up with.

BTW, you said FANTASY - what kind of magic is in the world? What creatures? What weapons? It may be reflexed in the names. What battles? In the aftertimes the sites often take battle/hero's name. Do you need taverns'/shops' names as well? You could send me a mail too, woronowa dot elena at gmail dot com, and I will create something with them ;)

Villages:
Пустополье (Pustopolie, Empty Field, meaning it is not fertile);
Медвежий угол [волчий, заячий, олений, лисий...] (Medvejy ugol, [volchy, zajachy, oleny, lisy] Bears' [wolves', hairs', deers', foxes'... any animal's] corner, for a village somewhere in the forest with bears)
Буреломье (Burelomie, burelom - the trees fallen during storms)
Акулина гора (Akulina gora, for a fishermen's village on a hill or high shore, double meaning - shark hill, and Akulina (name) hill)

Rivers
Змеинка (Zmeinka - double meaning, it змеится, winds, and there are some nests of snakes around)
Болотный ручей (Bolotny ruchey, Swamp brook)

Mountains
Рваные горы (Rvanye gory, Ragged mountains - specially if formerly distorted by magic (like in The Witch World of Andre Norton, if you have read that one)
Весёлый перевал (Vesely pereval, Merry passover - merry means it's the opposite VERY hard to cross)
Ущелье тысячи голосов (Ushchelie tysjachi golosov, The ravine of a thousand voices, for an echoy one)
Рогатая гора (Rogataya gora, Horned mountain, may be allusion to the horned one, the devil)
Полуночные горы (Polunochnye gory, Midnight mountains)

Forests
Призрачный лес (Prizrachny les, Ghost forest)
Мраколесье (Mrakolesie, Forest of Gloom)

Islands
Циклонный (Ziklonny, Cyclone's)
Око бури (Oko buri, Eye of the storm)
Каменный (Kamenny, Stony, for one where there is naught but stones)

Seas, oceans, bays, peninsulas
Хвост бешеной акулы (Hvost beshenoj akuly, Mad shark's tail - peninsula)
Зуб (Zub, Tooth [Cape])
Пролив Тайфунов (Proliv taifunov, Typhoon channel, for one that is TOO calm)
Заветренный (Zavetrenny, Cape, Leeward, but also a food that stays too long without a packet or a refrigerator becomes such).
Ленивая бухта (Lenivaja buhta, Lazy bay, for a one with strong currents and very difficult for a ship to enter)
Море рома (More roma, Rum sea, named by an old seadog ;) )
Океaн штормов (Okean shtormov, Stromy ocean, if it's really calm).

Phew, I'm tired of it, but may continue if necessary.

N.B. Bold letters are stressed (just in case)

[brazhe.livejournal.com]

aha, Murkwood (or was it Mirkwood?) by Tolkien :)

[towarysc.livejournal.com]

Stormy ocean - Burny, Buyny, Burlivy.
Barren earth - Pustosh, Pustyn.
Testing ground - Poligon? (Too modern word, but can't think of synonims).
Dead colony - maybe "Mertvy Stan" (Мёртвый стан)?

[oryx_and_crake]

Poligonovka

that would be a mix of a modern word with a traditional ending for a village name (-овка)
But I am afraid a modern word is unavoidable here because there was no such thing or concept as "testing ground" in traditional Russian life anyway.

Mertvy Stan sounds cool, I like it

[vadim-proskurin.livejournal.com]

Киберспасск (http://www.vilvit.net/forum/index.php?s=6eb241098cfca3920de30c3726606a8c&act=Attach&type=post&id=574) (smth. like "cyber-salvation") town.