Viera naming convention

[RicaRuin]

... I am german and see no german influences in that naming convention whatsoever. Other languages combine words as well.

I rather meant the sound of the syllables and the writing. Seems more nordic to me.

[LineageRazor]

Other languages combine words as well.

This may be true, but Germans elevate the practice to a fine art!

[Shadygrove]

In FFXII, Viera have short two-syllable names that have a very Icelandic or Norse feel to them. Incidentally, Norse is where the pronunciation of Viera names comes from; "j" is pronounced like "y" in that language. I could easily see FFXIV Vieras having a similar naming scheme.

Ummm... Norse isn't written in any variant of the roman alphabet. Its written in futhark.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Futhark

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elder_Futhark



As each letter has a word or concept associated with it, would not this be taken into account when making names?

[ObsidianFire]

Um... Norse is a dead language and isn't spoken anymore. The closest you could get would be Icelandic which uses the normal Roman alphabet. The even includes "þ" and "ð" which used to be part of Old and Middle English and were eventually dropped for the "th" notation. Incidentally, Icelandic is similar enough to Old Norse that there is very little translation need between the two languages as it is.

The Viera use modern Icelandic names which are almost identical to Old Norse names.

[RicaRuin]

Latin is dead as well and Garlemald never cared.

So I could see old norse working for Viera names, at least.

[SerenityIsBae]

For what it's worth, I believe males and females would have very similar or the same naming conventions, what with being indistiguishable until the age of 13. There's always the possibility that males change their names when they leave the village or are assigned a new one by the one who takes them away, of course...

Male and female viera aren't "indistinguishable" pre-puberty. Their tribes just treat all the children equally regardless of gender until then.

[Lodovica]

Male and female viera aren't "indistinguishable" pre-puberty. Their tribes just treat all the children equally regardless of gender until then.

As stated in the game by the Wandering Dramaturge:

Wandering Dramaturge: It is estimated that upwards of eight in ten Viera are born female, though it is not until at least the thirteenth nameday --when the individual moves from adolescence into adulthood--that the individual's gender becomes apparent.
Wandering Dramaturge: Then, for the next two centuries will the Viera maintain its physical youth, rendering it nigh impossible to discern one's age simply from outward appearances.
Wandering Dramaturge: When it is revealed that a Viera kit is a male, it will be given into the care of another, that it may learn the ways of the Wood-warder--protectors of the forest.
Wandering Dramaturge: Once every three to five summers, male Viera will descent from the trees to a nearby village to mate.
Wandering Dramaturge: It is at this time, if there are any recently discovered jacks still living among the females, that the older male will make them his wards and teach them how to survive without the crutch of companionship.

[SerenityIsBae]

I know this thread is old, but "not apparent" doesn't mean "indistinguishable."
If Alisaie and Alphinaud were both in identical clothing, the difference between them is not apparent, but they are not indistinguishable from each other.

[WhiteArchmage]

You'd still be wrong, we have confirmation from Matsuno himself and the EE3 that Vieran children don't develop sexual characteristics until their teenage years.

Furthermore, a Viera's sex is indeterminate until the body fully develops during adolescence, which begins around thirteen to fifteen years of age, and 70-80 percent develop as female.

I assume this is a question of semantics in which you're taking "indistinguishable" to mean that Viera kits are identical and can be confused for one another, when "indistinguishable" here means "can't distinguish which is a boy and which is a girl", which is what the lore is saying.