Parents and Kids' Street Names

-

LeSean McCoy, American NFL star and one of the SPEAK show panelists. He got his nickname
 'Shady' from his mother. We all have family nicknames. What's yours?

Kids change their names to be accepted by other kids on the block or school. It’s not uncommon for parents to open the door and find some boys looking for G-Man.

‘Nobody by that name. Sorry, wrong house.’

‘It’s O.K. mom. They are looking for me,’ says Grayson over his mother’s shoulder.

Sometimes it’s not intentional. Nicknames are prompted by what kids excel in, good or bad. Someone good in basketball might end up with a nickname like Point Guard. A schoolboy that likes girls might be baptized Smoothie by his age mates. Sometimes nicknames live forever. In some instances, owners grow up and discard them because they find them embarrassing. Kids with names that are not English shorten their names or shortened by other kids.

Yoruba names for example. It is one of the languages widely spoken in Nigeria and has been exposed to the world through musicians like Kizz Daniel. When a child is born, parents say: oluwa … which means god. That’s why names like Oluwaseun and Oluwafemi are common. Kids born in the U.S. end up being called Olu, or just Lu. Therefore, it’s not a nickname as such, just a short version of their Yoruba birth name.

Having said that, kids like changing their names because they can. Unlike Prince William’s son George, who is stuck with George till eternity. He can never call himself G-Man. Kids are very creative. Here are some samples:

Isaac becomes Izzy

Thulani becomes T-Za

Travis becomes T-Way

Duke becomes D-Man

Thomas becomes T-Boy


Nonqaba waka Msimang

Executive Blogger

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Elections And Political Bullies

-
Image
Forget democracy.   It should be called political bullying. We are watching it in the prelude to the Canadian election on the 19 th of October, 2015.   Americans have also started their political bullying for the looming presidential election next year. So many trees wasted on books about democracy.   Some countries have big budgets for invading other countries ‘ to defend democracy’ but it is seldom practised in campaigning for elections.   Calling opponents names and printing flyers attacking each other is behaviour that will not be tolerated in kindergarten, but it is all legal, in campaigning.   It is irritating and such a let-down to the whole notion of democracy.   Grown-up men and women behaving like Grade One kids. It is also misleading because many voters believe it is real hatred.   Don’t let that fool you.   These politicians play golf together, attend the same dinner parties, eat and drink at the same social events, share jokes and cut deals in parliament.   They
Read more

Comfort Food As Regret Food

-
Image
Chicken curry. Comfort food is good for the soul, which usually bleeds in winter from icy roads, bad drivers that want to annihilate pedestrians, frozen fingers and toes that take a sabbatical.   What happened to my toes?   I thought I was wearing special socks for boots? We therefore have a right to comfort food which throws doctors’ orders out of the window and has no loyalty to calories.   No calculator on the table, thanks very much.   Piece of bread 5 calories, half a banana 10 calories, sugar-free cheesecake 2,000 calories.   Ah! Ah!  We only live once. Naw!   Comfort food is old school food with its compulsory second helping.   It involves licking fingers and giving a big sigh, about the good life, which is shelter, food, love and debt.   The problem is the zip.   The jeans remind you that comfort food can also be called you will regret food .   Home sweet home is even sweeter in winter after surviving blowing snow and bumper to bumper traffic. What is more welcoming th
Read more

Einstein Passengers

-
Image
Being a passenger is very stressful.   You must listen to the owner of the car, nod and grumble yes to everything he says because you don’t want to piss him off. Two things can happen if you disagree with the driver: he can lose concentration and you all end up in a mash-up accident or stop the car and ask you to get out.   That is the driver’s prerogative.   You must listen to me if you are a passenger in my car.   Let’s flip the script for a minute and sympathise with the driver if she has a passenger who is more intelligent than Albert Einstein. He talks non-stop.   It is all about himself, how right he is, how good he is, how stupid his boss is. Einstein is also a driving instructor.   “Careful.   Look at that guy.   Is he crazy or something? ” says Einstein. Einstein is the unofficial pilot.   He presses imaginary brakes in the passenger seat when the driver stops abruptly for a guy who is texting on his bicycle. A certain Einstein took it to another level.   S
Read more