polenta

Kyung asked me about the meaning of my pic POCHA.
POCHA is a nickname which has become a little old-fashioned here today. I don't even know if this nickname is used all over Spanish -speaking countries. It's not connected to any real name like Pepe is for José or Pancho is for Francisco etc.
I Know Dick is a nickname for Richard, Jack for John, Bill for William etc.
I WONDER IF LIKE IN "POCHA" THERE ARE NICKNAMES CONNECTED TO NOTHING IN ENGLISH. I'VE TRIED TO REMEMBER AND COULDN'T DO IT. Maybe they change in US, UK, Canada, South Africa etc.

Baldur

I think it's totally regional polenta
In English nicknames for John include not only Jack, but also Johnny.
William can get turned into Bill, and also Billy, Will, Willy, Wills (British mostly).
Henry can become Hank.
A few nonconnected ones (there are doubtless quite a few more) would be Bubba, Mack, Buddy, and even Junior.

Baldur

Jack is used in some areas for just about anyone, if the actual name isn't known. It does not convey a lot of respect in that instance.

Dude is also in common usage, right now. In this case men within a small cluster friends will refer to each other that way in conversation.

Baldur

In some Southern parts of the US the name Sonny is used often.

Baldur

I never knew that Pancho was connected to Francisco, thank you for that bit of information.

polenta

Very kind of you Baldur. Maybe that's why I hadn't heard almost any nonconnected nicknames as you call them.
Here there are quite a lot nonconnected ones but they may be regional too.
This is also knowledge of a language, isn't it?
I knew about Will, Hank, etc.
Everything man has created is always interesting. Thanks again.

Qsilv

Interesting thread, Polenta... gotta agree with Baldur, these nicknames are rather regional. Although, having said that, I'm thinking it's a lot less so as people move around more easily and also use the internet so freely. TV helps spread some of our quirks too. We don't actually become homogenized, but our repertoire gets richer.

Qsilv

I've always been aware of (and used) another peculiarity... not nicknames exactly, but casual endearments. In a more formal society they wouldn't do, but America is mostly pretty casual. So in the South people call each other "Honey", and in the movie and theatrical areas like Hollywood and New York City people toss around "Darling". These can be said casually, cutely, quite impersonally -- almost demeaningly so -- or actually with a lot of warmth.

Login

An interesting thread, polenta.

In UK, Henry also becomes Hal or (more frequently) Harry.
Elizabeth converts to Betty, Bet or Beth.
Dorothy is sometimes shortened to Dot.
Margaret becomes Maggie.

Most of these could be called 'shortened versions'.
'Unrelated' needs more thought ... give me time ...

Login

Oh! I forgot ... Margaret also becomes Peggy ... quite obscure.

polenta

Thank you all for your collaboration. I can't believe that after more than 50 years learning or knowing the English language , I'm beginning to realize English doesn't have what Baldur smartly calls "nonconnected" nicknames.
And it seems it's not only regional. Login is British and it seems the same in UK.
After all a name is A WHOLE WORLD. Even God in Genesis created things and immediately NAMED them.
Maybe we have to thank Rachel she gave us the advantage of giving a title or naming our drawings.
I should call you all "honey", "sweetie", "darling"..... or even POCHA. LOL

polenta

Login,
Rereading your comment here, I realized how good you are at writing. It's a beautiful example for my students. You repeat the same concept using synonims.
First BECOMES, then CONVERTS, after that SHORTENED and finally BECOMES.
Younger people don't even try to use such a variety and sound boring and repetitive. I might even show this to some students of mine with your previous permission of course.

Login

Thanks for the compliment, polenta. Permission granted, of course.

I think I've just woken up to what you mean by unconnected nicknames ... names like 'mate' 'pal' 'sunshine' 'love' 'petal' ... or have I misunderstood you?

stevedover1965

How about "Alright me old cocker", this is a saying that comes to mind.

puzzler

Where I grew up, you could be called, 'me duck'. In Norfolk, both men and boys can be refered to as 'boy'.
Australians call women sheilas, I believe.

polenta

Login I'll use your permission.
I think there must not be nicknames in English like we have in Spanish apart from John/Jack/ Johnnie/Beth/Will/Bill etc.
In Spanish we have nicknames that never appear in your Identity Document. It's just everybody calls you like that.
In English you can say Love, Darling, Honey, Sweetie and some more but would a wife tolerate another woman to call her husband Honey??????

Well, here we have nicknames everybody can call you like this even if it's not a real name in any document.
For example: CACHO, CACHITO, NEGRO, NEGRA, GORDO, GORDA, CHUCHO, COCO, COCA, CHULA, LALO, BEBA, BEBE, PIRULO, LUCHO, etc.

Of course some others are also short forms of the real name such as SEBA for SEBASTIAN, ALE for ALEJANDRO, etc.

polenta

thanks to everyone for teaching me so much!!!

Qsilv

(smiles) to answer the bit about a wife tolerating another woman calling her husband "honey"... it depends so totally on the way it's done.

Frankly, these are such casual terms that there's typically no real intimacy in them... and I myself use them indiscriminately on men, women, girls, boys, and critters!

Sugar bring me those files? Oh honey, that's exactly what I wanted and couldn't find anywhere... you're an absolute jewel! Babes, if I have to explain that one more time I swear we're all going to stay late. You darling --thank you! Yes lovey, you are the sweetest cat on earth and yes I'll rub your ears but GET - OFF - THE - COMPUTER....etc ...lol

It's just a little startling to ME to hear the word "tolerate"... so possessive.

Seems worth noting that you can call a person anything including quite formal terms like "sir" or "ma'am" or "miss" or "Ms" or "Mrs" or "Mr" or "doctor" etc ad absurdum, but if when doing so you change your tone... lower your voice a note, slow the pace, look jusssst so... now you're treading on a gossamer pathway that *could* well hurt a partner's feelings.

Even then of course they could be merely amused at your making a fool of yourself ...so it depends on intent... and trust and power... more than words per se, doesn't it?

polenta

yes.......................there's still lots to learn about language, isn't there?

The famous experiment of speaking to a baby:
a) TERRIBLE, ANGRY TONE, GANGSTERLIKE FACE GESTURES
saying : "You are a beautiful baby".
CONSEQUENCE: Baby cries.
b) SMILE COVERING ALL YOUR FACE FROM ONE EAR TO THE OTHER,
SOFT VOICE: " You are a stupid baby".
CONSEQUENCE: Baby smiles.

Qsilv

... maybe music and art came before words and names...? ;>