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Heretical Room Mate
My buddy Micke and his Japanese college room mate: "I'm Ken Nakamura. Ken means 'heresy'!" "Really? That's kind of... odd." "Yes! It means 'HERESY'! Rike when you are never sick!" "Ahaaa, you mean 'healthy'..." "Yes! Correct! What does your name...
Dr. Martin Rundkvist is a Swedish archaeologist, journal editor, public speaker, chairman of the Swedish Skeptics Society, atheist, lefty liberal, bookworm, and father of two.
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Category: Humour • Language
Posted on: July 4, 2010 3:33 PM, by Martin R
My buddy Micke and his Japanese college room mate:
"I'm Ken Nakamura. Ken means 'heresy'!"
"Really? That's kind of... odd."
"Yes! It means 'HERESY'! Rike when you are never sick!"
"Ahaaa, you mean 'healthy'..."
"Yes! Correct! What does your name mean?"
Comments
It would be SO cool if my name meant "heresy"...
Posted by: Ken | July 4, 2010 5:39 PM
@Ken: Try and find (or invent) a language where it does.
Posted by: codero | July 5, 2010 3:52 AM
Heresy sounds like a cool name.. :)
Posted by: Noel - Best Acoustic Guitar | July 5, 2010 4:04 AM
Speaking of cool names, I knew my linguistic skills had reached new heights when I learned to say the name of movie actor Charles Bronson in Cantonese.
Repeat after me: Cha-lay-see Beh-lon-son.
Posted by: Sandgroper | July 5, 2010 6:47 AM
In fact, I think the name "Ashemok" (who figures in the Arda Viraf) actually means 'heretic'. I will look it up in the commented edition I have at work.
/ Mattias
Posted by: Mattias | July 6, 2010 12:57 PM
I had never heard of the Arda Viraf before, but Wikipedia tells me that it is a piece of mid-1st millennium Zoroastrian religious scripture. In the 1st chapter, we read:
"7. And this religion, namely, all the Avesta and Zand, written upon prepared cow-skins, and with gold ink, was deposited in the archives, in Stakhar Papakan, (8) and the hostility of the evil-destined, wicked Ashemok, the evil-doer, brought onward Alexander, the Roman, who was dwelling in Egypt, and he burned them up."
Bad, bad Alexander. Apparently Ashemok is mentioned only once in the Arda Viraf. You are scarily erudite, Matte!
Posted by: Martin R | July 6, 2010 1:12 PM
And then there is of course Akhenaten aka Echnaton the Heretic. Wouldn't it be cool to be named after an offbeat Pharaoh?
Posted by: codero | July 7, 2010 4:50 AM
Or an Assyrian king. Tukulti-apil-Esharra III, for example.
Posted by: Martin R | July 7, 2010 5:05 AM
I looked it up, Ashemok does indeed mean 'heretic'. I just remembered it since a friend who is a farsologist told me this when we once discussed the Arda Viraf. So it's not erudition, just plain memory.
/ Mattias
Posted by: Mattias | July 7, 2010 7:43 AM