You may recall that nearly every Sherlock Holmes story would feature a little vignette where Holmes would make some dazzling display of what author Conan Doyle called “the science of deduction”. You remember the routine; some character would come across Holmes’s path, and Holmes would then proceed to make a series of razor-sharp, breezy deductions about the person’s life from something as simple as a smudge of mud on his shoe, or a blemish on his hand. Everyone would gasp in astonishment, and Holmes would establish his dominance. Are such a feats of observation possible in real life? Can one train one’s observation skills to such a high level? Well, probably not. But you can still improve your observation skills with hard work. I have seen extremely shrewd merchants in Cairo’s Khan al-Khalili market identify a wealth of information about foreigners in under a minute, just from observing them. And the overall effect was amazing.
While Conan Doyle was exaggerating “deduction” for literary effect, the fact remains that sharp powers of observation can pay huge dividends in social interactions. Whether your goal is to improve your gaming skills, negotiation skills at work, or social abilities in general, training yourself to become an observer of people is a critical talent. We can sharpen our powers of observation to a high degree by systematically focusing on a few areas. For example, facial construction and clothing are two areas that can be studied in detail with great profit. I enjoy names. Let’s call it the Name Game.
Remember the Grimm’s fairy tale “Rumpelstiltskin”? What enabled the maiden to triumph over the evil imp was her discovery of his name. Like many fairy tales, it can be interpreted allegorically as representing a subconscious psychological truth. The imp knew the maiden had gained power over him by unmasking his name and, by extension, his identity. The idea that names represent our inner selves is a very ancient one, probably going back to prehistoric days when totems and taboos surrounded place-names and certain objects. When someone can hone in on our name, and learn something about us—however insignificant—that person can be seen to have gained a subtle psychological advantage over us. I know from experience that, in the right circumstances, revealing some detail about a person’s name and place of origin can often give you an edge in a social interplay. Even if you are totally wrong in your guess, the attempt alone demonstrates awareness of cultures and nations. And that is what really matters.
The first and easiest step is to train yourself to recognize the ethnic origin of any name at a glance. For example, Russian names often end in –ov or –in; Armenian names in –ian, Greek names in –os, -is, or –on; Latvian names in –ius. These suffixes are often vestiges of inflectional endings in these respective languages. Finnish, Danish, Norweigan, Polish, and Swedish are easily distinguishable with a little practice; Arabic, Turkish, and Iranian names are also easily recognizable with some eye for detail. Nigerian, Ethiopic, and Kenyan names all have specific flavors and forms, and these are often closely bound up with tribal affiliations in these countries. Bosnian names have a South Slav “feel” but with Turkish overtones. I could continue, but you get the idea.
Every country and ethnic group in the world has a specific “flavor” of surname. Your job is to learn the flavor and be able to spot it instantly. People with language talent do well at the Name Game. You would be surprised how many people never bother to learn the basics of names. But if you want to be mingle with international women, you need to develop this skill.
The next step, which is more difficult, is to be able to probe more deeply into the surname. Can you associate a surname with a specific region in a country? Does it bear a tribal or ethnic affiliation? Does it have a specific meaning? This is hardly an exact science, and the rules will vary from country to country. But a bit of research and practice get you off to a running start. If you know you are visiting a specific country in advance, it would be worth it to put in some effort to ethnographic geography. For example, the Celtic nations (Ireland, Scotland, Wales) all have strong county and surname correlations: specific surnames can be traced to specific counties. The same holds true for the Scandinavian, Iberian (Spain and Portugal) and Mediterranean nations. For countries in the New World, the name game work as well, since almost everyone is an immigrant, but at least you can display some ethnographic knowledge of the Old Country. Take a look at the surname distribution in Spain by region:
Despite all the travel and intermixing in the modern world, tribalism still has very strong roots and remains a fact of anthropology. A great many family names in any given country can be traced to specific regions in that country. There are country-specific lexicons and resource books available that give the geographic origin of family names for many nations. I have one for a country in the eastern Mediterranean, and it has detailed history of each family’s origin, religion, and various branches.
To demonstrate how this operates in practice, let us consider Italy and France as random examples. Let’s look at France first. In France, names that end in –ac are often from the southwest region (and some are from Brittany). The German-sounding names are often from the Alsace region. Typical Norman names (from Normandy) are Langlois and Duval, but most are similar to those of French-speaking parts of Belgium, Picardie, and Nord-pas-de-Calais. Spanish sounding French names, of course, would originate in the Pyrenees region (bordering Spain). With Italy, and the perhaps stronger connection between family and region, the rules are easier to lay out. Shown below are various regions in Italy, and the types of surname suffixes that hail from that region. In parentheses, some example names are provided for illustration:
Piemonte: -ero/-ario (Barbero, Sobrario), -esio (Gorresio), -audi/aldi (Rambaudi)
Liguria: -asco (Cevasco)
Lombardia: -ago/-aghi/-ati (Arconati), -atti/-etti (Orsatti), -di/-oldi (Soldi, Giraboldi), -ingo/-engo (Martinengo)
Toscana: -otti/-utti/-ut/-ot (Bertolotti, Biasutti, Franzot)
Sardegna: -au (Biddau, Madau), -as (Cannas, Piras), -u (Caffedu)
Sicilia: -isi (Puglisi), -aloro (Favaloro, Orghialoro)
Finally, some caveats are in order here. I am not saying that the Name Game is going to be a deciding factor in any social interaction. Alone, it is only of academic use. It is not a magic wand that will enable you to compensate for weak social skills in other areas. In fact, it is a very minor arrow in your social quiver. Furthermore, the average person won’t be able to deploy the Name Game without some solid background work. If you haven’t done the work, you’re better off keeping your mouth shut and practicing your “nodding game”. But you never know when some piece of information can ride to your rescue.
When it comes to game, everything is part of everything else. And everything matters. Game is all about situational awareness, that intangible “feel” for the situation and the target. So, don’t look for cure-alls, and don’t expect magic bullets. I’m only offering a small bit of advice on a small part of the overall equation. The right Name Game observation dropped at the right time can work wonders.
If the rest of your social skills are tight, playing the Name Game successfully can have a big impact on the interaction. I remember one time I was talking to this beautiful Kenyan girl who was being very polite but noticeably cool to my approach. After hearing her name, I was able to tell her what tribe she belonged to (Kikuyu) and what specific part of Kenya her family hailed from. I could see her defenses melt in an instant, and from that point on I could do no wrong.
As chance would have it, I had recently finished a basic book on East African history and geography and had some of this information at my fingertips. Africa is a great continent to play the Name Game, since tribal affiliation and regionalism there are still relatively strong. Take note. Nigeria, for example, is composed of very specific tribal and sectarian groupings, each with names that are easily identified.
Work towards being as well-read as you can be in geography, history, anthropology, and languages. These areas all help. Mastering the etymology of names for the country of your choice can be an interesting diversion that may help you where you least expect it. And in a larger sense, if you train yourself to become an astute observer of human behavior in all its various habitats and manifestations, your effort will be rewarded.
Read More: Two Ways To Pursue Happiness
No offense, but I think there are many more things that are far more relevant than becoming an expert in name ethymology.
No offense, but I think there are many more things that are far more relevant than becoming an expert in name ethymology.
Yeah, I know that already. I already said that openly and clearly in the fifth paragraph from the end of the article. Re-read it.
But the guys reading this site have already heard just about every bit of game observation and advice from a hundred different mouths. I don’t want to just rehash the same platitudes over and over again. Time for something you haven’t heard before. Sometimes it’s useful to get into arcane stuff, just to keep things interesting. A larger point is that if you’re going to visit a foreign country, you need to do your homework.
Yeah, I know that already. I already said that openly and clearly in the fifth paragraph from the end of the article. Re-read it.
But the guys reading this site have already heard just about every bit of game observation and advice from a hundred different mouths. I don’t want to just rehash the same platitudes over and over again. Time for something you haven’t heard before. Sometimes it’s useful to get into arcane stuff, just to keep things interesting. A larger point is that if you’re going to visit a foreign country, you need to do your homework.
Yeah, I know that already. I already said that openly and clearly in the fifth paragraph from the end of the article. Re-read it.
But the guys reading this site have already heard just about every bit of game observation and advice from a hundred different mouths. I don’t want to just rehash the same platitudes over and over again. Time for something you haven’t heard before. Sometimes it’s useful to get into arcane stuff, just to keep things interesting. A larger point is that if you’re going to visit a foreign country, you need to do your homework.
Yeah, I know that already. I already said that openly and clearly in the fifth paragraph from the end of the article. Re-read it.
But the guys reading this site have already heard just about every bit of game observation and advice from a hundred different mouths. I don’t want to just rehash the same platitudes over and over again. Time for something you haven’t heard before. Sometimes it’s useful to get into arcane stuff, just to keep things interesting. A larger point is that if you’re going to visit a foreign country, you need to do your homework.
Yeah, I know that already. I already said that openly and clearly in the fifth paragraph from the end of the article. Re-read it.
But the guys reading this site have already heard just about every bit of game observation and advice from a hundred different mouths. I don’t want to just rehash the same platitudes over and over again. Time for something you haven’t heard before. Sometimes it’s useful to get into arcane stuff, just to keep things interesting. A larger point is that if you’re going to visit a foreign country, you need to do your homework.
Yeah, I know that already. I already said that openly and clearly in the fifth paragraph from the end of the article. Re-read it.
But the guys reading this site have already heard just about every bit of game observation and advice from a hundred different mouths. I don’t want to just rehash the same platitudes over and over again. Time for something you haven’t heard before. Sometimes it’s useful to get into arcane stuff, just to keep things interesting. A larger point is that if you’re going to visit a foreign country, you need to do your homework.
Yeah, I know that already. I already said that openly and clearly in the fifth paragraph from the end of the article. Re-read it.
But the guys reading this site have already heard just about every bit of game observation and advice from a hundred different mouths. I don’t want to just rehash the same platitudes over and over again. Time for something you haven’t heard before. Sometimes it’s useful to get into arcane stuff, just to keep things interesting. A larger point is that if you’re going to visit a foreign country, you need to do your homework.
Good you’re not re-hashing good advice.
But…
Too much effort – little chance of it working. Better to learn catch phrases from certain countries. Or learn astrology – girls eat that up. Or just hit the gym and be done with the tricks.
Good you’re not re-hashing good advice.
But…
Too much effort – little chance of it working. Better to learn catch phrases from certain countries. Or learn astrology – girls eat that up. Or just hit the gym and be done with the tricks.
I do know phrases from certain countries. I can do bullshit palm readings. I also hit the gym. So now I will be mindful about this new tool. If you’re limited on time, it wouldn’t make much sense, but the marginal cost of adding this technique is small for me, and does not cost me in other areas.
Good you’re not re-hashing good advice.
But…
Too much effort – little chance of it working. Better to learn catch phrases from certain countries. Or learn astrology – girls eat that up. Or just hit the gym and be done with the tricks.
Good you’re not re-hashing good advice.
But…
Too much effort – little chance of it working. Better to learn catch phrases from certain countries. Or learn astrology – girls eat that up. Or just hit the gym and be done with the tricks.
Yeah, I know that already. I already said that openly and clearly in the fifth paragraph from the end of the article. Re-read it.
But the guys reading this site have already heard just about every bit of game observation and advice from a hundred different mouths. I don’t want to just rehash the same platitudes over and over again. Time for something you haven’t heard before. Sometimes it’s useful to get into arcane stuff, just to keep things interesting. A larger point is that if you’re going to visit a foreign country, you need to do your homework.
No offense, but I think there are many more things that are far more relevant than becoming an expert in name ethymology.
No offense, but I think there are many more things that are far more relevant than becoming an expert in name ethymology.
No offense, but I think there are many more things that are far more relevant than becoming an expert in name ethymology.
No offense, but I think there are many more things that are far more relevant than becoming an expert in name ethymology.
No offense, but I think there are many more things that are far more relevant than becoming an expert in name ethymology.
This is a great post. Yes, I’ve found on many occasions that knowing something about a girl’s ethnic background helps lower her defenses and propels things forward. Guessing her nation of origin is the obvious one, but you’re taking it even a step further with narrowing it down to region and even tribe. For example, met a girl from Northern Ireland, knew she was Protestant and probably from Belfast. No big deal right? But it helped secure the bang.
I would still only study this if you’re like me and are genuinely interested in history and ethnography. But if you are, then it can come in handy.
This is a great post. Yes, I’ve found on many occasions that knowing something about a girl’s ethnic background helps lower her defenses and propels things forward. Guessing her nation of origin is the obvious one, but you’re taking it even a step further with narrowing it down to region and even tribe. For example, met a girl from Northern Ireland, knew she was Protestant and probably from Belfast. No big deal right? But it helped secure the bang.
I would still only study this if you’re like me and are genuinely interested in history and ethnography. But if you are, then it can come in handy.
Love that anecdote, man. I love that feeling of earning the conquest. You get it. That’s the power of knowledge.
This is a great post. Yes, I’ve found on many occasions that knowing something about a girl’s ethnic background helps lower her defenses and propels things forward. Guessing her nation of origin is the obvious one, but you’re taking it even a step further with narrowing it down to region and even tribe. For example, met a girl from Northern Ireland, knew she was Protestant and probably from Belfast. No big deal right? But it helped secure the bang.
I would still only study this if you’re like me and are genuinely interested in history and ethnography. But if you are, then it can come in handy.
This is a great post. Yes, I’ve found on many occasions that knowing something about a girl’s ethnic background helps lower her defenses and propels things forward. Guessing her nation of origin is the obvious one, but you’re taking it even a step further with narrowing it down to region and even tribe. For example, met a girl from Northern Ireland, knew she was Protestant and probably from Belfast. No big deal right? But it helped secure the bang.
I would still only study this if you’re like me and are genuinely interested in history and ethnography. But if you are, then it can come in handy.
This is a great post. Yes, I’ve found on many occasions that knowing something about a girl’s ethnic background helps lower her defenses and propels things forward. Guessing her nation of origin is the obvious one, but you’re taking it even a step further with narrowing it down to region and even tribe. For example, met a girl from Northern Ireland, knew she was Protestant and probably from Belfast. No big deal right? But it helped secure the bang.
I would still only study this if you’re like me and are genuinely interested in history and ethnography. But if you are, then it can come in handy.
This is a great post. Yes, I’ve found on many occasions that knowing something about a girl’s ethnic background helps lower her defenses and propels things forward. Guessing her nation of origin is the obvious one, but you’re taking it even a step further with narrowing it down to region and even tribe. For example, met a girl from Northern Ireland, knew she was Protestant and probably from Belfast. No big deal right? But it helped secure the bang.
I would still only study this if you’re like me and are genuinely interested in history and ethnography. But if you are, then it can come in handy.
This is a great post. Yes, I’ve found on many occasions that knowing something about a girl’s ethnic background helps lower her defenses and propels things forward. Guessing her nation of origin is the obvious one, but you’re taking it even a step further with narrowing it down to region and even tribe. For example, met a girl from Northern Ireland, knew she was Protestant and probably from Belfast. No big deal right? But it helped secure the bang.
I would still only study this if you’re like me and are genuinely interested in history and ethnography. But if you are, then it can come in handy.
This is a great post. Yes, I’ve found on many occasions that knowing something about a girl’s ethnic background helps lower her defenses and propels things forward. Guessing her nation of origin is the obvious one, but you’re taking it even a step further with narrowing it down to region and even tribe. For example, met a girl from Northern Ireland, knew she was Protestant and probably from Belfast. No big deal right? But it helped secure the bang.
I would still only study this if you’re like me and are genuinely interested in history and ethnography. But if you are, then it can come in handy.
I am a Latvian and don’t know a single Latvian name ending with -ius. I only know of Darius the persian king.
If I were a chick, this is where your attempt of scoring with me would end.
While showing knowledge might earn some plus points it earns you 100 times more minus points if you say something stupid and completly false while posing as an expert with a straight face.
I am a Latvian and don’t know a single Latvian name ending with -ius. I only know of Darius the persian king.
If I were a chick, this is where your attempt of scoring with me would end.
While showing knowledge might earn some plus points it earns you 100 times more minus points if you say something stupid and completly false while posing as an expert with a straight face.
I am a Latvian and don’t know a single Latvian name ending with -ius. I only know of Darius the persian king.
If I were a chick, this is where your attempt of scoring with me would end.
While showing knowledge might earn some plus points it earns you 100 times more minus points if you say something stupid and completly false while posing as an expert with a straight face.
My mistake…I meant to say Lithuanian, rather than Latvian (although Latvian names do seem to end in the letter “S” often). For example, the name of the city Vilnius when transliterated into English. My apologies. A Lithuanian commentator said it best this way:
“The endings for male names in Lithuanian are far and away these: “-us”, “-is”, “-ys”, and “-as”. It is accepted practice when referring to a surname in English to use the masculine singular ending, even though the endings for females vary by marital status. All married women use the ending “-iene”. So the wife of Mr. Petrauskas would be Mrs. Petrauskiene and the wife of Mr. Juchnevic^ius would be Mrs. Juchnevic^iene. But the unamrried daughters of these folks would be Miss Petrauskaite and Miss Juchnevic^iute. The rules are: if the father’s name ends in “-as”, the single daughter’s name ends in “-aite”; if it ends in “-us”, hers ends in “-ute”; if it ends in “-is” or “-ys”, hers end in “-yte.”
If an ethnic Lithuanian is named Juknevic^ius, then that is his name no matter where he is. And an ethnic Pole is named Juchnewicz in Poland, that is what his name would be in the U.S. Now some ethnic Lithuanians, influenced by Polish culture and language in the old country, used Polish spellings for their names. I have one such ancestor, an ethnic Lithuanian whose name on the records in the Archives in Lithuania is Prancis^kus Volodkev^icius, used the Polonized Francizek Walutkewicz in America as have all his children. However, when speaking among other Lithuanians, they always used the Lithuanian spelling.”
My mistake…I meant to say Lithuanian, rather than Latvian (although Latvian names do seem to end in the letter “S” often). For example, the name of the city Vilnius when transliterated into English. My apologies. A Lithuanian commentator said it best this way:
“The endings for male names in Lithuanian are far and away these: “-us”, “-is”, “-ys”, and “-as”. It is accepted practice when referring to a surname in English to use the masculine singular ending, even though the endings for females vary by marital status. All married women use the ending “-iene”. So the wife of Mr. Petrauskas would be Mrs. Petrauskiene and the wife of Mr. Juchnevic^ius would be Mrs. Juchnevic^iene. But the unamrried daughters of these folks would be Miss Petrauskaite and Miss Juchnevic^iute. The rules are: if the father’s name ends in “-as”, the single daughter’s name ends in “-aite”; if it ends in “-us”, hers ends in “-ute”; if it ends in “-is” or “-ys”, hers end in “-yte.”
If an ethnic Lithuanian is named Juknevic^ius, then that is his name no matter where he is. And an ethnic Pole is named Juchnewicz in Poland, that is what his name would be in the U.S. Now some ethnic Lithuanians, influenced by Polish culture and language in the old country, used Polish spellings for their names. I have one such ancestor, an ethnic Lithuanian whose name on the records in the Archives in Lithuania is Prancis^kus Volodkev^icius, used the Polonized Francizek Walutkewicz in America as have all his children. However, when speaking among other Lithuanians, they always used the Lithuanian spelling.”
Francizek Walutkewicz?
I’d Anglicise that to Frank Walnut
My mistake…I meant to say Lithuanian, rather than Latvian (although Latvian names do seem to end in the letter “S” often). For example, the name of the city Vilnius when transliterated into English. My apologies. A Lithuanian commentator said it best this way:
“The endings for male names in Lithuanian are far and away these: “-us”, “-is”, “-ys”, and “-as”. It is accepted practice when referring to a surname in English to use the masculine singular ending, even though the endings for females vary by marital status. All married women use the ending “-iene”. So the wife of Mr. Petrauskas would be Mrs. Petrauskiene and the wife of Mr. Juchnevic^ius would be Mrs. Juchnevic^iene. But the unamrried daughters of these folks would be Miss Petrauskaite and Miss Juchnevic^iute. The rules are: if the father’s name ends in “-as”, the single daughter’s name ends in “-aite”; if it ends in “-us”, hers ends in “-ute”; if it ends in “-is” or “-ys”, hers end in “-yte.”
If an ethnic Lithuanian is named Juknevic^ius, then that is his name no matter where he is. And an ethnic Pole is named Juchnewicz in Poland, that is what his name would be in the U.S. Now some ethnic Lithuanians, influenced by Polish culture and language in the old country, used Polish spellings for their names. I have one such ancestor, an ethnic Lithuanian whose name on the records in the Archives in Lithuania is Prancis^kus Volodkev^icius, used the Polonized Francizek Walutkewicz in America as have all his children. However, when speaking among other Lithuanians, they always used the Lithuanian spelling.”
My mistake…I meant to say Lithuanian, rather than Latvian (although Latvian names do seem to end in the letter “S” often). For example, the name of the city Vilnius when transliterated into English. My apologies. A Lithuanian commentator said it best this way:
“The endings for male names in Lithuanian are far and away these: “-us”, “-is”, “-ys”, and “-as”. It is accepted practice when referring to a surname in English to use the masculine singular ending, even though the endings for females vary by marital status. All married women use the ending “-iene”. So the wife of Mr. Petrauskas would be Mrs. Petrauskiene and the wife of Mr. Juchnevic^ius would be Mrs. Juchnevic^iene. But the unamrried daughters of these folks would be Miss Petrauskaite and Miss Juchnevic^iute. The rules are: if the father’s name ends in “-as”, the single daughter’s name ends in “-aite”; if it ends in “-us”, hers ends in “-ute”; if it ends in “-is” or “-ys”, hers end in “-yte.”
If an ethnic Lithuanian is named Juknevic^ius, then that is his name no matter where he is. And an ethnic Pole is named Juchnewicz in Poland, that is what his name would be in the U.S. Now some ethnic Lithuanians, influenced by Polish culture and language in the old country, used Polish spellings for their names. I have one such ancestor, an ethnic Lithuanian whose name on the records in the Archives in Lithuania is Prancis^kus Volodkev^icius, used the Polonized Francizek Walutkewicz in America as have all his children. However, when speaking among other Lithuanians, they always used the Lithuanian spelling.”
My mistake…I meant to say Lithuanian, rather than Latvian (although Latvian names do seem to end in the letter “S” often). For example, the name of the city Vilnius when transliterated into English. My apologies. A Lithuanian commentator said it best this way:
“The endings for male names in Lithuanian are far and away these: “-us”, “-is”, “-ys”, and “-as”. It is accepted practice when referring to a surname in English to use the masculine singular ending, even though the endings for females vary by marital status. All married women use the ending “-iene”. So the wife of Mr. Petrauskas would be Mrs. Petrauskiene and the wife of Mr. Juchnevic^ius would be Mrs. Juchnevic^iene. But the unamrried daughters of these folks would be Miss Petrauskaite and Miss Juchnevic^iute. The rules are: if the father’s name ends in “-as”, the single daughter’s name ends in “-aite”; if it ends in “-us”, hers ends in “-ute”; if it ends in “-is” or “-ys”, hers end in “-yte.”
If an ethnic Lithuanian is named Juknevic^ius, then that is his name no matter where he is. And an ethnic Pole is named Juchnewicz in Poland, that is what his name would be in the U.S. Now some ethnic Lithuanians, influenced by Polish culture and language in the old country, used Polish spellings for their names. I have one such ancestor, an ethnic Lithuanian whose name on the records in the Archives in Lithuania is Prancis^kus Volodkev^icius, used the Polonized Francizek Walutkewicz in America as have all his children. However, when speaking among other Lithuanians, they always used the Lithuanian spelling.”
My mistake…I meant to say Lithuanian, rather than Latvian (although Latvian names do seem to end in the letter “S” often). For example, the name of the city Vilnius when transliterated into English. My apologies. A Lithuanian commentator said it best this way:
“The endings for male names in Lithuanian are far and away these: “-us”, “-is”, “-ys”, and “-as”. It is accepted practice when referring to a surname in English to use the masculine singular ending, even though the endings for females vary by marital status. All married women use the ending “-iene”. So the wife of Mr. Petrauskas would be Mrs. Petrauskiene and the wife of Mr. Juchnevic^ius would be Mrs. Juchnevic^iene. But the unamrried daughters of these folks would be Miss Petrauskaite and Miss Juchnevic^iute. The rules are: if the father’s name ends in “-as”, the single daughter’s name ends in “-aite”; if it ends in “-us”, hers ends in “-ute”; if it ends in “-is” or “-ys”, hers end in “-yte.”
If an ethnic Lithuanian is named Juknevic^ius, then that is his name no matter where he is. And an ethnic Pole is named Juchnewicz in Poland, that is what his name would be in the U.S. Now some ethnic Lithuanians, influenced by Polish culture and language in the old country, used Polish spellings for their names. I have one such ancestor, an ethnic Lithuanian whose name on the records in the Archives in Lithuania is Prancis^kus Volodkev^icius, used the Polonized Francizek Walutkewicz in America as have all his children. However, when speaking among other Lithuanians, they always used the Lithuanian spelling.”
My mistake…I meant to say Lithuanian, rather than Latvian (although Latvian names do seem to end in the letter “S” often). For example, the name of the city Vilnius when transliterated into English. My apologies. A Lithuanian commentator said it best this way:
“The endings for male names in Lithuanian are far and away these: “-us”, “-is”, “-ys”, and “-as”. It is accepted practice when referring to a surname in English to use the masculine singular ending, even though the endings for females vary by marital status. All married women use the ending “-iene”. So the wife of Mr. Petrauskas would be Mrs. Petrauskiene and the wife of Mr. Juchnevic^ius would be Mrs. Juchnevic^iene. But the unamrried daughters of these folks would be Miss Petrauskaite and Miss Juchnevic^iute. The rules are: if the father’s name ends in “-as”, the single daughter’s name ends in “-aite”; if it ends in “-us”, hers ends in “-ute”; if it ends in “-is” or “-ys”, hers end in “-yte.”
If an ethnic Lithuanian is named Juknevic^ius, then that is his name no matter where he is. And an ethnic Pole is named Juchnewicz in Poland, that is what his name would be in the U.S. Now some ethnic Lithuanians, influenced by Polish culture and language in the old country, used Polish spellings for their names. I have one such ancestor, an ethnic Lithuanian whose name on the records in the Archives in Lithuania is Prancis^kus Volodkev^icius, used the Polonized Francizek Walutkewicz in America as have all his children. However, when speaking among other Lithuanians, they always used the Lithuanian spelling.”
I am a Latvian and don’t know a single Latvian name ending with -ius. I only know of Darius the persian king.
If I were a chick, this is where your attempt of scoring with me would end.
While showing knowledge might earn some plus points it earns you 100 times more minus points if you say something stupid and completly false while posing as an expert with a straight face.
I am a Latvian and don’t know a single Latvian name ending with -ius. I only know of Darius the persian king.
If I were a chick, this is where your attempt of scoring with me would end.
While showing knowledge might earn some plus points it earns you 100 times more minus points if you say something stupid and completly false while posing as an expert with a straight face.
I am a Latvian and don’t know a single Latvian name ending with -ius. I only know of Darius the persian king.
If I were a chick, this is where your attempt of scoring with me would end.
While showing knowledge might earn some plus points it earns you 100 times more minus points if you say something stupid and completly false while posing as an expert with a straight face.
Another great post by Quintus. Thank you for your contribution to this site!
Another great post by Quintus. Thank you for your contribution to this site!
Another great post by Quintus. Thank you for your contribution to this site!
Another great post by Quintus. Thank you for your contribution to this site!
Another great post by Quintus. Thank you for your contribution to this site!
Another great post by Quintus. Thank you for your contribution to this site!
Another great post by Quintus. Thank you for your contribution to this site!
Another great post by Quintus. Thank you for your contribution to this site!
Are such a feats of observation possible in real life?
Of course, I do it all of the time. It’s funny but I did read all of the 50+ Holmes stories and 4 novelettes as a boy so I guess that I was always sort of interested in being able to read people even back then.As Holmes (Doyle) said “most people see but they do not observe”
“While Conan Doyle was exaggerating “deduction”….”
But he wasn’t and they were just simple things to Holmes that baffled Watson. Watson was pretty smart too. As you recall, he was a disabled army doctor from the Afghan war and moved in with Holmes because all he had for income was a pension.He was clever because he married the good looking 20yo girl who Holmes had recovered a large fortune for(he was probably in his 30’s) He didn’t really live with Holmes long and moved into a large house with his wife after marriage and sort of practised medicine but apparently had enough money because he would go off with Holmes all of the time on a case and didn’t seem to worry about making money from patients.His wife never bitched either.”Hey honey, I’m going down to Cornwall with Holmes for a few weeks” OK, dear.
Are such a feats of observation possible in real life?
Of course, I do it all of the time. It’s funny but I did read all of the 50+ Holmes stories and 4 novelettes as a boy so I guess that I was always sort of interested in being able to read people even back then.As Holmes (Doyle) said “most people see but they do not observe”
“While Conan Doyle was exaggerating “deduction”….”
But he wasn’t and they were just simple things to Holmes that baffled Watson. Watson was pretty smart too. As you recall, he was a disabled army doctor from the Afghan war and moved in with Holmes because all he had for income was a pension.He was clever because he married the good looking 20yo girl who Holmes had recovered a large fortune for(he was probably in his 30’s) He didn’t really live with Holmes long and moved into a large house with his wife after marriage and sort of practised medicine but apparently had enough money because he would go off with Holmes all of the time on a case and didn’t seem to worry about making money from patients.His wife never bitched either.”Hey honey, I’m going down to Cornwall with Holmes for a few weeks” OK, dear.
Are such a feats of observation possible in real life?
Of course, I do it all of the time. It’s funny but I did read all of the 50+ Holmes stories and 4 novelettes as a boy so I guess that I was always sort of interested in being able to read people even back then.As Holmes (Doyle) said “most people see but they do not observe”
“While Conan Doyle was exaggerating “deduction”….”
But he wasn’t and they were just simple things to Holmes that baffled Watson. Watson was pretty smart too. As you recall, he was a disabled army doctor from the Afghan war and moved in with Holmes because all he had for income was a pension.He was clever because he married the good looking 20yo girl who Holmes had recovered a large fortune for(he was probably in his 30’s) He didn’t really live with Holmes long and moved into a large house with his wife after marriage and sort of practised medicine but apparently had enough money because he would go off with Holmes all of the time on a case and didn’t seem to worry about making money from patients.His wife never bitched either.”Hey honey, I’m going down to Cornwall with Holmes for a few weeks” OK, dear.
Are such a feats of observation possible in real life?
Of course, I do it all of the time. It’s funny but I did read all of the 50+ Holmes stories and 4 novelettes as a boy so I guess that I was always sort of interested in being able to read people even back then.As Holmes (Doyle) said “most people see but they do not observe”
“While Conan Doyle was exaggerating “deduction”….”
But he wasn’t and they were just simple things to Holmes that baffled Watson. Watson was pretty smart too. As you recall, he was a disabled army doctor from the Afghan war and moved in with Holmes because all he had for income was a pension.He was clever because he married the good looking 20yo girl who Holmes had recovered a large fortune for(he was probably in his 30’s) He didn’t really live with Holmes long and moved into a large house with his wife after marriage and sort of practised medicine but apparently had enough money because he would go off with Holmes all of the time on a case and didn’t seem to worry about making money from patients.His wife never bitched either.”Hey honey, I’m going down to Cornwall with Holmes for a few weeks” OK, dear.
Are such a feats of observation possible in real life?
Of course, I do it all of the time. It’s funny but I did read all of the 50+ Holmes stories and 4 novelettes as a boy so I guess that I was always sort of interested in being able to read people even back then.As Holmes (Doyle) said “most people see but they do not observe”
“While Conan Doyle was exaggerating “deduction”….”
But he wasn’t and they were just simple things to Holmes that baffled Watson. Watson was pretty smart too. As you recall, he was a disabled army doctor from the Afghan war and moved in with Holmes because all he had for income was a pension.He was clever because he married the good looking 20yo girl who Holmes had recovered a large fortune for(he was probably in his 30’s) He didn’t really live with Holmes long and moved into a large house with his wife after marriage and sort of practised medicine but apparently had enough money because he would go off with Holmes all of the time on a case and didn’t seem to worry about making money from patients.His wife never bitched either.”Hey honey, I’m going down to Cornwall with Holmes for a few weeks” OK, dear.
Are such a feats of observation possible in real life?
Of course, I do it all of the time. It’s funny but I did read all of the 50+ Holmes stories and 4 novelettes as a boy so I guess that I was always sort of interested in being able to read people even back then.As Holmes (Doyle) said “most people see but they do not observe”
“While Conan Doyle was exaggerating “deduction”….”
But he wasn’t and they were just simple things to Holmes that baffled Watson. Watson was pretty smart too. As you recall, he was a disabled army doctor from the Afghan war and moved in with Holmes because all he had for income was a pension.He was clever because he married the good looking 20yo girl who Holmes had recovered a large fortune for(he was probably in his 30’s) He didn’t really live with Holmes long and moved into a large house with his wife after marriage and sort of practised medicine but apparently had enough money because he would go off with Holmes all of the time on a case and didn’t seem to worry about making money from patients.His wife never bitched either.”Hey honey, I’m going down to Cornwall with Holmes for a few weeks” OK, dear.
Good article for uping one’s game as the most successful pick ups typically come from clear demonstrations of knowledge or ability. This knowledge particularly works well for American men as overseas we are broadly seen as lacking intelligence, manners and being too self absorbed. Subtly this also shows respect for the woman’s culture which mostly will be taken positively as occurred Quintus.
Good article for uping one’s game as the most successful pick ups typically come from clear demonstrations of knowledge or ability. This knowledge particularly works well for American men as overseas we are broadly seen as lacking intelligence, manners and being too self absorbed. Subtly this also shows respect for the woman’s culture which mostly will be taken positively as occurred Quintus.
Good article for uping one’s game as the most successful pick ups typically come from clear demonstrations of knowledge or ability. This knowledge particularly works well for American men as overseas we are broadly seen as lacking intelligence, manners and being too self absorbed. Subtly this also shows respect for the woman’s culture which mostly will be taken positively as occurred Quintus.
Good article for uping one’s game as the most successful pick ups typically come from clear demonstrations of knowledge or ability. This knowledge particularly works well for American men as overseas we are broadly seen as lacking intelligence, manners and being too self absorbed. Subtly this also shows respect for the woman’s culture which mostly will be taken positively as occurred Quintus.
Good article for uping one’s game as the most successful pick ups typically come from clear demonstrations of knowledge or ability. This knowledge particularly works well for American men as overseas we are broadly seen as lacking intelligence, manners and being too self absorbed. Subtly this also shows respect for the woman’s culture which mostly will be taken positively as occurred Quintus.
Good article for uping one’s game as the most successful pick ups typically come from clear demonstrations of knowledge or ability. This knowledge particularly works well for American men as overseas we are broadly seen as lacking intelligence, manners and being too self absorbed. Subtly this also shows respect for the woman’s culture which mostly will be taken positively as occurred Quintus.
I think this post is completely right. The only caveat, I would have is that it can get very complicated, and it can be easy to trip up. People can be very protective and precious about their names and regional/clan identities and it’s easy to make faux-pas.
Trying and failing is better than not trying at all. Risk/reward, etc
Right you are, Ballomar. I think the Rumplestiltskin fairy tale has a deep grounding in truth. A couple other things I think are important to remember:
1. As you point out, this is an advanced gaming/social technique. Emphasis on the word advanced. I take as my starting point that a man should already have the basics under his belt (physical fitness, weightlifting, body language, good approach, charming bemused demeanor, building attraction, etc.) You don’t just start in with this stuff without having some attraction/interest built. It looks dorky and overly cerebral. You’ve got to be able to read the situation, the conversation, everything. But in the right circumstances, it can be bring the walls down.
2. Avoid too much displays of intellect or erudition early on. It can come across as a vulgar display of power and can freak people out. Also, some people get uncomfortable with being “found out”. So, use caution. You need to be a good conversationalist above all, and know when to insert this information into the dialogue. Think suave, suave, suave.
3. This technique can also be useful for putting arrogant Europeans in their place. I hate to say it, but some Europeans have a (generally justified) low opinion of Americans. They don’t think we know anything and don’t think we will do our homework. You can really put some snot-nosed Euro-cockblocker in his or her place when the occasion calls for it.
4. Name recognition can be useful in other fields. If you (like me) have a job where you have to meet with clients/customers on a regular basis, it is very useful to be able to distinguish, at a glance, something about someone’s background. If you know them, you own them. This is a technique I used when traveling around Bosnia and doing interviews with locals, as part of the peace-keeping mission there many years ago. It’s basically intelligence work.
Agreed on erudition. Really, in addition to comfort building, you’d have to gauge how much the chick is into stuff like this, or “intellectual” stuff in general.
While in Eastern Europe a few years ago, I met a late 20-something girl with a keen interest in progressive rock (e.g., Yes, King Crimson) and “Zorba the Greek.” Blew me away. Ask the average 20-something Americhick something about this, and you’d get a blank stare, or language along the lines of “you’re being patronizing and condescending.”
Needless to say, this EE chick and I got along very well during the time I was there. 🙂
nice 😀
Learn how to pronounce people’s names too. They’ll probably appreciate it, especially if they’re used to everybody messing their name up.
This is actually a very good point. My wife’s name is pronounced in a certain way, and when she first moved to the area we now live in, it drove her crazy that no one got it right. I was the first person who did, and she said that it ‘felt more like I knew her’. So it does actually help. She was certainly easier in multiple ways after that. So well said.
Now I’ll be honest and say I’m no namer of Kenyan tribes, but whenever I get a full name from a European beauty and I can retort with a ‘Oh, you’re from so and so, aren’t you?’ – it boosts my value just that little bit higher. All these little tricks of the trade add up. This is definitely something that all guys in game should know, even if it is of basic-level. Good post.
Thanks for the article. I actually learned something (especially about the dreaded “snot-nosed Euro-cockblocker”, and was entertained as well!
Who is that black girl?!
Don’t know. I cherry-picked the image from Google Images when I was writing the post. Thought it might be good eye-candy. I think the search term I used was “ethnic women”. A topic oh-so-dear to my heart.
Your homework is to find out who she is and report back to us here at ROK.
She’s the one good looking female on Kenya
I actually grew up in Kenya, so I’m quite familiar with the different tribes (Kikuyu, Maasai, Luya etc…), and I also had a lot of international friends at the international school there, to the point I had and still have a very high acuity for recognizing and discussing foreign backgrounds.
Ironically, that was my BIGGEST curse when I moved back to the states.
Most Americans are so utterly vapid that even the mere mention of something outside of their immediate 5ft awareness circle of sports and fastfood will turn them off big time. I think Quintus mentions that in his post this is truly an advanced technique, and you HAVE to have your other shit in order first, unless you are in a relatively high society or cultured setting (something incredibly rare in the US) where such conversations are natural, as the would be in many spots in Europe.
It messed with my head for a long time, but now I’m somewhat glad I went through the ringer of learning how to dumb down my game to a basic primal level – as one must with American girls – because it actually enhances my game with the higher quality girls in cultured settings. My fault before was to talk and wax ad nausea about all things cultured about her background without peering through the matrix to make a move and escalate things romantically. The raw, peasant like sexual game of American girls (and I’m seriously not even bitter/judgemental about it anymore, it is what it is), can be a great instructor, in the right context, as it is brutal in it’s simplicity and animalistic nature.
But to respond to your post. Having grown up in Kenya, at least over a decade ago, the attractive Kenyan women were not to be found. Perhaps it’s better now that things are more developed there. My friend went there for work recently and banged the cleaning lady. i think I’ve got too much of a bad mental image (although to be fair they were VERY nice and kind) to find them that attractive, although that picture is legit.
Bo:
Good comment. Seems like the only readers to get the article are the ones who’ve lived abroad. This type of technique is only useful in certain circumstances with the right mood, girl, everything.
And yeah, it’s pretty depressing that you have to super-dumb-down your game with American chicks. They want to believe they’re superior to us. Even the slightest display of intelligence generally hurts you, whereas abroad it is a selling point. Like you I learned this a long time ago. My attitude now is that I don’t give a fuck what they like or don’t like…I just put it out there and let them squirm.
Bo:
Good comment. Seems like the only readers to get the article are the ones who’ve lived abroad. This type of technique is only useful in certain circumstances with the right mood, girl, everything.
And yeah, it’s pretty depressing that you have to super-dumb-down your game with American chicks. They want to believe they’re superior to us. Even the slightest display of intelligence generally hurts you, whereas abroad it is a selling point. Like you I learned this a long time ago. My attitude now is that I don’t give a fuck what they like or don’t like…I just put it out there and let them squirm.
I play a similar game – I am relatively well traveled, or at my age, exquisitely well traveled.
I try to guess where a girl is from country wise and extrapolate things about her and her general character based on my experiences and conjecture (a fancy word for a dollop of BS with a smile).
One could start of with there.
This instantly separates me from most Americans, being knowledgeable, and if not, curious.
Wald
“You would be surprised how many people never bother to learn the basics of names. But if you want to be mingle with international women, you need to develop this skill.”
Uh, yea right dude. You’re full of shit and this is a very big waste of time.
I bet all women sit around thinking, ‘hmm, I just wish some random guy would awkwardly strike up a random conversation with me in which he correctly guesses the origin of my name. That’d surely make me drop down on my knees to suck his seed out.’
Interesting and good article.
Very good article….and I believe this type of knowledge will help social settings besides those of the women you are pursuing. People love themselves and when you show interest in them you become attractive. In a multicultural country like south Africa, especially in the city of Joburg this works well. I meet women from different tribes and language groups all the time.
Wordsmith: I gather from your comment that you are from South Africa. Heard many good things about it. And you’re right, Name Gaming in Africa can deliver great value for several reasons: (1) for most Americans, African nations are totally unknown, and a little bit of knowledge displayed by a non-African goes a long, long way. (2) The tribes there are usually cohesive and can still be linked to a specific geographic area. So, a person trying to guess someone’s origin is more likely to be right than wrong, all other factors being equal. From my experience, most African immigrants I’ve encountered seem to be from Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, and South Africa. So, focusing on those countries has been worthwhile for me. Each one has specific sectarian, tribal, linguistic, and ethnographic contours.