driftingcloud Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 I'm wondering if the "Na-Baron" title used by Frank Herbert is a fabricated title, or if the prefix "Na-" has some meaning in some contemporary earth language. I always understood the meaning in the text, but I never knew if it was a real thing or if he invented it. I read it as "Almost Baron" and I was going to use it in an email I was writing but in a different context, "almost professor" but wasn't sure if I would actually be writing something that was part of the English language. Anyone know more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFlibble Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 "Na" is a Russian preposition/prefix which means "on". The noun structure, however, - "na" + position or title, meaning 'soon to be', - does not exist in Russian.There is also a Russian word naslednik, meaning 'heir', with the same prefix. E.g. naslednik barona 'heir to the baron'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandChigger Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 From "The Terminology of the Imperium":Na-: a prefix meaning "nominated" or "next in line." Thus: na-Baron means heir apparent to a barony.Could be the Russian word, since Galach is "hybrid Inglo-Slavic". Or it could just be a whittling down of "nominated" [pron. NAH-mi-NAY-tuhd].(I haven't seen a lot of evidence that FH consulted a Russian dictionary much in coming up with Galach terms.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFlibble Posted October 5, 2008 Share Posted October 5, 2008 (I haven't seen a lot of evidence that FH consulted a Russian dictionary much in coming up with Galach terms.)Well, he had that "ima trava okolo" passage as a part of a Fremen rite. And that is clearly (somewhat broken) Russian (or maybe other Slavic language). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandChigger Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 But that's REALLY weird when you think about it, since the Fremen use a lot of Arabic words and terminology. ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFlibble Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 There's also an item in a Fremen woman's garb called a nezhoni scarf, the word seemingly derived from the Slavic root zhen-/zhon- 'woman, wife' (which is the same as in Latin genus, for example). Curiously, however, the ne- prefix means negation, so nezhoni should actually mean something which is not related to womanhood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandChigger Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 Frank was a mystery...wrapped within an enigma...and smothered in special sauce. ;D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikonicre Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 In dutch 'na' means after; after the fact; following..na-baron could in said context mean 'after'-baron, the direct heir of a baronOne of the few terms that have a distinct dutch ring to it in the duniverse; another one would be the Landsraad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparrowsOfDune Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 I think the Slavic Language FH was familiar with was Serbian. Maybe some of the first Zensunnis were Bosnians? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandChigger Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 I think the Slavic Language FH was familiar with was Serbian. Maybe some of the first Zensunnis were Bosnians?In meta-Duniverse=real-world terms, FH evidently used a Serbian or Croatian textbook or other publication as a source for his Chakobsa words and phrases.IN-universe, any similarity between those Slavic languages and Chakobsa is pure coincidence, and speculation such as your "Bosnians = first Zensunnis" is stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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