Nomenclature

tools and beyond

When a handaxe is invented:

• Trade: “This stone fits well in your hand and has a sturdy edge for cutting or scraping. What would you like to call it?”
• Player: BLXTJ
  And then,
• Trade: “You have added a long handle to the BLXTJ, improving leverage for chopping. What would you like to call this?”
• Player: GLPFX

When trading with someone else, the form will be known to both, but the name may be adjusted after the trade. If trading something already invented or known to the recipient, hints like “contains a BLXTJ” or “similar to a BLXTJ” or “advanced BLXTJ made with metal and salt.” Iconography becomes much more important, butt he immersion or possibility to make a broad impact as the inventor of the cultivator is pretty neat. Also, if this is applied to plants and animals, we can avoid regionalized with fox, rabbit, and deer. Language in these cases ought to be secondary with solid enough iconography to discuss the attributes of a critter, item, or trade without having to rely on a label.

All considered, most people will want to name towns, money, shops, players, and landmarks (like Adam). With signmaking, perhaps everything can be accommodated except money and players without specific language.