Know Your English (Mar 2001)

Know your English

What is the difference between ``nickname'' and ``pseudonym''?

A nickname literally means ``additional name''. All of us have a registered name, but at home we may be called something else. A ``Chaithanya'' in college may be called ``Baboota'' at home. When I was in school, I had a friend named Sekhar, but my friends and I never called him by that name. Instead we used to call him ``Fats''. Fats became his nickname. A nickname is a name given to a person by someone else; it could be someone from within the family or outside.
A pseudonym means more or less the same thing as ``nickname''. It is an additional name that someone has. But unlike a ``nickname'' which is usually given by someone else, one can choose one's pseudonym. Writers often choose a fictitious name to write under. For example ``Mark Twain'' was the pseudonym of Samuel Clemens and similarly ``Lewis Carroll '' was the pseudonym of Charles Dodgson. When you use a pseudonym, you do not always use it to hide your identity; you may use it because it sounds fancier than your registered name. Perhaps it is easier to remember than your real name. Movie actors very often make use of pseudonyms. Unlike the word ``alias'', which was discussed in this column several weeks ago, pseudonym and nickname do not have a negative connotation.
A word about the pronunciation. The first syllable ``pseu'' is pronounced like the word ``sue''; the ``p'' is silent. The ``o'' in the second syllable is like the ``a'' in ``China'', while the final ``y'' is like the ``i'' in ``hit'', ``bit'', and ``sit''. The stress is on the first syllable.
* Don't call Karthick by his nickname. He doesn't like it.
* My friend Bala is thinking of writing under a pseudonym.


Source:
The Hindu daily, Tuesday, March 20, 2001