You have probably noticed that words beginning with “sn” have a distinctly unpleasant air about them:
snake, snappish, snare, snarl, sneak, sneer, snide, sniffy, snigger, snipe, snippy, snitch, snivel, snob, snoop, snooty, snort, snot, snout, snub
I have long wondered about the psychology of the “sn” pairing, and did a little poking around. First I looked at other languages. It is certainly interesting that Latin has no words beginning with “sn” — I consulted a scholarly dictionary of Latin to confirm this.
Lacking dictionaries of other languages (online sources provide translations, but not word lists), I happened upon a quicker way to check usage of the “sn” pairing: examine listings of place names — towns, villages, rivers, mountains, and so on. I was unable to find ANY place names beginning with “sn” in these countries:
France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Poland, Austria, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, Algeria, Iran, China, Japan
Russia has two place names: Snezhinsk, Sneznogorsk
USA has three: Snellville, Snohomish, Snyder
But look at England’s list:
Snagshall, Snailbeach, Snails Hill, Snailswell, Snailwell, Snainton, Snaisgill, Snaith, Snape, Snape Brook, Snape Green, Snape Hill, Snapper, Snaresbrook, Snarestone, Snarford, Snargate, Snatchwood, Snave, Sneachill, Snead, Snead Common, Sneads Green, Sneath Common, Sneaton North, Sneatonthorpe, Snedshill, Sneinton, Snelland, Snelston, Snetterton, Snettisham, Sneyd Green, Sneyd Park, Snibston, Snig's End, Snipeshill, Sniseabhal, Snitter, Snitterby, Snitterfield, Snitterton, Snitton, Snittongate, Snodhill, Snodland, Snods Edge, Snowden , Snowdon, Snowdown, Snow End, Snow Hill, Snow Lea, Snowshill, Snow Street, Snydale
What’s going on here?!?!?!
Given names: these countries have no given names beginning with Sn:
USA, England, France, Germany, Denmark, Finland
Three countries do have a given name beginning with Sn:
Norway (Snorre), Sweden (Snefryd), Russia (Snezana)
Now, the immediate observation is that the consonant pair “sn” at the beginning of a word is difficult to pronounce. Even the Russian language, that treasure-house of weird consonant combinations, balks at this pair. We could simply dismiss all this as just the natural result of a vocalization that stumbles off the tongue. But two questions remain that mystify me:
1. Why are there so many such place names in England? Perhaps we can explain this as a reflection of the English penchant for crazy place names such as Cockrod, Spithead, Tithill, Giggleswick, Great Snoring, and my personal favorite: Upton Snodsbury. Here are some lists of such names: Map of Strange Place Names, Ultimate List of Wierd Place Names.
2. Why do so many words in the English language have a tainted air about them? Perhaps it is a reflection of the fact that the consonant pair is hard to pronounce. I don’t know.
May 9th, 2018
