Verbal Tic Name: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

In [[Pokémon-Speak]], the only thing a character says is his or her name. This is essentially the inverse: a character is named for the only thing he or she says. Sometimes the latter causes the former.

Note that, despite the title, the source of the name isn't necessarily a [[Verbal Tic]]. However, the spirit is there in that the character's limited vocabulary is his or her defining attribute.

 

* Chi from ''[[Chobits]]''.

* Chomesuke from ''[[D.Gray-man]]'', ''cho~!'' Also, Lero/[[Spell My Name with an "S"|Relo]].

* Mone in ''[[Yumeria]]''.

 

* Todd Casil from ''[[Johnny the Homicidal Maniac]]'' and the [[Spin-Off]] ''Squee!'' makes a squeaking noise when he's scared, which is quite often. When he meets the [[Ax Crazy]] Johnny and is asked his name, naturally the only noise he could muster up was "Squee!", which later became Johnny's nickname for him.

 

* Gleep the baby dragon in the ''[[Myth Adventures]]'' book series. [[Subverted]] in a story written from Gleep's POV, where it's shown that he's [[Eloquent in My Native Tongue|quite intelligent and erudite]]—the problem isn't his linguistic ability, it's that his vocal cords aren't yet capable of human speech.

** He does learn to talk more understandably in later books, however.

* ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' has Hodor, the lovable simpleton stable boy. His only word is "Hodor". People assumed that that is his name, but it's revealed that his real name is Walder, but since he only said Holdor, that's what everyone calls him.

* A partial example from ''[[Discworld]]'' is Hodgesaargh the falconer from the kingdom of Lancre. He speaks normally, but that's what he says whenever asked for his name (thanks to one of his overzealous falcons trying to attack him): "I'm Hodges... ''aargh''!".

* As a half-example, in the Legends of Ulm series, the protagonist, Gom, was named for the sound he made as a baby.

* In ''[[The Edge Chronicles]]'', Twig is named his ''own name'' by a trog insistent on keeping him as a pet. Her mother insists that she won't have a pet that talks, and when Twig unthinkingly answers her question "What's your name?", he tries to make it sound like a verbal tic: "Twigtwigtwigtwig. Twigtwigtwig". The trog delightedly responds "I think I'll call him Twig."

* Freak the griffin from ''[[The Kane Chronicles]]'' is partly named because of his freakish behavior, and partly because of the screeching noise that he makes.

 

* On ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' there is an Unas named Chaka. Or rather, that's what Daniel calls him, 'cause that's what he says most often. There's a language barrier, you see.

* Anyang! In ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'', Lucille Bluth adopts a Korean boy that doesn't speak English. He pretty much only says the word "Anyang," which means "hello" or "how do you do" in Korean, and the Bluths decide that it is actually his name. Whenever he's present and one of them mentions Anyang, he usually says his name back (because that is the polite response if they were speaking Korean).

* Noodle of ''[[Gorillaz]]'' learned to speak English later on, but at the time she was [[Girl in a Box|mailed to the other band members]], the only word of it she knew was "Noodle". So they decided to call her that.

 

* The wyrm-corrupted Black Spiral Dancers from ''[[Werewolf: The Apocalypse]]'' were given a new name upon completion of their first dance around the black spiral, after the first sound they made. Mostly these new names are incoherent noises of rage or distress, but one notably unfortunate individual was named ''Parrupt'', as the first sound she made did not come from her mouth...

* KILLFRENZY, the Chaos-possessed starship from, guess it, ''[[Warhammer 40,000]].''

* The famous ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' story of [http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Noh Noh]. A DM had a group of adventurers enter a room with a couple of treasures and a little girl. The girl wasn't a real person, but a magical construct who could only say two things "No" and "Please don't take these items". The players, unsure of what to do, tried to ellicit more responses from her, but failed. Finally the bard tried playing a beautiful song, and rolled so high on his skill check that the DM had a single tear roll down the girl's cheek. The players immediately decide [[I'm Taking Her Home with Me|she's too adorable to leave behind]] and adopt her, naming her "Noh". The DM eventually allowed her to be granted a soul and a personality (and the ability to truly speak), but the name stuck.

 

* There was a kids' musical where the main character's only phrase was "No Fibbin'," so that's what the other characters called him. It was pretty odd.

* Nicely-Nicely Johnson from ''[[Guys and Dolls]]'', who always says "nicely, nicely, thank you" when someone asks how he's doing.

* According to ''[[Cracked.com]]'''s [http://www.cracked.com/article_21418_5-ways-life-with-tourettes-way-weirder-than-you-expect.html 5 Ways Life With Tourette's Is Way Weirder Than You Expect], some people with [[Hollywood Tourette's|Tourette's]] are "[[Fountain of Memes|catchphrase generators]]". Some tics, such as "butterscotch dinosaur pussy", become this:

{{quote|Soon, it wasn't uncommon for him to introduce himself at a party and be greeted with "Oh, you're Butterscotch Dinosaur Pussy!"}}

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