English through Naming Acts - A framework for the analysis of names as cultural icons: Winnie the Pooh and Walt Disney

Prof. Elena-Diana Luncaşu,Şcoala Gimnazială “Mihai Eminescu”, Lipova, Bacău

Winnie-the-Pooh, also called the Pooh Bear is a worldwide known fictional bear found in children’s books and in movies for the same public. In order to understand the etymological background of the naming process, is better to check the denominative devices to include it under at certain classification. Winnie-the-Pooh is the name of a unique animal (the Pooh Bear), a fictious anthroponym whose origin is traceable in names of real animals. It also stands as a personal name and belongs to a pet someone once had. It can also be categorized as being under the chimerical family name, being a name invented with precedent. In other words, Winnie-the-Pooh is a fictional anthropomorphic bear created by Alan Alexander Milner. Originally, Milner named the character after a teddy-bear owned by his son, Christopher Robin Milner.

What people don’t know is that there was once an actual bear called Winnie. So, Christopher named Winnie the teddy bear after a Canadian black bear which he often saw at London Zoo. The Pooh of the same character came after a swan the same child had met while on holiday. The author himself offers another explanation why Winnie-the-Pooh is often called Pooh in the book (1st chapter): But his arms were so stiff… they stayed up straight in the air for more than a week, and whenever a fly came and settled on his nose he had to blow it off. And I think – but I’m not sure – that that is why he is always called Pooh.

The name first appeared in a Christmas story in the London Newspaper The Evening News. But a great significance of the name was given since 1966 when Disney Corporation released numerous animated productions starring Winnie-the-Pooh and related characters. But also after becoming the American Walt Disney Company franchise, Winnie-the-Pooh loses hyphens it originally had in the stories. Again, with full rights over the characters, Walt Disney Company created a new image to the bear, the image we all know it nowadays: the cute bear with a red short T-shirt.

While the etymological background is important to some, the cultural background is also important because it explains why this one becomes as important to us as individuals and to our society as a whole. Since the 1970’s with the new image of Walt Disney Company, the character reached with its movies a real success and an international recognition. It is said that Winnie the Pooh is considered to be a cultural icon for many children and not only.

But what is a cultural icon and how did Winnie the Pooh became one? A cultural icon is any other image, name, logo that can be easily recognized and generally represents an object or concept with cultural significance to a wide cultural group. This is what Walt Disney Company achieved with a great mediatisation of the character within the years: Winnie the Pooh with its sweet innocent looks stole millions of children’s hearts.

As well as being recognizable in a crowd, icons are symbolic. Surveys show that if you ask anyone in America or in any European country who is the man who invented Mickey Mouse and many other animated characters, the answer will definitely be Walt Disney.

Walter Elias Disney represents more than just a famous entertainer in any culture, but stands for the man who made hundreds of children childhood much colourful and why not meaningful. And the Disney Dream doesn’t stop here.

Walt Disney is a unique name just as his fictional characters are, is a symbol, and a logo used to identify thousand of new movies, TV series, stories, books and magazines and even resorts as the Disneyland. He became one of the best known motion picture producers in the world. Disney is particularly noted for being a film producer and a popular showman as well as innovator in animation and theme park design. He and his staff created some of the world's most famous fictional characters including Mickey Mouse, a character for which Disney himself was the original voice. He has been awarded four honorary Academy Awards and has won twenty-two competitive Academy Awards out of fifty-nine nominations, including a record four in one year, giving him more awards and nominations than any other individual.

But leaving the fame aside and analyzing the name in its etymological background, Walt Disney has a rather common first name. Walt comes from Walter, of Old Germanic Origin, being translated as commander of the army and is a very common name for men. Talking about semantically charged names, can be easily affirmed that Walter has a powerful meaning when thinking of a great ruler who commanded his troupes. Elias is of Hebrew origin and means My God is the Lord, God, the Lord or Strong Lord. Again, the name is semantically charged. Walt Disney thus cannot be, but a great strong man who knew only success. Nowadays is a veritable brand name, trade name and also a trademark.

Taking into consideration the importance of the acts of naming as a major component in building identities in real life, as well as in fiction, it can become a very powerful tool to the ones who start up a career in literature or television. It helps you understand the role of name choice and use in English learning practice. The naming process is strongly rooted in the cultural background of any given country. But whoever succeeds in crossing over their country boundaries, can decide the fate of a successful character, as Walt Disney did with his own. The same importance is given by the new artists who start their career and want to be perceived as strong individuals who can become examples in their field of work. It is the first step into the shaping of their identity and it could make them more famous or break their career even from the beginning.

References:

Morăraşu, Nadia (2010): English through Naming Acts, note de curs, Universitatea “Vasile Alecsandri” , Bacău;

Hall, Dennis, R; Hall, Susan Grove (2006): American Icons: An Encyclopedia of the People, Places and Things that Have Shaped Our Culture, volumes 1-3, Greenwood Press, London;

http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/winnie-the-pooh/ http://disney.go.com/guestservices/international http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnie-the-Pooh http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney