[Smt-talk] Car names

[Locke, Ralph]

Good point, Bill!

It occurs to me also that the car makers recognize that these words are recognized internationally.  That's one of the cool things about classical music--people play and love it (and, yes, fetishize it) everywhere.  So the name Rondo or Coda will be recognizable and acceptable (if not fully understood!) in, say, Germany or Brazil and not be associated with any one language/country.  Musical terminology, in other words, is an international language, in a way that Latin and to some extent Greek were for science, medicine, and philosophy in earlier centuries.

These Italian terms are also easy to pronounce and spell, consisting of simple alternations of one consonant / one vowel.  (By contrast: the English word "thought"; the French word "oeuf".....)

George Eastman reportedly invented the name Kodak so that he could have a brand name that would be correctly spelled and pronounced internationally.  

Ralph Locke

Ralph P. Locke
Professor of Musicology
Eastman School of Music
26 Gibbs St.
Rochester NY 14604-2599 USA
Tel.: 585-274-1455
Fax: 585-274-1088 ("for R. Locke")
RLocke at esm.rochester.edu




-----Original Message-----
From: smt-talk-bounces at lists.societymusictheory.org on behalf of William Caplin
Sent: Mon 7/23/2012 12:27 PM
To: smt-talk Talk
Subject: [Smt-talk] Car names
 
What do you all make of the latest trend of Asian car manufacturers naming their cars after musical terms?

We already have Hyundai's "Sonata" and "Accent" (two of my own major areas of research).  Then there's Kia's "Rondo."  And just today I read about a new electric car from China named "Coda."  (I suppose a "Cadence" can't be too far in the future.)  

Clearly there's a prestige factor associated with music in Asia that doesn't seem to resonate with North American or European makers.  

Have I missed others?  

Wishing you all a pleasant summer!

Bill


____________________________
William E. Caplin
James McGill Professor of Music Theory

Department of Music Research
Schulich School of Music
McGill University

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office: (514) 398-4535 x00279
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