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Deciphering The Indecipherable — The Dictionary of Branding
Welcome to the Scarcliff | Salvador Dictionary of Branding, the
most comprehensive glossary of branding and naming on the Web. Our
goal is to produce and maintain an up-to-date record of the terms
of art in use in our field, including the latest branding concepts,
naming styles and techniques, tagline types, and commercially-useful
linguistics terms.
Each entry is cross-referenced if appropriate and includes examples
from the marketplace wherever possible. Please contact us with your
suggested additions and corrections.
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Cachet (naming, verbal branding)
The particular qualities of one culture's language ascribed to it
by the speakers of another. For example, a French name in English
often conveys a sense of sensuality and/or sophistication. Would
the Clinique cosmetic line be so popular if it were called
‘Clinic’ instead? [French ‘a mark of distinction,
individuality, or authenticity’ < Old French cacher ‘to
press, as with a signet ring’]
Caconym (naming, verbal branding)
Any bad brand name. Also, any brand name ill-suited to its positioning
and/or purpose. [coined by analogy to cacaphonous from Greek kako
‘bad’ < Indo-European *kakka- ‘to defecate’
+ Greek onuma ‘name’]
Calque (naming, verbal branding)
The literal translation of a word from one language into the lexicon
of another. The Mandarin Chinese term nan pengyou ‘male friend’
is a direct translation of the English word ‘boyfriend’.
Compare Borrowing.
Centrifugal Force (linguistics)
The natural tendency of a language to branch into a set of regional
dialects. The distinctive dialects of British English are the result
of centrifugal force. Compare Centripetal Force.
Centripetal Force (linguistics)
The cultural tendency of a set of regional dialects to coalesce
into a standard language in response to a center of gravity. The
recent standardization of Mandarin Chinese on the model of the Beijing
dialect is an example of centripetal force. Compare Centrifugal
Force.
Charactonym (naming, verbal branding)
Any name given to a literary character that is descriptive of a
quality or trait of that character, such as, ‘Long John Silver’
for someone who is tall and has silver hair.
Clutter (naming, verbal branding)
The proliferation of virtually indistinguishable names within a
particular category. The high-tech industry is ‘cluttered’
with ‘net’ names.
Coinage (naming, verbal branding)
The deliberate or accidental creation of a new name. The famous
Nerf ball is an example of coinage. See Coined Name.
Coined Name (naming and verbal branding)
Any brand name which did not exist in the lexicon prior to its creation.
The famous Oreo cookie is an example of a coined name. See
Coinage.
Collocation (naming, branding)
The likelihood that a particular word will occur in the neighborhood
of another word. This tendency can be exploited by commercial names.
The words ‘spick’ and ‘span’ are an example
of collocation; the phrase these words always from inspired the
Spic and Span brand cleaning product name.
Colloquialism (naming, verbal branding)
An informal word which is frowned upon in formal speech or writing.
The word ‘ain't’ is a colloquialism.
Connotation (naming, verbal branding)
A word's extrinsic, figurative senses, including its overtones and
shades of meaning . For example, the word ‘travel’ can
connote different things to various people - some may think of driving
a car, while others think of journeying to exotic locations, while
still others think of the hassle involved with getting from airport
to airport. Compare Denotation.
Consonance (naming, verbal branding)
The repetition of a consonant sound. Cracker Jack is the
exemplar of a brand name utilizing consonance.
Corporate Brand (branding, marketing)
Any brand associated with a company or organization rather than
a specific product or service.
Cryptonym (naming, verbal branding)
A secret name. A code name not designed to be heard by the general
public. Compare Code Name.
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