Names in onomastics are generally deemed to have the function of supplementing human's innate fates. Therefore, naming, under the purport of improving human's fate to a certain degree, is based on diverse theoretical backgrounds allegedly enabling suc...
Names in onomastics are generally deemed to have the function of supplementing human's innate fates. Therefore, naming, under the purport of improving human's fate to a certain degree, is based on diverse theoretical backgrounds allegedly enabling such improvement. Typical naming theories can be divided into two by and large. The first one is 'naming theory by semantic representation' that asserts human fates can be improved by matching source and number of strokes of Chinese characters such as the Five Elements of source of Chinese characters, the Five Elements of mathematics based on 81 numbers of Gumasaggi Geno. The other one is 'naming theory by phonetic representation that asserts human fates can be improved by matching pronunciation to the Five Elements like the Five Elements of Sound. These naming theories, combined with 'those via Saju (fate) analysis', are considered to allow more favorable naming for the betterment.
The principle of naming is to allocate sources, the number of strokes of Chinese characters or pronunciation of Chinese characters and Korean language, normally using opposite relations of Yin-Yang and favorable-unfavorable relations of the Five Elements. This can be interpreted as the combination of innate, unchangeable family name and given name after birth.
The current naming trend, highlighting the pronunciation of Korean language, sees the emergency of naming theory in Korean language. According to this, the Five Elements - considered to be the principle of naming in Korean - are allocated with consonants and vowels, the methods of which are largely divided into two theories. One is allocation based on Hunminjeongeum-Unhae (Phonological analysis of native script for the Korean language), the other is one based on Hunminjeongeum-Haerye (Guide to the native script). These two versions have different consonants allocated to water and earth out of the Five Elements and so, the result of naming may be different depending on the referenced version. That said, as "Hunminjeongeum-Haerye" is the guidebook to the principle of wording at the time of its creation, this study believes that allocation of the Five Elements of Korean consonants and vowels as recorded in "Hunminjeongeum-Haerye" can be reasonably used as the principle of naming in Korean.
Despite various naming theories, the assertion that names merely can alter a man's fate lacks persuasiveness. Viewed from the point of view that humans are existences with innate fates and their lives could be determined depending on Saju (fate) of the time/date/year of their births, naming theory can be accommodated to mean it may improve human fates partly. Thus, the functionality of naming is to supplement the excess or shortage of Yin-Yang/Five Elements analyzed by Saju-Myeongrihak (fortune theory), using names.