English has borrowed from so many languages that we typically have multiple synonyms for everything. Over time, as certain words are more commonly used with a particular connotation, we tend to assign them separate meanings, even though they technically mean the same thing.
So it is with "named" and "called".
To Americans, named implies your given name--the moniker on your birth certificate. You know, that stuffy thing your mother calls you when you're in trouble, or the full form of the nickname you insist on using instead.
But called? Well, that's a different story. That's the thing people call you on a day-to-day basis. Why, it's practically an alias. It's when you insist, "Call me Bob," after someone addresses you as Robert.
The British have no such perception of the phrase "Call me Al" (or whatever it happens to be) but instead take it to mean that it's the person's actual name. They may or may not have a nickname, but the British don't assume anything based on the synonym choice.
Given that American English went through a heavy period of multilingual interaction, it's no surprise that it changed connotations quickly enough to diverge from British English. Consider the old-fashioned-sounding, "and he shall be called John", and you can see how it has a more formal ring to it. For Americans, this formality can signal to the listener that there's a difference between what he's named and what he's called, whereas the British just assume that's what his mother's called him since he was born.
While both named and called are perfectly correct verbs for an introduction, it's worth knowing how someone could possibly misinterpret it. If an American says called, file the possibility of a nickname to the back of your mind. And if a British person says called, be aware that they almost definitely aren't implying it's a nickname.
If either one says named, you're probably on safe ground assuming it's just his name.
It may surprise you to learn that Wally is the original name for the character, and that it all began in the UK. English illustrator Martin Handford created Wally as a way to tie his large crowd scenes together for a book compiling his work. Shortly thereafter, the character became the well-loved bumbling hiker wearing spectacles that so many know and love.
Handford began producing more artwork that showed Wally in a variety of scenarios, typically misplacing some of his camping and hiking gear. Along with his glasses, beanie, and walking stick, Wally brings along some other items to help on his hike: a backpack, sleeping bag, kettle, cup, mallet, shovel, binoculars, camera, bag, belt, and a snorkel. Wally loses at least one item on every page, and the reader has to help him find it. The scenes are rife with puns in visual form, and even verges into the indelicate at times.
No one is entirely sure why Wally got his name changed to Waldo for the US version. There’s some speculation that the publishers wanted to avoid the word ‘wally,’ which is slang for a geek, nerd, or idiot. Or, it could be because Waldo is a bit more common of a name in the US, or perhaps it was one of those inscrutable decisions that publishers sometimes make. Whatever the reason, America isn’t the only country where the hapless hitchhiker uses an alias.
In Germany, he’s known as Walter, but in Norway, he’s called Willy. Those keep the whimsical ‘w’ sound, but France ruins it a bit by re-naming him Charlie. Denmark has dubbed him Holger, and Israel goes with the somewhat baffling Effie. Whatever his name, Wally/Waldo wanders about in his woefully un-camouflaged stripes, yet somehow remains ridiculously hard to find. Have fun perusing the preposterous scenarios in which our hapless hero loses himself, and contemplates his contemporaries on other continents. So, how do you know him best? As Wally, or as Waldo?
Directed and produced in part by Astley Baker Davies, this British preschool show airs in five-minute episodes featuring Peppa the pig and her anthropomorphic friends and family. The show began airing in May 2004 and has continued its run through 2019. Peppa is a four-year-old character and was originally voiced by a four-year-old Lily Snowden-Fine.
Producer Phil Davies and co-creator Mark Baker draw on childhood memories and the antics of the children in their own lives to create the episodes. The very first storyline revolves around Peppa and friends jumping in mud puddles. The simplistic animation has a sort of wholesome charm that super-CGI cartoons with its constant visual stimulation often lack. The show airs in Australia, the UK, the US, and 177 other territories. It’s now in its sixth season, and as of February 2020, 297 episodes of Peppa Pig have aired.
While Percy Pig is arguably just as cute as Peppa, the two are related neither in concept nor in character. Percy may have subconsciously inspired some part of Peppa’s creation, or it could just be that alliteration is pretty popular. Percy Pig is a British brand of pig-faced gummies with fruit flavors and color-accented ears. Though it’s been around since 1992, it recently exploded in popularity. Originally made with pork-derived gelatine, Marks & Spencer (M&S) devised a vegetarian variety with green ears in 2011. As of 2019, all versions of Percy Pig are now gelatine free, freeing the candy from all pork-derived associations. Percy’s original flavor was raspberry and grape.
Percy Pig is a recognizable brand in its own right, with added characters coming along at different times. 2002 saw the addition of cola cow and sheep of strawberry and orange to the brand line. He met his wife, Penny Pig, a lemon-vanilla piggy, in 2013. Later, he meets Timmy tiger (mango-flavoured) and Poppy panda (which tastes of blackcurrant). He goes on to have piglets in a variety of flavours, and even has special holiday Percy Pig editions for Halloween and Christmas.
It’s certainly understandable that one may wonder if these two piggies are related. Now you know that unless you nibble on some Percy Pig candies while enjoying an episode of Peppa Pig, the two are very unlikely to meet.
