Fjuckby name stays the same
The pilloried residents of Fjuckby have been left with little option but to endure their village's unfortunate name after the Institute of Language and Folklore rejected calls for a name change.
Fjuckby is saddled with the dual misfortune of containing both the rude Swedish word 'juck' and its more internationally recognisable English equivalent.
Consequently, a delegation of residents applied in December of last year to have the name Fjukeby reinstated. This variant, considerably more genteel than its successor, was in common usage until the 1930s.
"There should not be any doubt at all that, as a result of relatively new associations, the pronunciation and spelling of the place name 'Fjuckby', today arouses ridicule, teasing and hilarity in the general public," wrote inhabitant Katriina Flensburg on behalf of her fellow villagers.
"This regrettable fact engenders feelings of weariness, embarrassment and conditioned shame among villagers, who are often forced against their will to take a tiresome 'defensive stance' with regard to the name of their home town," the letter continued.
Fjuckby is home to just 60 people, but the Institute of Language and Folklore deemed that the 15 who favour Fjukeby were not representative of the population as a whole.
"The proposal for a name change does not have sufficient support from the inhabitants of the village," spokesman Leif Nilsson told SVT.
Speaking to The Local, Katriina Flensburg says that she has not yet received any official notification that the residents' application has been turned down.
"If this is true, then ok, I'm not going to stand on the barricades or anything. It was a good try.
"But I am interested in finding out what they did to investigate this. Did they conduct a survey of the 200 people who own properties in Fjuckby or did they just ask a few of the 60 people who live here?" said Flensburg.
While stressing that "this is not a big deal", Flensburg explains that she had not anticipated much resistance, as the name Fjukeby is "pretty and nice".
Both names translate roughly as 'Windy Village'.
Comments
See Also
Fjuckby is saddled with the dual misfortune of containing both the rude Swedish word 'juck' and its more internationally recognisable English equivalent.
Consequently, a delegation of residents applied in December of last year to have the name Fjukeby reinstated. This variant, considerably more genteel than its successor, was in common usage until the 1930s.
"There should not be any doubt at all that, as a result of relatively new associations, the pronunciation and spelling of the place name 'Fjuckby', today arouses ridicule, teasing and hilarity in the general public," wrote inhabitant Katriina Flensburg on behalf of her fellow villagers.
"This regrettable fact engenders feelings of weariness, embarrassment and conditioned shame among villagers, who are often forced against their will to take a tiresome 'defensive stance' with regard to the name of their home town," the letter continued.
Fjuckby is home to just 60 people, but the Institute of Language and Folklore deemed that the 15 who favour Fjukeby were not representative of the population as a whole.
"The proposal for a name change does not have sufficient support from the inhabitants of the village," spokesman Leif Nilsson told SVT.
Speaking to The Local, Katriina Flensburg says that she has not yet received any official notification that the residents' application has been turned down.
"If this is true, then ok, I'm not going to stand on the barricades or anything. It was a good try.
"But I am interested in finding out what they did to investigate this. Did they conduct a survey of the 200 people who own properties in Fjuckby or did they just ask a few of the 60 people who live here?" said Flensburg.
While stressing that "this is not a big deal", Flensburg explains that she had not anticipated much resistance, as the name Fjukeby is "pretty and nice".
Both names translate roughly as 'Windy Village'.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.