Ok, so in the world that I've created for my series, I'm wondering how to do the naming for the cultures, regions, countries, continents, etc, etc. Basically the world I've created is Earth, just a really twisted and unrecognizable Earth. All of the continents have been shifted together into a massive supercontinent. Time has lost its meaning, and no one remembers what happened in the past. The problem I'm having is that since no one remembers the Old Names (the names we use now for countries and such) what do I do for the New Names? This isn't a fantasy setting, so I can't exactly make a new language and rename everything in that new language.
Try this site: http://www.springhole.net/writing_roleplaying_randomators/worldbuilding.htm There are so many different generators branching off of this link. Hopefully you'll find some of them useful.
So it's the same earth just changed? Would there be old books or signs around? or is this a start from scratch kinda thing?
So it's the same earth just changed? Would there be old books or signs around? or is this a start from scratch kinda thing?
Hmmm, thing is, the entity that changed the earth randomly wiped all traces of some civilizations and left some traces of others. It was completely random and only left things that it wanted left behind. Hence, that's where some of the "Old Names" come from. Which would mostly be signs and such.
The way I do it is I use a combination of cultures to influence a particular nation or city state. I'll then borrow from those cultures in terms of language, grammar, whathaveyou and attempt to mix them. You could easily do this since the Earth you talk about has literally molded back together. You could even borrow from ancient civilizations long gone and attempt to create something truly original, but no so alien that is sounds ridiculous. It takes a bit of experimentation before you get a particular feel for the name of said culture/nation down. Some may mix better with others. It all really depends how vast your world is going to be and where the story will be focused around.
So it is Pangaea 2.0. Got it. At least that is what they called it the last time the continents were just on giant land mass. You could divide it up into territories or zones, or something. You could also come up with names for each, by using that random generator thing Historymom mentioned. Good Luck.
You mentioned that some cultures were wiped out, so the best way to figure out how to name your new areas is to figure out which cultures remain since the be they'd be the ones naming things. Another important thing to figure out is how much time has passed. Does your story take place right after the convergence of the continents or hundreds of years later? If the latter, maybe the original survivors named places after the old world, but over time the names have morphed. E.g. A small group of survivors from Dallas found a tiny village called "New Dallas" centuries pass and the area is now called "Na'Dahl" or just "Dahl" and the people don't remember their origins. There will probably should be plenty of areas named for geographical features. If all the continents merged into one again, especially in the way you described, there's bound to be new mountain chains, canyons, rivers, lakes, seas, etc. It's likely that people would name these features if not after places from the old world than for their physical appearance. E.G The games "City XL" and "Destiny" both have locals called "The Shattered Coast," and LOTR/Middle Earth has "The Lonley Mountain"
You've got a conflict between the alien entity being completely random, and leaving what it wanted...i.e., not being at all random, merely having a logic that is beyond our ken. That sounds like a much more interesting story than a series set in an altered Earth. Why does this entity prefer Hindu ethics over Judaeo-Christian ones? (or vice-versa) Even if you don't want to write this as a story, I think you need it as back-story to support your logic. It would also give a deep-seated riddle to be solved throughout your series (like the location of the Second Foundation in Asimov's Foundation trilogy)
