Etimology: Steampunk or Steampunker?

It is only very recently that I contacted Peter, Editor of Steampunker.ru, for the first time, due to the release of the 2012 compilation of our brief interviews’ series ‘Steampunk jewelry tonight with…’. After publishing a kind review of it at Steampunker.ru and realizing that I had used the word ‘Steampunkers’, he made  me a very interesting question: is it correct the use of the word steampunker to refer to people? So here we go, a Russian and a Spanish discussing philological issues related to the English language (this could easily become a joke, couldn’t it?).

1.- Steampunk

As we all know, the word steampunk was originated in the late 1980s as a tongue-in-cheek variant of cyberpunk. It seems to have been coined by science fiction author K. W. Jeter, who was looking for a general term for works by Tim Powers (The Anubis Gates, 1983); James Blaylock (Homunculus, 1986); and himself (Morlock Night, 1979, and Infernal Devices, 1987). This is, the term steampunk was originated as per linguistic analogy, replacing the root cyber by steam and keeping the sufix -punk. At present steampunk may be used both as noun (countable and uncountable; plural steampunks) and verb, with derivatives such as steampunkery, steampunkered, steampunkering, etc.

Some time ago I felt quite intrigued by the use of several words whithin the Steampunk scene to call themselves: steampunk, steamer, steampunker… so I began to look for information regarding the use of these terms. It seems that the use of these terms -and even its plural forms- has been a matter of debate for a long time. We can go back to 2007 (Brass Goggles forum topic: ‘Steampunk vs Steampunker.’) or just a couple of years ago (Brass Goggles forum topic: ‘Steampunk or Steampunker’) to find debates and even polls about this subject and, in particular, about the use of the term ‘steampunker’.

So, why have I been choosing to use the term ‘steampunker’ sometimes? I think that I have been using this term mainly with emphatic -and even affectionate- purpose. But wy do I like this term, when it is not a very popular choice? Probably due to a linguistic sensibility question, I guess. Let me talk a bit more about this.

2.- Punker

Of obscure origin, the term punk seem to be derived from Spanish ‘puta’, this is, ‘prostitute’; from the late 16th through the 18th century, punk was a common, coarse synonym for prostitute. The first known use of the phrase punk rock appeared in the Chicago Tribune on March 22, 1970, attributed to Ed Sanders, cofounder of New York’s anarcho-prankster band The Fugs. The noun punker comes from the merge of punk + rocker, meaning ‘a punk rock musician or a devotee of punk rock or punk styles’. I include below some citations regarding the term punker:

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3.- Steampunker

At this point I would like to clarify that I am a non-native English speaker and my English knowledge is far from being proficient. My mother tongue is Spanish and I speak Galician and English too; besides, I have studied German for several years and I understand Portuguese. As I said before, the like -or dislike- of the term steampunker may be due to a matter of linguistic and cultural sensibility (what a German would probably call ‘Sprachgefühl’). Probably the choice of words such as Clockworker(.de) or Steampunker(.ru) are not a coincidence, don’t you think? I would like to share with you some reflections regarding the use of the term steampunker.

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‘I call myself a steampunker, for me the punk part is very important so I like to have that connotation involved, the other people in the world, the non-steampunks, I call conformist sheeple as there are no real individuals anymore what with everyone dressing the way the “gap” and other stores tells them and just doing what everyone else does all the time…… sorry for the rant, I tend to go off on the wrongs of modern society every once in a while’.

dman762000

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‘Depends on your English accent. I am from a region where Germanic tones are audible. Such as the shorter ‘u’ and saying ‘Und’ (pronouncing the ‘d’) for ‘And’ etc. The backbone of the English language is Germanic through the Anglo Saxons and Danish Vikings. Trivial I am sure, but to defend the usage of Steampunker is more to do with one of being expression not contraversy!’

Andrew Craven

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‘I think “steampunker” implies an action… and steampunk isn’t something I do, it’s what I am’.

AdAstra

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‘I think it’s the ‘er’ on the end that makes it sound like an old, long forgotten trade.

“Here we see the now forgotten skill of ‘punking steam’. This important and potentially dangerous job was not for the faint hearted. Steam is left to build up in a boiler until it’s just under the ‘danger’ level and then let out in a serious of fast, precisely timed, short bursts. This process is known as ‘punking’. The man charged with this task was called the ‘Steampunker’.
Now..if you will follow me we can see the ancient art of buckling the swash….”.’

Capt. Dirigible

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I do like the ‘archaic’, ‘solid’ sound of Steampunker, but this may be totally different for you… besides, I am not precisely a philologist, so any scholar approach to this subjet will be more than welcome. What do you think? Steampunk or Steampunker, and why?

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JF Alfaya

Jose Francisco ALFAYA was born in 1978 in Vigo (Spain) and lives in Madrid at present. With a professional background in Sales and Marketing, he has proven experience in SME internationalization (B2B) and Managerial Positions. He has travelled through Africa, Asia and Europe. As Managing Partner and founder, he is responsible for the conceptual and strategic development of Decimononic.

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