Personvārdi Nīcas pagasta Verbeļu kapu piemiņas zīmju uzrakstos

Abstract

The linguistic landscape of Verbeļi Cemetery in Nīca municipality was researched, analyzing the use of personal names in memorial inscriptions. As the oldest inscriptions of the memorial were from 1874, the possible time of the cemetery’s establishment is the end of the 19th century. The cemetery belongs to an open type, which means that burials are still carried out there. The research material covers the period from 1874 to 2020. 133 cemetery burials were recorded; 124 of them are identifiable memorial signs. The study analyzes various trends in the use of personal names and peculiarities of spelling, as well as extensions of the anthroponymic formula like a woman’s surname before the wedding inscripted on the monument (Anna Bumbulis born Verbelis, Ilze Paipa born Rāva); inclusion of the person’s middle name (Jānis Voldemārs Pundiks, Austra Maiga Ģelze). The frequency of the anthroponymic formula (name, surname in Latvian) or deviations from this norm was studied: surname written before the name (Nāģis Miķelis, Pāvils Zelma); the use of feminine surnames in masculine (Made Novads, Klibais Margrieta); female surnames without a suffix (Ilse Werbel, Anna Baschtik). The use of initials was also found in two cases. Surnames from other languages are one of the aspects that reveal the diversity of the linguistic landscape of the cultural environment of the cemetery: Russian-language-based surnames (Žuravļevs Osips, Zaharovs Pēteris); German-language-based surnames (Dzintars Šulcs, Ilze Maulics, Stenders Kārlis, Haralds Freibergs); Polish-language-based surnames (Vidopski Gunārs, Valija); Lithuanian-language-based surnames (Alfrīdas Dejus, F. Sergējus). Some ancient memorial inscriptions have retained unique historical evidence of writing traditions in old orthography, such as the long vowel writing, where a consonant follows the short vowel: - h-: -eh- < ē = Jehkab < Jēkabs. The influence of the German language can be seen, for example, in the spelling of letters, where three special letters or a set of specific letters indicate consonant softening: sch < š = Baschtik < Baštik. In the inscriptions, the tendency of partial anonymity was found: the family members are not named, but only the name of the family is mentioned: Piķu family. One surname in the masculine in singular or plural form unites two family members, for instance, husband and wife, father and son, etc.