Use Of Personal Names Research Articles

This Is the Sacrifice: Language, Ideology and Religious Identity Performance in Erei Personal Names

This paper examines personal names derived from traditional religious beliefs and practices among the Erei people in Biase Local Government Area of Cross River State in South-South, Nigeria while utilising insights from the multidisciplinary inferences of socio-onomastic theory to account for the cultural, social and situational contexts that create the religious content of the names. Data were obtained by means of participant observation and semi-structured interviews during six months of fieldwork involving 40 participants who were the name-givers, name-bearers and name-users. Our findings highlight the socio-onomastic tradition of Erei people in which personal names are bestowed through a conscious application of symbolic linguistic resources to express and perform ideologies and identities that are rooted in the traditional religion’s foundations and sociocultural practices that represent Erei people’s indigenous beliefs system and spiritual worldview. Focused on the ideals of African traditional religion, religious identities are constructed through the use of personal names related to idol worship, the mysteries of death, reincarnation and commemoration, cultural festivals and performances, symbolic objects, familial rankings and other aspects derived from their environment that also bear traditional religious significance. And because this set of personal names is now predominant among the ageing population and is losing contemporaneity due to an increasing subpopulation with a new (Christian) beliefs system, this study serves to preserve a transiting and endangered Erei socio-onomastic practice that represents the people’s traditional cosmology.

Fri rørsle for namn?

Combining autoethnographic methods with close observation of the use of personal names in identity documents, this article considers affective dimensions of personal names. Focusing especially on psychological aspects behind a decision made by the author at a young age to change his first name, the article suggests that Carl Rogers’ concept of conditions of worth offers insights into personal naming practices, while the notion of incongruence provides a useful framework for understanding some typical reasons for changing a name. The author proposes onomastic dysphoria as a term to encapsulate the extreme mismatch that an individual may experience between their own name and their self-concept. Analysing the bureaucratic implications of the name change and a subsequent naturalisation application, the article makes a case for free movement of names at an international level.

‘My dearest Clara … my dear friend’ – Personal Names and direct address in Mary Hamilton’s private correspondence

Abstract In the eighteenth century, a period dominated by linguistic correctness, propriety and etiquette, appropriate forms of address are a customary feature in correspondence and a key means by which individuals are able to construct their social identity in light of their relationships with others. In this context, and framed within the fields of historical sociolinguistics and historical sociopragmatics, this paper explores the role of direct address as a socially-governed linguistic practice and as an index of politeness, and the focus lies in intra-speaker variation in the use of personal names and honorifics in the opening, body and subscription parts of the letter. The study is based on a set of 170 private letters written by Mary Hamilton (1756–1816), courtier, diarist and a member of the Bluestocking circle, and the analysis considers notions traditionally connected with pragmatic language use such as distance, power and politeness, bearing in mind other content-dependent factors as well. Overall, the research presented here aims to contribute to a growing body of literature which understands ego-documents as providing a window onto language and society.

By Miranda, Mary Hamilton, Mrs Dickenson … Self-reference in Late Modern English private correspondence

This paper is set in the late Georgian period, when letter writing became a widespread social practice and letter-writing manuals established norms of propriety and elegance of style for addressing persons of all ranks. More specifically, it turns its attention to author-oriented address with a focus on the use of personal names in self-reference expressions, as these address the recipient of the letter at the same time as they describe the status of the writer. The aim is to explore their role as a means of socially-governed linguistic practice and as an index of politeness on the positive-negative continuum, as proposed for Early Modern English correspondence.
 The study is based on a set of private letters written by Mary Hamilton (1776–1814), a well-connected figure in royal, aristocratic and literary circles. The analysis traces intra-speaker variation in the use of self-reference in the main text and in the signature, and explores sociolinguistic factors (gender) as well as notions traditionally connected with pragmatic language use (distance, relative power). The research presented here will thus contribute to the growing body of literature that considers ego-documents as representations of the self, of particular interest in the fields of historical sociolinguistics and historical sociopragmatics.

Goethe als Sprachhistoriker

The famous verses from Goethe’s ‚Faust I‘ Mein schönes Fräulein, darf ich wagen, / Meinen Arm und Geleit Ihr anzutragen? and Margarethe’s answer Bin weder Fräulein, weder schön, / Kann ungeleitet nach Hause gehn. repeatedly provoke discussion about why Margarethe emphasizes that she is not a Fräulein. It is also clear from other passages in the text, especially in the use of personal names, that Goethe likes to cite historical usage of language. We know that Goethe read early New High German texts, so we can assume that Goethe was concerned with earlier language use. Language history, especially word history, thus becomes an important tool for adequately understanding Goethe’s texts.

A nemzetiségi nyelven való egyéni névhasználat helyzete Magyarországon

Proper Name Usage in National Minority Languages. The Situation in Hungary On July 30, 2021, the Deputy Commissioner for the protection of the rights of national minorities living in Hungary issued general resolution 3/2021 regarding the use of personal names in minority mother tongues. The Deputy Commissioner explained the complexities of using proper names in minority languages in Hungary. The resolution also discussed the difficulties in registering and using these proper names under the rules of national minority legislation when issuing official certificates in Hungary. Considering the Commissioner’s investigation results, this paper presents the findings to researchers dealing with applied onomastics. The paper provides an overview of the Hungarian constitutional and international legislation regarding using individual names in national minority languages. It also introduces the current legislative and institutional framework of birth registration in nationality languages in Hungary. The topics of the present discussion include the general questions regarding proper name use in minority languages; the procedural, professional and technical conditions of birth registration; the relevant tasks and authority of the minority self-governing bodies; the legal aspects of minority name change; and the use of family and first names in nationality languages in official documents in Hungary.

Co-design and Development of EndoSMS, a Supportive Text Message Intervention for Individuals Living With Endometriosis: Mixed Methods Study.

Endometriosis, which affects 1 in 10 people assigned female at birth, is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease with a high symptom burden and adverse socioemotional impacts. There is a need for an accessible, cost-effective, and low-burden intervention to support individuals in managing their endometriosis condition. This study aimed to co-design and evaluate the acceptability, readability, and quality of a bank of supportive SMS text messages (EndoSMS) for individuals with endometriosis. In phase 1 of this mixed method design, 17 consumer representatives (individuals with endometriosis) participated across three 3-hour web-based (Zoom, Zoom Video Communications, Inc) focus groups. The transcripts were encoded and analyzed thematically. In phase 2, consumer representatives (n=14) and health care professionals (n=9) quantitatively rated the acceptability, readability, and appropriateness of the developed text messages in a web-based survey. All the participants initially completed a background survey assessing sociodemographic and medical factors. Consumer representatives demonstrated diverse sociodemographic characteristics (Mage=33.29), varying in location (metropolitan vs rural or regional), employment, and relationship and educational statuses. Participants reached a consensus regarding the delivery of 4 SMS text messages per week, delivered randomly throughout the week and in one direction (ie, no reply), with customization for the time of day and use of personal names. Seven main areas of unmet need for which participants required assistance were identified, which subsequently became the topic areas for the developed SMS text messages: emotional health, social support, looking after and caring for your body, patient empowerment, interpersonal issues, general endometriosis information, and physical health. Through a web-based survey, 371 co-designed SMS text messages were highly rated by consumers and health care professionals as clear, useful, and appropriate for individuals with endometriosis. Readability indices (Flesch-Kincaid scale) indicated that the SMS text messages were accessible to individuals with a minimum of 7th grade high school education. On the basis of the needs and preferences of a diverse consumer representative group, we co-designed EndoSMS, a supportive SMS text message program for individuals with endometriosis. The initial evaluation of the SMS text messages by consumer representatives and health professionals suggested the high acceptability and suitability of the developed SMS text messages. Future studies should further evaluate the acceptability and effectiveness of EndoSMS in a broader population of individuals with endometriosis.

Personvārdi Nīcas pagasta Verbeļu kapu piemiņas zīmju uzrakstos

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.

Mielcke or Milkus, or How to Write Prussian Lithuanian Personal Names of Non-Lithuanian Origin?

The history of the adaptation of the surname of Christian Gottlieb Mielcke (1733-1807), one of the most important creators of Lithuanian language and literature at the turn of the 19th century, covers the period from the 19th century to the present day. The adaptation of this personal name of non-Lithuanian origin has undergone probably the biggest changes in Lithuanian culture. Today, we count eight different variants of its usage: Mielcke, Mielckė, Mielke, Mielkus, Milkė, Mylkė, Milkus, and Mielcke’ė. In the 20th century, two variants were the most common: Milkė in the interwar period and the first years after the war and Milkus from the mid1960s. Jurgis Lebedys (1913-1970), the most authoritative researcher of old Lithuanian literature and a lecturer at Vilnius University, introduced this form in the Lithuanian language. Adapted following the example of the popular Prussian Lithuanian name (not surname!), the form took root rather quickly and easily not only in Lithuania but also in the diaspora. After Lithuania regained its independence at the end of the 20th century and when the world of the Western culture opened up, two groups of researchers formed. One group advocates the original form Mielcke and implement it in their works, while other group, trying to preserve the connection with the long tradition of Lithuanian research, uses the adapted form, Milkus. As a single drop reflects the entire ocean, so the tradition of the use of the personal name Mielcke’ė and today’s practice reveal the problem of the use of personal names of all famous Lithuanian writers of non-Lithuanian origin. It can only be solved by an extensive scientific discussion.

Anthroponyms from the pragmatic and communication perspective

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to extend the model theory and the modeling of onymic signs by V. Blanár by a new pragmatic-communicative dimension. The central motive of the paper is the possibilities and limits of use of personal names in dialogic communication from the perspective of the speaker, and taking into account the addressee who, being a semantic-pragmatic and communication partner/interlocutor of the speaker, receives the locutionary and illocutionary components of discourse, addresses the meaning the speaker attributed to the generated oral discourse, and analyzes the pragmatically charged knowledge that has been transmitted/received during the interaction processes. The author will focus on the functional availability of anthroponyms in the locutionary and non-locutionary intersubjectivity. Both happen on the speaker – addressee axis, with the anthroponyms (i) identifying the speaker and/or (ii) identifying or contacting the addressee in the locutionary intersubjectivity, and indicating another bearer in the non-locutionary intersubjectivity. The identity of the bearer is either confirmed or contradicted by the speaker. Through the using of his/her proper name, the speaker also signals whether or not the bearer of the name belongs to his/her personal sphere. Using concrete language material, the author intends to verify the applicability of anthroponyms with regard to the communication flexibility of the speaker, respect for the rules of cultural partnership in communication and some leeway in the knowledge requirements and expectations toward the addressee, since cooperation and courtesy involving empathy, respect, tactfulness and solidarity are the presumed components of verbal behaviour of both interlocutors.

The Social Use of Batonu Personal Names

Previous researchers on the use of Batonu personal names argue that there are different categories of Batonu names and using thirty (30) respondents, the researchers submit that the use of Muslim names has replaced the use of Batonu native names in all domains. However, the present study, using three hundred (300) respondents, visited the study area and identifies names that are used as personal names among the Batonu people. It also examines the social use of the names in formal and informal domains. The research adopted the theory of Domains of language use by Ferguson (1966). Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data on the various uses of personal names in intra and inter group interactions. There were three findings. Some showed names that were drawn from Islam and Christianity. Some names were also drawn from Batonu native names. Two domains of name usage have been identified. The informal domains consisted of home/community, peer-group and play ground. The formal ones comprised school, places of worship, certificates, wedding cards, almanacs and work places. It is evident that the Batonu native names are still frequently used with foreign or Christian and Muslim names in formal and in informal domains although with different degrees of use. This present study has shown that although a foreign culture may have an overwhelming influence over an indigenous culture, it does not mean that the indigenous culture will not thrive especially if the indigenous culture has traditional activities that can help sustain it.

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Onomastic strategies

In this article I propose to analyze three verbal strategies underlying the use of personal names by the Kabye of northern Togo. Such strategies fulfill a variety of purposes, including attempts to influence the behavior of a name-bearer in the context of interpersonal or social relationships. They are often implemented with the intent to help name-bearers live up to their name. Among these strategies I examine (1) the choice of a name, (2) its intonation and (3) its amplification. All three strategies fall within the scope of the socio-pragmatic approach to naming (the giving of names as well as their use) defined here as essentially an act of interpellation.

Semantic and Word-Formation Features of Horse Names in the History of the Russian Language (Based on the Inventory Books of Vologda Monasteries in the 16th — Early 18th Centuries)

The paper considers a historical aspect of zoonymic studies which has not been sufficiently developed. The history of Russian horse names (hipponyms) is explored using zoonymic data from the inventories of the Vologda monasteries in the 16th — early 18th centuries, the materials from Listings of horses (Moscow, 1665), and archival documents of the Soviet farms of Sevmaslotrest from 1930s. The author identifies the lexical structure of Early Modern Russian hipponymy, delves into the meaning of names and appellatives they derive from, analyses the structure of horses’ names, and describes the name formation techniques. The studied sources bring the picture of the general development of lexical patterns in the Russian hipponymy. As it turns out, the vocabulary of Early Modern Russian hyponymy is almost identical with the Old Russian anthroponomy, which attests to their genetic unity. At the same time, the use of Christian names is noted, with these becoming more popular in the given period. The article also deals with structural types of Early Modern Russian hipponyms: zoonyms having a substantive form (nicknames formed from onomastic, agential, zoological, and object nouns; zoonymic compounds; suffixal compounds); adjective-based zoonyms; mixed names. In monastic scripts of the 16th — early 18th centuries, the vast majority of units used as hipponyms are “prefabricated” traditional names, the cases of creating original animal names are rare. In the latter case, zoonyms are usually formed using suffixal patterns peculiar for agentive and anthroponomic vocabulary. The word-building patterns include the onymisation of appellatives (sometimes by metaphoric transfer), substantivisation (nominalization) of adjectives, transonymisation of personal and place names. Due to the semantic, structural, and word-formation proximities between Early Modern Russian zoonymy and Old Russian anthroponomy, zoonymic vocabulary of the 16th–18th centuries provides a reliable source on Old Russian onomasticon, as well as explains the “anthroponymic” nature of modern Russian zoonymy and the active use of personal names for animals at present. This practice turns out to have deep historical roots.

A személynevek Anonymus Gesta Hungarorumának angol és román fordításaiban

The Gesta Hungarorum is a valuable source of the early history of Europe and Hungary. As a result, several translations in addition to the Hungarian have been published: Romanian, German, Slovak, Polish, Catalan, English, Russian, etc. While some questions regarding the translation of the personal names used by Anonymous are predictable, a comprehensive understanding can only be reached through a complete comparison of all data. Thus, data collection is the first step of research. The current study examines the use of personal names in the English and Romanian translations. Aspects connected to translation are systematised based on the various levels of their context. A detailed analysis of the data brings new aspects to the fore that highlight questions connected not only to the text of the Gesta itself but translation in general. Thus this study is useful not only to a small group of scholars but any who face challenges in the translation of names.

HAMMACHIISAA: PERSONAL NAMES AND NAMING PRACTICES AMONG THE KUTTAYE OROMO

The paper examined use of personal names and naming practices among Kuttaye Oromo in Ethiopia. Kuttaye names are not just sheer tags, but it provides more approaching into important social, cultural and political events at the time of birth. Furthermore, the paper also discussed the significance attached to Kuttaye personal names. The study is purely qualitative, and a descriptive analysis was made. Purposive sampling was used, and interview and focus group discussion were employed as data collecting instruments.

Work, Identity, and the Regulation of Markets: A Study of Trademark Law in the United States and Germany

This article considers how legal systems capture different cultural perceptions of work in an individual’s life. We inquire how two models—“human capital,” based on the works of Adam Smith; and “vocation,” based on the works of G. W. F. Hegel—are reflected in legal regulations and judicial rhetoric in the United States and Germany. Specifically, we examine how these two legal systems treat the practice of using personal names—the most direct referents to individuals’ identities—in business. We discuss three sets of cases: cases involving the use of personal names as trademarks, cases involving conflicts between parties with similar names, and cases involving the transfer of rights in personal names. The article demonstrates that the US legal system treats work as a commercial asset, as “human capital” in Smith’s sense, whereas German law perceives work as an integral part of one’s identity, echoing the Hegelian line of “vocation.”

Work, Identity, and the Regulation of Markets: A Study of Trademark Law in the United States and Germany

This article considers how legal systems capture different cultural perceptions of work in an individual’s life. We inquire how two models—“human capital,” based on the works of Adam Smith; and “vocation,” based on the works of G. W. F. Hegel—are reflected in legal regulations and judicial rhetoric in the United States and Germany. Specifically, we examine how these two legal systems treat the practice of using personal names—the most direct referents to individuals’ identities—in business. We discuss three sets of cases: cases involving the use of personal names as trademarks, cases involving conflicts between parties with similar names, and cases involving the transfer of rights in personal names. The article demonstrates that the US legal system treats work as a commercial asset, as “human capital” in Smith’s sense, whereas German law perceives work as an integral part of one’s identity, echoing the Hegelian line of “vocation.”

Gender bias at scale: Evidence from the usage of personal names.

Recent research within the computational social sciences has shown that when computational models of lexical semantics are trained on standard natural-language corpora, they embody many of the implicit biases that are seen in human behavior (Caliskan, Bryson, & Narayanan, 2017). In the present study, we aimed to build on this work and demonstrate that there is a large and systematic bias in the use of personal names in the natural-language environment, such that male names are much more prevalent than female names. This bias holds over an analysis of billions of words of text, subcategorized into different genres within fiction novels, nonfiction books, and subtitles from television and film. Additionally, we showed that this bias holds across time, with more recent work displaying the same patterns as work published tens or hundreds of years previously. Finally, we showed that the main cause of the bias comes from male authors perpetuating the bias toward male names, with female authors showing a much smaller bias. This work demonstrates the potential of big-data analyses to shed light on large-scale trends in human behavior and to elucidate their causes.

Luvale Personal Names and Naming Practices: A Socio-Cultural Analysis

It is widely accepted that, in all societies, personal naming practices and culture are intertwined (Ngubane & Thabethe 2013). However, this reality is more pronounced in African society in that personal names are not just labels or appellations put on individuals to identify them in the community but rather words that reflect the world-view of people. This is also applicable to the Luvale people of Zambia. Indeed, among the Luvale, when a name is bestowed upon a child, the name-giver chooses a name that truly not only identifies the child as a person, but reflects the socio-cultural context or environment where the child is born. Using onomastics as its main theoretical base, this paper discusses the use of personal names and naming practices among the Luvale people of Northwestern Zambia. Data for analysis were mainly collected from native speakers in Zambezi District of Northwestern Zambia namely Kasoka Samusuwa, Kapindula Sayini, and Kutemba Samafu, to whom I am so grateful. I also used the available written literature on Luvale people as well as electronic sources.