Translated by Leonard Pearl.
"Names in Focus" delves deep into the vast field of Finnish onomastics, covering place names, personal names, animal names, commercial names and names in literature. It provides the history and current trends in this area of research, and also supplements international terminology with the Finnish point of view on the subject. Brimming with examples and clear explanations, the book can be enjoyed by the most studious of researchers as well as the casual reader who has a genuine interest in the study of names.
Author(s): Terhi Ainiala, Minna Saarelma, Paula Sjöblom
Series: Studia Fennica Linguistica, 17
Publisher: Finnish Literature Society
Year: 2012
Language: English
Pages: 288
City: Helsinki
Preface 8
Abbreviations and Symbols 11
1. Theoretical Background to Onomastics 13
What is a Name? 13
Names in Culture and Society 16
The Many Functions of Names 16
Changing Names and Naming Systems 21
Categorisation of Names 23
Names in Language 27
Names and Appellatives 27
Meaning of Names 31
Name Typology 35
2. Materials and Lines of Finnish Onomastics 38
Research Material 38
Research Tradition 44
Etymological Research 45
Cultural-Historical and Settlement-Historical Research 47
Loan Name Research 49
Typological Research of Toponymy 52
Sociolinguistic Research 56
Research on Urban Nomenclature 58
Diversification of Research 59
International Cooperation 60
3. Place Names 63
Introduction to Place Names 63
Grammar and Semantics 71
Structure and Content of Names 71
Syntactic-Semantic Classification Model 72
Various Means of Name Formation 75
Variation in Names 82
Name Strata over Time and across Languages 85
Origin and Etymology 85
Name Strata across Languages 94
Urban Nomenclature 99
Official, Planned Names 99
Formation of Unofficial Names 105
Functions of Unofficial Names 109
Use of Names 110
Knowledge of Names 110
Children as Name Users 114
The Many Contexts of Use 115
Attitude towards Names 118
Other Functions of Names 119
4. Personal Names 124
Introduction to Personal Names 124
Personal Names and Culture 124
Differences and Similarities in Naming Systems 126
Anthroponymic Typology and Terminology 129
A Changing Anthroponymy 136
African Naming Systems 138
Asian Naming Systems 142
Development of European Naming Systems 145
European Pre-Christian Anthroponymy 145
Standardisation of Christian Nomenclature in the Middle Ages 148
From Bynames to Hereditary Surnames 152
Name Giving Trends of the Modern Era 154
Stages of Finnish Anthroponymy 157
Old Finnish Naming System 157
Features of Medieval Anthroponymy 159
Name Giving in Finland between the 16th and 18th Centuries 162
Fennisation of Given Names during Russian Rule 163
Formation of a Modern Surname System 166
Given Names and Surnames in 20th and 21st Century Finland 170
General Features of Finnish Given Names 170
Principles of Name Selection 176
Popularity Change of Given Names 180
Name Day Tradition in Finland 185
Finnish Surnames 186
What the Law Says about Finns’ Names 188
Finnish Unofficial Anthroponymy 190
Unofficial Bynames in the Finnish Naming System 190
Bynames of Small Children and Schoolchildren 193
Bynames of Teachers and other Professional Groups 196
Naming Systems of Linguistic Minorities 197
Finland Swedish Personal Names 197
Sámi Personal Names 199
Personal Names in Sign Language 200
5. Animal Names 202
Do Animals Use Names? 202
Cat and Dog Names 204
Cattle Names 206
Horse Names 207
6. Commercial Names 210
Commercial Nomenclature as a Topic of Research 210
Names and Trade 210
Types of Commercial Names 211
Factors Taken into Account in Examining Names 214
Research Traditions of Commercial Nomenclature 217
Factors that Determine Name Giving 219
Laws and Guidelines 219
Commercial Objectives 223
History of Commercial Naming in Finland 226
Company Names 233
Structural Description of Company Names 233
Determining Language in Company Names 238
Semantic Description of Company Names 241
Social and Cultural Functions 243
Brands, Product Names and Trade Marks 245
On the Border Areas of Commercial Nomenclature 249
7. Names in Literature 255
Names in Fiction 255
Translating Names in Literature 261
Finnish Literary Onomastics 264
Bibliography 267
Index 281
