
Names and Naming
. Ed(S): Puzey, Guy; Kostanski, Laura
This book explores international trends in naming and contributes to the growing field of onomastic enquiry. Naming practices are viewed here through a critical lens, demonstrating a high level of political and social engagement in relation to how we name people and places. The contributors to this publication examine why names are not only symbols of a person or place, but also manifestations of cultural, linguistic and social heritage in their own right. Presenting analyses of geographically and culturally diverse perspectives and case studies, the book investigates how names can represent deeper kinds of identity, act as objects of attachment and dependence, and reflect community mores and social customs while functioning as powerful mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion. The book will be of interest to researchers in onomastics, sociology, human geography, linguistics and history.
Product Details
About . Ed(S): Puzey, Guy; Kostanski, Laura
Reviews for Names and Naming
Carole Hough, University of Glasgow, UK
Names and Naming: People, Places, Perceptions and Power is a great addition to the ‘critical turn’ in naming studies. Guy Puzey and Laura Kostanski have brought together an excellent group of scholars to produce a diverse range of empirically rich and critically aware case studies of the politics of naming. This is an important book for anyone who wants to learn about the latest developments in socially engaged and critical approaches to onomastics.
Lawrence D. Berg, University of British Columbia, Canada
I have been working with place names for many years but the articles in this publication have continued my education of the role that names of all varieties play in helping us to find our place. This is not only in a spatial sense, but in cultural and personal aspects I had not previously considered. These papers allowed me to see this and I commend all for the work that has been undertaken in the investigation and preparation of the insights presented.
William Watt, Chair, United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names
This volume covers a variety of pressing themes in naming studies. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the field of onomastics and the critical approach advocated by the contributors, the book is also particularly valuable for scholars in pragmatics, human geography, and sociology.
Johanna Warm, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria
Language in Society 47 (2018)
This volume forms an extraordinary contribution that clearly illuminates the relevance of critical onomastics. It has the ability to inspire scholars to conduct politically aware and socially engaged onomastic research. The volume deserves to be read by everyone interested in the roles of names and naming.
Emilia Aldrin, Halmstad University, Sweden
Journal of the English Place-Name Society 48 (2016)
This book describes very well the socio-linguistic diversity in each country, and it is also possible to see some similitude, such as the struggle of minority languages against hegemonies. It is without a doubt a promising field.
Marc-Alexandre Beaulieu, Leiden University, Netherlands
Onomastica Canadiana, Vol. 95 (2016)
This book is a welcome addition to the expanding field of onomastics. It joins the likes of Hough’s (2016) edited volume to present a wealth of studies that would broaden our understanding of how naming practices affect people, places and of what images and attitudes their names conjure up. In fact, this book shares seven contributors with Hough’s volume. The interdisciplinary nature of the field of onomastics makes this book a treasure for post-graduate students and researchers in cultural studies, historical linguistics, human geography and planning, lexicology, sociolinguistics, sociology, and urbanization.
Paula Prescod, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, France
LINGUIST List 27.5049