The Oxford Handbook of Names and Naming
Abstract
Names are a linguistic universal. All known languages make use of names—most commonly, but not exclusively, to identify individual people and places. This volume provides an up-to-date account of the state of the art in different areas of name studies, otherwise known as ‘onomastics’. The main focus throughout is on general principles and methodologies, and although all contributions are written in English, they encompass a wide range of languages and cultures across the world. The volume is divided into seven parts, dealing with the main branches of name studies in roughly chronological order of emergence. Part I discusses the role of names in language (name theory), a key focus of investigation since Ancient Greece. Part II deals with place-names, with an opening chapter on methodology followed by chapters on different types of referents. Part III addresses personal names, with an overview of naming systems in different parts of the world followed by chapters on individual components of those systems. Part IV discusses the study of names in literature, with case studies from different languages and time periods. Part V introduces the field of socio-onomastics, with chapters relating to the names of people, places, and commercial products. Part VI outlines ways in which other disciplines draw on, and contribute to, name studies. Finally, Part VII presents a selection of animate and inanimate referents, and explores the naming strategies adopted for them.
Keywords:
name studies,
onomastics,
name theory,
place-names,
personal names,
names in literature,
socio-onomastics
Bibliographic Information
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- Print Publication Date:
- Jan 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199656431
- Published online:
- Mar 2016
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199656431.001.0001
Editor
Carole Hough,
editor
Carole Hough is Professor of Onomastics at the University of Glasgow. Her research interests include Scottish and English place-names and personal names, names in literature, and onomastic theory. She has around 300 publications on these and other topics. A former President of the International Council of Onomastic Sciences and Convener of the Scottish Place-Name Society, she is currently President of the International Society of Anglo-Saxonists, Vice-President of the Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland, and a Council Member of the English Place-Name Society.
