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Article published In: Naming and Labelling Contexts of Cultural Importance in Africa
Edited by Nico Nassenstein, Sambulo Ndlovu and Svenja Völkel
[International Journal of Language and Culture 10:2] 2023
► pp. 151–175

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Named entities, naming practices, and their meanings – linguistic types and cultural contexts

 | Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.

Published online: 3 May 2024
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ijolc.00048.vol
Abstract
Although names exist in all languages of the world, their formal and functional manifestations show great diversity. Due to their embeddedness in socio-cultural and historical contexts, an anthropological-linguistic approach that brings together linguistic and cultural facts is required to capture the full meaning of names and naming practices. Overall, names are given to entities of cultural importance and of significance for humans in social life; name usage and name-giving practices reflect social beliefs and cultural values; and their meaning is strongly shaped by cultural and historical contexts. This paper provides a typological, cross-linguistic overview of named entities, kinds of naming practices, and types of meanings associated with names, name giving, and name usage, which are illustrated with numerous examples from Australia, Europe, and Africa. Therefore, it also offers a structural framework for the contributions in this issue.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Named entities and types of names
  • 3.The act of naming
  • 4.The meaning of names
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
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