In this open letter, on scarymommy.com, Elizabeth Broadbent asks parents not to choose weird names. In it, is she outlines seven particularly offense categories on trendy names. What’s your opinion on these “weird” baby naming trends?
Month: December 2016
Linguistics Career Mixer at the LSA/ANS Conference in Austin, January 7th 2017
The Linguistics Outside Academia Special Interest Group of the Linguistics Society of America presents:
Linguistics Career Mixer
Saturday, 7 January, Meeting Room 306, 3:30 – 5:00 PM
Organizers: Laurel Sutton (Catchword Branding), Anastasia Nylund (Georgetown University)
What: The Linguistics Career Mixer is an annual event that brings linguists who have found professional expression of their skills and training in a variety of fields — from research and consulting to writing and education — together with people who are currently trying to learn about their next steps professionally. The idea is to create a context for having exploratory conversations about career paths. Linguists who have found employment in a range of contexts will be on hand to talk about their work as researchers, consultants, writers, editors, trainers, managers, and language and communication specialists in government, education, business and non-profit sectors
(among others). Representatives from 20+ organizations will be in attendance, including the FrameWorks Institute, Georgetown University, the Center for Applied Linguistics, and Catchword Branding just to name a few.
How: The event is designed to be informal, conversational and as a context for learning.
Why: Because the world of work needs our skills and training, but this requires learning ways of talking about skills and training in linguistics that will make sense to those who we would wish to hire us. Networking is key to learning about some of the paths available, to getting feedback on our professional self-presentation, and to meeting the people who can continue to help guide and support us along the way.
Anyone who is interested in being radically curious about career is most welcome to participate including students at all stages of their educational and professional development, professors, grads and any and all careerminded linguists.
How: Participants will draw a handful of questions from a bowl at the door to start them off on the right conversational foot with a few structured ways of talking about work with “career linguists” (those who have found careers outside of academia). Those wearing a
“Career Linguist” name tag indicate that they have come ready to be asked questions and to share their experiences.
The focus is on exploration and networking. Attendees are encouraged to bring business cards and questions for specific participants, and to keep in mind that the Mixer is not designed to be a job fair, but instead an opportunity for conversation. The organizers will also collect suggestions from attendees on what type of events and resources they would like to see from the SIG in the coming year.
About Names: Lazarus’ is More Popular Than It’s Been in a Century
The Atlas Obscura does a deep dive into the name Lazarus. Are we about to see kindergarten classrooms full of students named Lazarus?… Read More
About Names: ‘Assassin’s Creed’ movie may help the name ‘Callum’ take flight
Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. This recent column explores Callum.… Read More
Timeline maps of the most popular baby names in each state, 1910-2014
This animated map from kottke.org shows popular baby names across the United States. The three separate animations visualize name popularity in different ways.
Hamburg to name street after Germany’s most famous dominatrix
Alongside Karneval and Oktoberfest, there is a place in Germany where tourists from around the globe come to seek the latest in adult entertainment: the red-light district of Hamburg or the Reeperbahn. Just over 900 meters long, the infamous corner of the St. Pauli district of western Hamburg is home to night clubs, peep shows, strip bars, theater houses, restaurants, comedy clubs, and brothels designed to meet almost any taste. This past month, Hamburg officials announced that it would be naming one of the busiest streets in the red-light district after one of its most influential residents: Domenica Niehoff, a former S&M dominatrix turned activist, who campaigned tirelessly for sex workers’ rights.
Iceland government challenges retail chain Iceland over name use
The tiny, frozen, nation of Iceland has filed legal action against a British grocery chain store that has taken the name “Iceland” as its company name. “Iceland Foods” is a privately owned frozen food chain owned and operated by Malcolm Walker and the South African investment group Brait. According to a recent article in the UK Guardian, “Iceland Foods” has already “won multiple cases against Icelandic companies which use ‘Iceland’” as a part of their onomastic trademark. Whether the nation of Iceland will emerge triumphant in the battle to control the use of their country’s name will be decided at the European Union’s Intellectual Property Office.
About Names: Headstrong martyr propelled ‘Agnes’
Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. This recent column explores Agnes.… Read More
Merriam Webster’s Name That Thing
It is maddening and you probably will not get all of them right. And if you do, there is a very good chance you won’t be able to repeat that stellar performance. And if you do, send us an email. You should definitely join the American Name Society. Feeling lucky? Feeling knowledgeable? Want to test your wits against the folks at Merriam Webster? Check out the game: Name That Thing. You can play as often as you like. Warning: this name game can be harmful to your ego and just might be a tad addictive.
Final Schedule for the ANS Conference in Austin, TX
The final schedule of presentations is now available for the upcoming annual conference in Austin, TX, from January 5-8, 2017. The schedule is included in the ANS 2017 Conference Program.
For more information about the conference and registration materials, please visit the conferences page.