When you think of ancient names, do you think of Romans with multiple names like Gaius Julius Caesar, but of Greeks with single names like Plato, Aristotle, or Pericles? There is a good reason for that. It is thought that most Indo-Europeans had single names, with no idea of an inheritable family name. The Romans were exceptional.
If you want to find out more, read about the naming conventions from Athens through the Roman Republic here.
The 27th annual Lavender Languages and Linguistics Conference will take place at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, CA on 27-29 March 2020, and will be hosted by the Human Sexuality PhD Program. The 2020 keynote speakers are Jack Halberstam, Columbia University, and Elizabeth Freeman, University of California at Davis. The Conference has a rich history of examining language use and representation in relation to LGBTQ+ life, including linguistics, sociolinguistics, (critical) discourse analysis, and the analysis of communication in various text genres, modes and media, as well as research into historical, literary, or performance questions. While the language of presentation is English, research concerning languages other than English is welcomed and encouraged.
Scholars of all backgrounds whose work explores the linkages between language and sexuality are invited to submit abstracts for papers (20 minutes + 10 minutes Q&A), posters or topical panel proposals. Your submission should be no longer than 350 words and should be anonymized.
For information on the CFP please see the official website. Deadline for general submission proposals is October 1, 2019 and for student “works-in-progress” proposals is September 15, 2019. Questions and requests for more information regarding the general submissions call should be directed to Eric Louis Russell at erussell@ucdavis.edu. Questions regarding the student call should be directed to Lucy Jones at lucy.jones@nottingham.ac.uk.
Noah Cyrus (sister of Miley)
Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his June 4th column, he looks at the history of the name Noah.
The first Noah (Hebrew “Noach,” “rest, renewal”) is told by God to build an ark to save his family and many animals from a worldwide flood in the Bible’s Book of Genesis. In early England, Noah was pronounced “Noy”; Noyes and Noyce families had ancestors called Noah. Noah was familiar to medieval Christians through church mystery plays. It was rare as a given name, perhaps because Noah is a comic henpecked husband in these plays. Noy was usually a nickname for someone who’d portrayed the character.
Boys began to be regularly named Noah after the Reformation. It was more popular with Puritans in America than England. Britain’s 1851 census found 3,688 Noahs. The 1850 United States census had 11,313, when the two nations had about the same population.
In 1880, when Social Security’s yearly baby name lists started, Noah ranked 130th. Its long decline bottomed out at 698th in 1963. Noah then rose as a “different but not too different” alternative for other Old Testament fashions like Joshua, Nathan, and Aaron. Bob Seger’s 1969 hit song “Noah” helped.
Want to know more? Read on to find out more about Noahs in history!
If you enjoy reading about names, we encourage you to join the ANS and share your name news with us!… Read More
The American Name Society (ANS) is now inviting proposals for papers for its next annual conference. The 2020 conference will be held in conjunction with the Linguistic Society of America. Abstracts in any area of onomastic research are welcome. The deadline for receipt of abstracts is July 30, 2019. To submit a proposal, simply complete the 2020 Author Information Form.
Please email this completed form to ANS Vice President Laurel Sutton using the following address: <laurelasutton@gmail.com>. For organizational purposes, please be sure to include the phrase “ANS 2020” in the subject line of your email. Presenters who may need additional time to secure international payments and travel visas to the United States are urged to submit their proposal as soon as possible.
All proposals will be subjected to blind review. Official notification of proposal acceptances will be sent on or before September 30, 2019. All authors whose papers have been accepted must be current members of the ANS and need to register with both the ANS and the Linguistic Society of America. Please feel free to contact Dr. Dorothy Dodge Robbins or Laurel Sutton should you have any questions or concerns.
A downloadable PDF of the Call for Papers can be found here.
We look forward to receiving your submission!
The Cyprus Pedagogical Institute, Ministry of Education and Culture, Cyprus, in collaboration with the University of Cyprus, announces the 3rd International Conference on Literacy and Contemporary Society, titled “Identities, Texts, Institutions”. The conference will be held on 11-12 October 2019 at the “Filoxenia” Conference Center in Nicosia.
The 3rd International Conference on Literacy and Contemporary Society focuses on the complex interrelation between identities, texts and institutions. In the era of multimodality and multilingualism, literacy practices have at their epicenter polymorphic texts that derive from different communities of practice and are the results of representational and enacting processes of either individuals or groups. At the same time, in institutions like education, texts and literacy are approached from a more top-down perspective, which focuses on promoting and assessing particular bits of knowledge, skills, and competencies. The conference aims to shed light on these issues and interactions and to provide a dynamic platform where different aspects of identities, texts and institutions will be discussed.
To participate in the conference either with an oral paper presentation, a symposium or a workshop, authors may submit a proposal until no later than June 21, 2019, by filling in their details in the relevant form which can be found on the conference website (http://www.pi.ac.cy/literacy). Abstracts must be sent to the email address: literacy_cyprus@cyearn.pi.ac.cy
Logainm is a new studio-based 26 part series celebrating and exploring the place names of Ireland. Much of Ireland’s history is locked up in its place names. They are a unique aspect of our shared culture and heritage. There are millions of place names all over the island, from the field behind your house, to the four provinces of Ireland. Each of them has its own story to unfold, each has a distinctive sense of place.
The presenter, renowned musician and singer, Breanndán Ó Beaglaoich is joined each week by a panel of guests who bring their expertise to bear on a lively discussion of Irish place names.
