From the 23rd to the 24th of May, 2016, the 28th Annual Federal Food Regulatory Conference will be taking place in Washington, D.C.. Among the many topics to be explored this year is product naming and labeling.
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Onomastics for Genealogy, Names, Naming Patterns, & More Webinar, June 15, 2017
The Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain has announced its 2016-2017 schedule of educational webinars. In addition to providing e-instruction on conducting archival research, the Society will be offering a special webinar entitled “Onomastics for Genealogy, Names, Naming Patterns, & More” on the 15th of June, 2017.
About Names: Porn Star Names
Raking in ca 14 billion dollars per year, the US porn industry is very big business. With all that cash around, it’s no wonder that the industry continues to attract would-be stars. To help these onscreen hopefuls, the internet is filled with specialized name generators.
Although some may scoff, as porn legend Annie Sprinkle revealed in an interview with Alternet, landing the perfect porn name is critical: “My name helped me to totally change who I was […] and become who I wanted to be.”
Despite these unusual psychological and economic demands, Stanford Linguistics Professor Arnold Zwicky contends that most porn names are actually quite regular. For example, his examination of over two thousand porn star names revealed that the most common first name for erotic actors was… Mark.
About Names: A wizard, a clown, a president, and other famous Ronalds
Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. This week’s column explores Ronald.
International Workshop on Language Technologies and Applications, Gdansk, Poland, September 11-14, 2016
The 1st International Workshop on Language Technologies and Applications (LTA’16) will be held from the 11th to the 14th of September 2016 in Gdansk, Poland. Paper proposals dealing with new technologies and intelligent systems for language processing are welcome. The deadline for abstract submission is April 18, 2016.
Tasmania’s Aboriginal heritage recognized with more dual place names announced
In an effort to pay homage to Tasmania’s rich Aboriginal heritage, the Nomenclature Board of Tasmania has progressively introduced a dual English/Indigenous naming system for landmarks of great cultural significance. As Will Hodgeman, New Zealand’s Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, explained in an interview with ABC news, “The names are applied in the reconstructed palawa kani language following extensive research by the Aboriginal community language revival program.” Three examples of dual toponyms are
- Mount William/wukalina
- Great Lake/yingina
- Sundown Point/laraturunawn.
The Zealand government continues to replace offensive place names.
For many years now, the New Zealand government has made a concerted effort to replace long-outdated, highly offensive place names. Thanks to this effort, toponyms such as “Nigger Hill” and “Niggerhead” were changed into “Kanuka Hills” and “Tawhai Hill,” respectively. More on this government’s movement to replace place names featuring the N-word and other epithets can be found through Creative Spirits.
Dwan Shipley [1947-2016]
The American Name Society is very sad to report the death of one of our cherished members, Professor Dwan Shipley. Dwan passed away on the 12th of February 2016 after battling a long-term illness. An expert in anthroponymy, toponymy, and the preservation of indigenous languages of the Pacific Northwest, Dwan was a faculty member of the Linguistics Department at Western Washington University (WWU). In a recent interview featured in the Western Front, retired WWU Linguistics Director, Rudolf Weiss, stated that Dwan’s combined passion for people and languages is the reason why so many WWU students picked linguistics as their major field of study. According to Dr. Shaw Gynan, a fellow Linguistics Professor at WWU, Dwan’s devotion to academic excellence was a source of perpetual inspiration for both students and colleagues alike. “One of the things I loved most about Professor Shipley was his office,” Gynan revealed in an email interview with the Western Front. “It was a scholar’s den, filled to the rafters with references.”
It was exactly that rare combination of intelligence and kindness that made Dwan such a cherished colleague and friend within the ANS family. As former ANS President Donna Lillian shared, “He was a scholar and a gentleman […] He welcomed new and returning members alike with his kind and supportive presence, and I was proud to count him among my ANS friends.” Similar sentiments were echoed by the current ANS Vice President, Dorothy Dodge Robbins, who wrote, “I always looked forward to seeing Dwan at our gatherings. He was a great onomastician and a genuinely decent human being.”
Indeed, at a time when academia can feel very cold and uninviting, Dwan’s gentle spirit and sincere warmth were a welcomed and powerful reminder of what true integrity and strength are. As the current ANS President, Iman Nick, said upon receiving the news of Dwan’s death, “I felt sick to my stomach when WWU told me what had happened. He was always so incredibly generous with his time and his knowledge. He was the kind of person who made everyone around him feel completely at ease. His soft smile and his gentle laughter will be terribly missed.” Saundra Wright, ANS member-at-large, expressed a similar sense of loss and appreciation. “Dwan,” she related, was not only “an incredible scholar, but also such a genuine and thoughtful person […].”
In celebration of Dwan’s life, the WWU Linguistics Program has established a special scholarship fund in his name. Please type “Dwan Shipley Memorial Scholarship” into the gift designation box. Alternatively, check donations can be sent to the following postal address: WWU Foundation, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225-9034. Please be sure to include the name “Dwan Shipley Memorial Scholarship” in the memo line of the check. A special memorial service was held on Wednesday, the 24th of February 2016 at the Dakota Creek Christian Center in Blaine, Washington. Dwan is survived by his wife, Nita.
We at the ANS wish to express our heartfelt condolences to the Shipley family as well as the students and staff of the Linguistics Department of Western Washington University.
Zuckerberg Announces Daughter’s Chinese Name
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan announced their daughter’s Chinese name: Chen Mingyu. While the first part of the name was taken from Zuckerberg’s mother-in-law, the the second is composed of the words: “ming” for bright and “yu” for universe. The tiny internet heiress’s English name, “Maxima” was reportedly chosen to honor Zuckerberg’s side of the family.
Call for Nominations for the Adam Kilgarriff Prize
In association with the electronic lexicography (e-Lex) conference series, the Adam Kilgarriff Prize, is being offered to young scholars working within the areas of corpus linguistics, computational linguistics, and lexicography. The prize consists of a monetary award of 2,500 Euros. Winners will be invited to give a special lecture at the e-Lex conference in 2017. The deadline for nominations is the 30th of September 2016.