The American Name Society posts onomastic news almost every day!
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Onomastic news includes conference information, calls for papers, information about names, and names in the news.
The Zika virus of the Flaviviridae family derived its name in 1947 from the Zika Forest in Uganda where it was first identified in a rhesus monkey. Since that initial isolation, viral outbreaks among humans have been tracked in Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands, and most recently the Americas and Europe.
Given the spread of the virus and the possible link to life-threatening birth defects, African residents of the Zika Forest are worried that negative onomastic associations will endanger their vital tourist industry. Other toponyms which have served as the basis for disease monikers include the West Nile; and Lime, Connecticut.
Number one ranked tennis star, Novak Djokovic, is using the power of names to prepare himself for the upcoming French Open. As a part of his motivational strategy, the winner of 11 Grand slam trophies has devised a name for his goal to take the French Open: “the Djoker Slam”. Djokovic, or “Djoker” as he is called by friends, is not the first player to use this linguistic technique. Tennis legend, Serena Williams, called her 21st Grad Slam title, the “Serena Slam”.
Legendary singer and actor Harry Belafonte did not always find that his name opened doors. In the 1950’s, he, like many African Americans, was routinely refused housing in segregationist America. An ardent supporter of the Civil Rights Movement, when Belafonte found his dream penthouse apartment in Manhattan’s Upper West, he did not take no for an answer. In a clever move, Belafonte sent his White publicist to pick up the rental agreement and then signed the lease in his own name. When the landlord discovered the name “Belafonte” on the agreement, he demanded the singer give up the apartment. Not only did Belafonte refuse, but he went on to buy the entire building!
According the Merriam Webster Dictionary, thingamajig is the name given to any object for which the namer “either does not know or cannot remember” the name. In other words, a thingamajig is what you call a doohickey when you forget what that infernal whatchamahoosit is called. How many names do you know for a whatsit? Test yourself against this list of than 60 different synonyms for a thingumaboobee.
The Essex Place Names Project Group will be holding a one day conference at the Essex Record Office on Saturday, the 18th of March 2017. The key note speaker will be Professor Stephen Rippon from Exeter University. The thematic focus of the conference will be Landscape and Place Names.
ANS Panel at the Modern Language Association ConferenceJanuary 5-8th, 2017 in Philadelphia, PA
The American Name Society invites proposals for a panel under the theme of “Names and Multilingualism.” Multilingual and multicultural communities have been developed since the ancient world. The linguistic and cultural contacts within these communities have attracted the interest of a broad range of disciplines, where in some cases different strands have emerged. Personal as well as place names (i.e. anthroponymy and toponymy, respectively) mirror the interactions and the subsequent changes in those communities, thus modern scholarship often emphasizes their significance.
We encourage submissions pertaining to this topic from diverse perspectives, drawing evidence from literature, material culture, oral tradition, etc. of any period or area. Papers may deal with any aspect of naming, e.g., personal names, place names, corporate or trade names, name theory, etc. Submissions for interdisciplinary approaches are most welcome.
Proposal submission process:
More information about ANS and MLA conferences in available on the Conferences page of this website.
Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. This week’s column explores Penelope.
From the 8th to the 9th of February 2016, a conference on Babylonian Names and Name-Giving will be held at the University of Leuven. The research question to be addressed at this event is “What do names tell us about social realities?” Talks examining Babylonia’s onomastic store using sociological frameworks such as Social Network Analysis are the scientific focus of this interdisciplinary event. The conference program is available online.
The ANS is inviting abstract submissions for the 2017 annual conference to 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 June 30, 2016.
To submit a proposal, complete the 2017 Author Information Sheet. Please email this completed form to Dr. I. M. Nick [mavi.yaz@web.de]. For organizational purposes, please be sure to include the phrase “ANS 2017” 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, 2016.
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. I. M. Nick should you have any questions or concerns.
We look forward to receiving your submission!
