Folia onomastica Croatica, No. 25, 2016.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21857/ydkx2c3dq9
Family nicknames in Držimurec and Strelec: motivation, formation, pragmatics
Ines Carović
orcid.org/0009-0006-3994-0683
; Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu Odsjek za fonetiku
Kristian Novak
orcid.org/0000-0002-2609-6368
; Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Rijeci Odsjek za kroatistiku
Abstract
Family nicknames are informal anthroponymic units used in many Croatian rural communities. Although considered to be products of a bygone traditional naming process, even today they are used in Držimurec and Strelec more often in everyday communication than surnames and still have greater recognizability in the community among older and younger generations alike. This paper examines the position of family nicknames in the unofficial nominal formula in Držimurec and Strelec, two villages in southeastern Međimurje. A corpus of 219 original family nicknames is presented and analysed from several viewpoints: word-formation, motivation and pragmatics. Taking different semantic motivational patterns into account, it can be claimed that family nicknames can function as identity markers which reflect how the community perceives a family, or a group of people within the community, as well as community customs and values. Several motivational patterns reveal an active function of family nicknames as pejorative or deprecatory terms. Therefore, authors argue that investigating such naming phenomena and the actual use of family nicknames can not only be interesting from an anthroponomastic viewpoint, but can also provide valuable insight into the dynamics and sociocognitive principles of the formation of discursive practices in small rural communities.
Keywords
Držimurec; Strelec; family nicknames; unofficial nominal formula; motivational and formation analysis; publishing ethics
Hrčak ID:
178298
URI
Publication date:
27.3.2017.
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