1358.18 - Family Name Studies (BA)

1358.18

Family Name Studies (BA)

10

Students must have completed the required core components of the BA in Faroese or other equivalent preconditions. This course can also be taken as an individual course with other prerequisites (please refer to the academic programme in force).

To present elementary insight into the study of family names throughout history and today.

The course examines surnaming conventions from the earliest to present day practices. The earliest convention was to add -son or -daughter to the father’s name, sometimes the mother’s name. On May 30, 1828, a Royal Decree was issued which instituted -sen names of the time as fixed surnames. In 1904 a Danish act on name changing was passed authorising individuals to change their family names. The course will look thoroughly into the history of fathers’ names, family names, particularly dating from the 19th and 20th centuries, their structure, origin, written form and other characteristics as well as of the legislation on family names. The course also touches on middle names and epithets that have often become family names.

The duration of the course is three hours a week over one term. The approaches used are class-based teaching and student presentations.

On successful completion of the course, students are able to • demonstrate fundamental theoretical knowledge about family names • analyse and describe different family naming conventions at a basic level • explain and analyse epithets at a basic level • explain and analyse middle names at a basic level • explain the legislation governing family names at a basic level

Six-hour written examination.

External

Compendium of articles and treatises on family name studies.

Anfinnur Johansen