1374.20 - Anthroponomastics (BA)


Course number
1374.20
Title
Anthroponomastics (BA)
ECTS
10
Prerequisites
Students must have completed the required core component of the BA in Faroese or equivalent. This course can also be taken as an individual course with other prerequisites (please refer to the current academic programme).
Purpose
To provide students with a foundation in how people have been named from the earliest days to this day.
Content
The oldest known Norse naming convention is the variant convention, meaning that by using names with two components people in a family line share one element of their name, while the other changes. Another naming convention is giving names that begin with the same letter, known as the alliteration convention. These two conventions are described on the course. Another common naming tradition, naming a person after another, will also be discussed up to the earliest accounts. The course will touch on the historic conventions and traditions of naming people after others. The course will touch on the impact of the introduction of Christianity on naming. The tradition of giving multiple names will be described along with the impact it has had on, e.g., women’s names. Other traditions that emerged in conjunction with the tradition of giving several names will also be described such as naming after Friday, Sunday and calendar days. Names of twins will also be discussed. The course will touch on abbreviations, nicknames and epithets. The origins of names will also be examined and students will categorise names by origin. The course will touch on lemmatization and the derivation of women’s names from men’s names (movering). The course will provide an overview of the three Faroese legislative acts on naming persons dating from 1992, 2002 and 2007. The course will familiarize students with the terminology used in the field of Anthroponomastics, research history and results. Students will be required to read articles and theses discussing these topics. The course will also familiarize students with sources material on names from different periods, and students are expected to learn to apply research methods to discussions of such materials.
Learning and teaching approaches
Lectures and student presentations.
Learning outcomes
Successful students can demonstrate ability to: • describe theoretical knowledge about Anthroponomastics • discuss different naming conventions • discuss different conventions and traditions of naming people after other people • categorise personal names by origin • lemmatize personal names • discuss Faroese naming legislation
Assessment method
Six-hour written examination. Permitted examination aids: Faroese dictionaries and a register of names.
Examination
External
Marking scale
7-
Bibliography
A reading list will be circulated at the start of the course.
Contact
Anfinnur Johansen