1449.17 - Anthroponomastics (MA)


Course number
1449.17
Title
Anthroponomastics (MA)
ECTS
5
Prerequisites
Students must have completed the BA in Faroese with good marks or have equivalent qualifications. This course can also be taken as an individual course with other prerequisites (please refer to the academic programme in force).
Purpose
To provide students with in-depth knowledge about how people have been named since the earliest times and how they are named today.
Content
The oldest known Norse naming convention is the variant convention, meaning that people in the same family share one element of a 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 all naming conventions and traditions over time. Information will be provided 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, for example, 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, as will abbreviations, nicknames and epithets. The origins of names will also be examined and students will group names in different categories according to origin. The course will provide an overview of the three Faroese legislative acts on naming persons dating from 1992, 2002 and 2007, respectively. Students will also receive information about terminology used in the field of anthroponomastics, search histories and results. Students will be required to read articles and treatises discussing these topics. Students will be informed about sources of information about names from different periods; students are expected to learn to apply research methods to discussing material on names.
Learning and teaching approaches
The duration of the course is three hours a week over one semester. The approaches used are class-based teaching and student presentations.
Learning outcomes
Successful students can demonstrate that they have acquired: • in-depth theoretical knowledge about Anthroponomastics • in-depth knowledge about different naming conventions • in-depth knowledge about the conventions and traditions of naming people after others • in-depth knowledge about grouping personal names in categories by origin • knowledge about Faroese naming legislation
Assessment method
Four-hour written examination. Students are allowed to bring Faroese dictionaries and a book of Faroese names to the examination.
Examination
External
Marking scale
13-
Bibliography
Articles and treatises on Anthroponomastics.
Contact
Anfinnur Johansen