Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Volume 12. Number1 March 2021 Pp. 152-164
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol12no1.11
The Causal Theory of Names: Between Theory and Practice
Sa’ida Walid Al-Sayyed
Department of English Language and Translation
Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Al-Ahliyya Amman University
Amman, Jordan, Email: saida.sayyed@yahoo.com
Received: 11/18/2020 Accepted: 1/22/2021 published: 3/24/2021
Abstract:
This study explores to what extent a personal name has a causal relationship with its usage. Data were collected by means of a survey in which demographic data were elicited from the participants. Furthermore, the participants, whose ages were above 18 years, were asked to write their first names and reasons behind being given such names. The sample comprised 400 subjects who participated in the online survey distributed through social media network groups. The results revealed that names and naming practices are not haphazard ones. By and large, there is a relationship between the name and its usage, as stated by the causal theory of names. Whenever people choose a name, they are under the influence of; naming after people who are admired for their virtues, the aesthetic taste of the name, parents’ and relatives’ religious beliefs, maintaining rhyming names, circumstantial names, and respecting social and cultural traditions. Another striking finding is that nature and the environment are no longer rich resources for choosing names. Moreover, the analysis found evidence for the complete absence of names related to occupational and achievement names, death prevention and survival names, horrific names, and proverbial names. It is envisaged that the findings might be beneficial for sociolinguists, onomasticians, learners of Arabic as a foreign language, i.e. non-native speakers of Arabic. It might also help people working on language and culture and how culture affects naming traditions in the Arabic context.
Keywords: causal theory, first names, naming, onomastics, personal names
Cite as: Al-Sayyed, S. W. (2020). The Causal Theory of Names: Between Theory and Practice Arab World English Journal, 12 (1). 152-164.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol2no1.11
References
Agyekum, K. (2006). The Sociolinguistic Akan Personal Names. Nordic Journal of African Studies, 15(2), 206-235.
Al-Barany, L., Albamarini, A., & Shareef, D. (2009). Kurdish Personal Names in Kurdistan of Iraq: A Sociolinguistic Study. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/7136666/The_Sociolinguisticof_Kurdish_Personal_Names1.
Aljbour, A., & Al-Abed Al-Haq, F. (2019). An Investigation of Feminine Personal Names in Beni Sakhr Tribe of Jordan: A Sociolinguistic Study. International Journal of Linguistics, 11(6), 42-67. https://doi:10.5296/ijl.v11i6.14960.
Al-Momani, D. (2019). A Semantic Study of Jordanian Bedouin First-Name Preferences. International Journal of Linguistics, 11(4), 95-110. https://doi:10.5296/ijl.v11i4.15231.
Al-Qawasmi, A., & Al-Abed Al-Haq, F. (2016). A Sociolinguistic Study of Choosing Names for Newborn Children in Jordan. International Journal of English Linguistics, 6(1), 177-186. https://doi: 10.5539/ijelv6n1p177.
Al-Quran, M., & Al-Azzam, B. (2014). Why Named? A Socio-Cultural and Translational View of Proper Names in Jordan. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 4(5), 103-113.
Alzamil, A. (2020). Analysis of the Sociolinguistic Status of Saudi Female Personal Names. International Journal of Linguistics, 12(4), 127-138. https://doi:10.5296/ijl.v12i4.17214.
Al-Zumor, A. (2009). A Socio-cultural and Linguistic Analysis of Yemeni Arabic Personal Names. GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies,9(2),15-27.
Bruhn, A., Huschka, D., & Wagner, G. (2012). Naming and War in Modern Germany. Names, 60(2), 74–89. https://doi.org/10.1179/0027773812Z.00000000011.
Bush, J., Powell-Smith, A., & Freeman, C. (2018). Network Analysis of the Social and Demographic Influences on Name Choice within the U.K (1838-2016). PLOS ONE, 13(10), e0205759. Available at https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205759.
Devitt, M., & Sterenly, K. (1987). Language and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Language. Oxford: Blackwell.
Gerrig, J., & Banaji, R. (1991). Names and the Construction of Identity: Evidence from Toni Morrison’s Tar Baby. Poetics, 20(2), 173–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-422X(91)90005-A.
Hussein, R. (1997). A Sociolinguistic Study of Family Names in Jordan. Grazer Linguistische Studien, 48, 52-41.
Kalkanova, T. (1999). Sociology of Proper Names in Sofia since 1970. International Journal of Sociology of Language, 135, 83-98. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl.1999.135.83
Murray, L. (2012) Baby Naming: A Global Tradition. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-murray/baby-naming-a-global-tradb2322969.html on 10/4/2016.
Rosenhouse, J. (2002). Personal Names in Hebrew and Arabic: Modern Trends Compared to the Past. Journal of Semitic Studies, 47(1), 97-114. https://10.1093/jss/47.1.97.
Salih, M. & Bader, Y. (1999). Personal Names of Jordanian Arab Christians: A Sociolinguistic Study. Int’l.Soc.Lang,140,29-43. https:// 10.1515/ijsl.1999.140.29.
Seeman, M. (1972). Psycho-Cultural Aspects of Naming Children. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 17(2), 149-151. https://doi.org/10.1177/070674377201700211.
Tushyeh, H. Lawson, E., & Rishmawi, G. (1989). Palestinian First Names: An Introduction. Names, 37(3), 245-264. https:// 10.1179/nam.1989.37.3.245.
Zawaideh, F. (2006). A Diachronic study of personal names in Jordan, (Unpublished Master’s Thesis). Mu’ta University, Kerak.
