Unconventional Romanian Anthroponyms in European Context: Formation Patterns and Discursive Function
Antroponime neconvenționale românești în context european: tipare de construcție și funcție discursivă

PN-II-RU-TE-2011-3-0007
Contract CNCS (UEFISCDI) nr. 103 / 25.10.2011

Project abstract:

The research deals with the case of certain unconventional anthroponyms (nicknames, sobriquets, user names), used in the Romanian and Romance public space, of which some tend to be pragmatised through frequent use. The introductory part contains data about the object, the theoretical and methodological basis of the project, and information related to the characteristics of the corpus used (gathered from the mass media and the Internet, and directly, from field work, through the application of questionnaires). The second part analyzes the categories identified in the investigated material, in systematic covariance with traits of the public context they are used in. We establish the relation between the conventional/unconventional markers of identification in various contexts, making reference to:

  1. the markers of identification of certain public persons, whose role is to designate the addressees in the presence of the reference point, and in the absence of the reference point;
  2. the interlocutive contexts in which the forms above are used: formal, informal;
  3. the inventory of anthroponyms compatible with each context mentioned, and their formation patterns;
  4. the discursive functions some of these unconventional anthroponyms have, and their presumable stereotyping.

For the comparison with Romance items, we will choose materials similar to the ones from the Romanian corpus, and we will look for connections in matters of formation patterns and discursive functions.

The partial results of the research will be capitalised by means of the members’ participation in the 11th International Colloquium of the Department of Romanian Language of the University in Bucharest, the Second International Conference of Onomastics “Names and Naming”, Baia Mare, the International “Conference Communication, Context, Interdisciplinarity”, „Petru Maior” University of Târgu-Mureș, and others. The dissemination will mirror the work undergone within this grant and will prove its usefulness for Romanian and foreign researchers, who are interested in contemporary Romanian linguistics and the typological specificity of the Romanian language.

The final results of the research will be capitalised by publishing, at a prestigious international publishing house, of a consistent study devoted to Romanian unconventional anthroponyms in European context; the publishing of several articles in ISI and BDI publications, by all the members of the team; the participation in the 25th International Congress of Onomastic Sciences, 2013, and in other major scientific events, occurring during the first semester of the year.