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Gary German: Cultural Identity and the Symbolic Weight of Anthroponyms in Brittany, Cornwall and Wales

Gary German: Cultural Identity and the Symbolic Weight of Anthroponyms in Brittany, Cornwall and Wales. Johannes Heinecke, Lannion Celtic Englishes IV Universität Potsdam, 23. September 2004. Some conclusions to start with. Naming Systems of Wales, Brittany and Cornwall

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Gary German: Cultural Identity and the Symbolic Weight of Anthroponyms in Brittany, Cornwall and Wales

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  1. Gary German:Cultural Identity and the Symbolic Weight of Anthroponyms in Brittany, Cornwall and Wales Johannes Heinecke, Lannion Celtic Englishes IV Universität Potsdam, 23. September 2004

  2. Some conclusions to start with • Naming Systems of Wales, Brittany and Cornwall • how do they reflect the Brythonic naming traditions before the linguistic partition • Astonishingly, Brittany (“a French province with no official identity”) has most faithfully preserved these traditions • However, few Bretons understand their surnames • also due to the French educational systems which teaches Bretons first to be a French citizen and second to be a Breton • Since the 1960s “Celtic” names become fashionable again • Brittany: often revived names of saints of the 5th to 8th century. Breton family names however are transmitted from the earyl days • Both “cymricisated” names and originally Welsh names do co-exist. • Apparently “Celticity” is not an immutable phenomenon nor does it mean the same thing to all people • The majority of Cornish, Bretons and (English-speaking) Welsh give English and French names to their children

  3. Résumé: Typology of Naming • Type 1: patronymic lineage • X [mab] Y, X [ach] Y • Dafydd ap Gwilym • still/again (?) in use in rural Brittany with dropped mab: Lomm Yann Olier Guillaume fils de Jean fils d‘Oliver • Type 2: geographic origin or place of residence • shared by all Brythonic-speaking culture • Urien Rheged, Letty (< laezh ti) • Type 3: occupational activities • Very frequent in Brittany, far less though in Wales and Cornwall • Yann Le Falc‘her (< falc’hi “to mow”) • Type 4: physical characteristics • Erwan Le Bihan, Dafydd Coch • Type 5: Epithets relating to character, titles of nobility etc. • very ancient (i.e. Brythonic) in contrast to the preceding types, the origin/meaning of these names if often unknown to the modern bearers of these names • Glévezen < OB Gle-uuethen “brave warrior”

  4. Situation up to now • With Norman conquest (1066) Anglo-Norman names became the standard in Wales and Cornwall, from about 1200 Breton uses gallicised names. • at about 1900 even Welsh monoglots had most frequently non-Celtic names. • Re-employ of Celtic names from the late 1970s (Brittany) • a sign of cultural identity • however the use of Bretonised French names declines • Welsh names are chosen by Welsh-speaking parents to express the Welsh identity

  5. Remarks • Did British immigrants meet Gaulish inhabitants when the came to Aremorica from the 4th century onwards? • (Falc’hun 1962, 1963; Fleuriot 1980) • if so, why are so many parallels between Breton and Kornish? • Was Gaulish so close to British (Brythonic)? • We do not know much about Gaulish to answer these questions beyond doubt (cf. LeDuc 1999 [ICCS]) • Personally I have always had difficulties with this hypothesis (brought forward nearly exclusively by French linguistics) • there are authors who claim Brittany was uninhabited when the immigrants from Britain came • French name Etienne > Steon • Early loan to have the /s/ preserved?

  6. Questions/Discussion • in what differ the Brythonic naming traditions from the Gaelic ones (Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man)? • in the past and/or the present • cf. Liam MacMathúna’s paper • is there a “common” Insular-Celtic (general Celtic) system? • if so, is it different from a Germanic (Anglo-Saxon) system? • if so, would it have an substrate impact on the Celtic Englishes? • cf. the system of Icelandic: • Ragnar Helgason, his daughter will be named Inga Ragnarsdóttir • if so, is there a even more fundamental system (Indo-European)? • if not, are the similarities with other naming traditions in Europe (Gaul, Rome, Greece, Slavic peoples, Fenno-Ugrian peoples) • Even though I do not agree with the Celtic-Afro-Asiatic link: Are the similarities to naming systems in Afro-Asiatic languages • are naming traditions language-dependent or culture-dependent (or both)? • if so, can we develop a (language independent) typology of personal names (onomasiological approach) • How do naming traditions change (fashion, language-change, political pressure, ...)

  7. Questions/Discussion (II) • is there a difference between the naming between Cymry Cymraeg and Cymry Digymraeg • and between Bretonants and Breton non-Bretonnants? • In Wales (at least inofficially) the X [ap] Y scheme is still/again used. • This means X’s children are named W [ap] X • How is the situation in Brittany and Ireland?

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