Proper Names in Cross-Cultural Communication
Course description
The course Proper Names in Cross-Cultural Communication is designed for 3d year students who are studying cross-cultural communication at the Department of Foreign Languages and Area Studies at Lomonosov Moscow State University. It takes 72 hours in the 1st term and 64 hours in the 2nd. It offers students a means for analyzing and evaluating the complex social and moral issues that young adults throughout the world have to deal with today. The course encourages the development of the cross-cultural communicative competence and opens the door to a discussion of various ways of presenting and reflecting cultural values, national history and social issues in proper names. Proper names contain lots of cultural and historical information and provide it only for those who know. Students will learn how to analyze proper names, interpret them in the correct way, find their indirect meaning depending on the culture, study naming strategies in the world. This course will help them examine cultures deeply, lessen cultural misunderstandings and conflicts and enjoy cross-cultural communication.
Proper Names in Cross-Cultural Communication provides a forum to examine and clarify naming and cultural differences. In this course students move from a general exploration of proper names meanings and functions in modern discourse to an analysis of a case study, a discussion of readings and finally a group research project. The case studies and readings, while providing various perspectives on name giving and perceiving in different countries, are also meant to strengthen students’ cultural self-awareness.
The modules begin with a question about the major issue each unit presents, followed by an exploration activity in which students are asked to assess their personal and cultural views. Next students study information given, discuss the questions and investigate different problems, analyze a case study and write a case study report or make a presentation. The case is a realistic scenario that requires students to sort out the ethical possibilities within the context of their own experiences, traditions, and cultures. The discussion questions serve as a guideline to writing the report and establish the nonjudgmental environment necessary for a lively comparison and contrast of personal and cultural values reflected in proper names.
Finally, specific films, articles, and book chapters are listed for those who wish to expand their knowledge of the topic. Through the process of reading, discussion, analysis, writing, and presenting, students will enrich their understanding of today's global society perceived through proper names while at the same time they are sharpening their academic English skills.
The overall goals of Proper Names in Cross-Cultural Communication are to increase sociocultural and linguistic competence and to improve cross-cultural communication skills. The specific objectives are the following:
1. to develop students' cross-cultural communicative competence through discussion and analysis of current issues;
2. to present students with different types of proper names analysis and its value for cross-cultural studies;
3. to encourage students to see cultural and historical traces in proper names and their influence on modern naming strategies;
4. to discourage misunderstandings due to cultural differences, stereotyping, and prejudice.
The connection with the instructor is possible with email and forum.
Requirements and Grading Techniques
Minimum requirements for passing this course are active course participation, on-time work and substantial attendance. To succeed in the course students will need to study constantly, to analyze carefully, to think creatively, to do the assignments properly and to take an active part in course discussions and analyses. Class time will be devoted to lectures, reading discussions and name analysis. The Internet will be used a lot as a resource and students are required to have basic computer skills. Students will have to spend time outside of class on different tasks and analyses.
During the term students are required:
• to submit a written analysis of a name construction and function in modern discourse (as a material may serve a novel, a newspaper, a film, advertisements in a particular field and so on);
• to make an oral presentation of the analysis;
• to prepare a name quiz based on one of the discussed topics;
• at the end of the 2nd term to submit a course paper.
Grading Techniques
Course participation - 30%
Presentation - 20%
Paper - 30%
Quiz (1st term)/Search Task (web quest, hot list, multimedia scrapbook) (2nd term) - 20%
Syllabus (1st term)
Before each class period students have to read the stories listed beside the data.
Week 1 – 6.10
Introduction to the course.
Sign up for presentations.
Week 2 – 13.10
Naming trends. Popular culture names. Making a name. How to choose a name.
Do the quiz “Common first names and their meanings”.
Read the story “Mabel” by William Somerset Maugham.
Make up your quiz!
Presentation.
Week 3 – 20.10
The world of surnames. Surname groups, origin and functions.
Do the quiz “Tailor”.
Read the story “Roman Fever” by Edith Wharton.
Make up your quiz!
Presentation.
Week 4 – 27.10
Popular nicknames of popular people. Sources for nicknames, their functions in discourse. Types of nicknames.
Do the matching task “Who is who?”
Read the story “The Great Profundo” by Bernard Mac Laverty.
Make up your quiz!
Presentation.
Week 5 – 3.11
Name allusions. The source of allusions, their functions in communication, interpretation of allusive names in cross-cultural communication.
Do the quiz “Samson or Hulk?”
Watch the clip “Ultimate Showdown”.
Make up your quiz!
Presentation.
Week 6 – 10.11
Names in idioms: Bible names, Greek names, Common names, Fiction names, etc. The reflection of historical and cultural values, process of interpretation.
Do the quiz “Bible allusions”.
Read the story “The Stowaway” by Julian Barnes.
Make up your quiz!
Presentation.
Week 7 – 17.11
Name of pets, trends, tendencies, types.
Do the quiz “Traditional names of pets”.
Read the story “Ming’s Biggest Prey” by Patricia Highsmith.
Make up your quiz!
Presentation.
Week 8 – 24.11
Names as a reflection of social status. Name fashion. Brands around us.
Do the quiz “Trade names”.
Read the story “The Bottom Line and the Sharp End” by Fay Weldon.
Make up your quiz!
Presentation.
Week 9 – 1.12
Indirect meaning of proper names. Anthroponomical metaphor, metonymy, comparison, derivatives.
Do the quiz “Beckhamesque or Thatcherite?”
Read the story “The Spot of Art” by P.G. Wodehouse.
Make up your quiz!
Presentation.
Your papers due!
Week 10 – 8.12
The main principals of proper name adaptation in cross-cultural communication. Thirteen rules of interpretation.
Do the quiz “Charles – Чарльз или Карл, вот в чем вопрос”.
Choose a short story in English, find its translation into Russia, analyze name interpretation.
Make up your quiz!
Presentation.
Week 11 – 15.12
Test. Evaluation of the course.
Watch “Christmas Carrols” and analyze name allusions.
Syllabus (2nd term)
Before each class period students have to do the task written beside the data.
Week 1 – 9.02
The land of names. Proper names in different spheres of modern world.
Sign up for presentations.
Week 2 – 16.02
Proper names in songs.
Onomastic analysis of “American Pie” by Don McLean and Madonna.
Choose a song and analyze the role of proper names in it.
Prepare a multimedia scrapbook on your topic!
Presentation.
Week 3 – 1.03
Proper names in films.
Onomastic analysis of the film “Babel” by Alejandro González Iñárritu.
Choose a film and analyze the role of proper names in it.
Prepare a multimedia scrapbook on your topic!
Presentation.
Week 4 – 15.03
Proper names in computer games.
Onomastic analysis of the game “Prince of Persia”.
Choose a computer game and analyze the role of proper names in it.
Prepare a multimedia scrapbook on your topic!
Presentation.
Week 5 – 22.03
Proper names in fairy tales.
Onomastic analysis of the fairy tale “The Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum.
Choose a fairy tale and analyze the role of proper names in it.
Make a web quest!
Presentation.
Week 6 – 29.03
Proper names in cartoons.
Onomastic analysis of the cartoon “Mickey Mouse”.
Choose a cartoon and analyze the role of proper names in it.
Make a web quest!
Presentation.
Week 7 – 5.04
Cultural values in the names of cars.
Comparative analysis of British and Russian car names.
Choose a country, make a list of cars produced in it, analyze how cultural values are reflected in the names.
Make a hot list!
Presentation.
Week 8 – 12.04
Cultural values in the names of dances.
Comparative analysis of Irish and Russian folk dance names.
Choose a country, make a list of folk dances, analyze how cultural values are reflected in their names.
Make a hot list!
Presentation.
Week 9 – 19.04
Cultural values in the names of food.
Comparative analysis of British and Russian chocolate names.
Choose a country and a product, make a list of the product’s names, analyze how cultural values are reflected in the names.
Make a hot list!
Presentation.
Week 10 – 26.04
Cultural values in the names of magazines.
Comparative analysis of American and Russian magazine names.
Choose a country, make a list of magazines published in it, analyze how cultural values are reflected in their names.
Make a hot list!
Presentation.
Week 11 – 10.05
Web names as a reflection of personal identity.
Holistic analysis of nicks: their formation, structure, functions, representation of self.
Choose a type of web names (email nicks, forum nicks, skype nicks, livejournal nicks) and do the holistic analysis.
Presentation.
Week 12 – 17.05
Test. Evaluation of the course.
Presentation of the course papers.
Text and Materials
Recommended books:
1. Васильева Н.В. Собственное имя в мире текста. М.: URSS, 2009.
2. Ермолович Д.И. Имена собственные на стыке языков и культур. М.: Р.Валент, 2001.
3. Леонович О.А. В мире английских имен. М.: Астрель, 2002.
4. Суперанская А.В. Общая теория имени собственного. М.: URSS, 2009.
5. Суперанская А.В., Сталтмане В.Э., Подольская Н.В., Султанов А.Х. Теория и методика ономастических исследований. М.: URSS, 2009.
6. Рыбакин А.И. Словарь английских фамилий. – М.: Дрофа, 2000.
7. Рыбакин А.И. Словарь английских личных имен. – М.: Дрофа, 2000.
8. A Dictionary of Names and Nicknames. Urdang L.– Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.
9. The Big Book of Baby Names. London, Capella, 2004.
10. Oxford Dictionary of Allusions.
11. Oxford Dictionary of Idioms.
12. Oxford Dictionary of Nicknames. Delahunty A. – Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.
13. Reaney P.H. The Origin of English Surnames – London: Readers Union, 1967.
Literary Works for Close Analysis:
1. Barnes J. Stowaway. http://ebookbrowse.com/julian-barnes-the-stowaway-b-doc-d58402569
2. Highsmith P. Ming’s Biggest Prey.
3. Mac Laverty B. The Great Profundo.
4. Maugham W.S. Mabel. http://www.pdfqueen.com/mabel-somerset-maugham--mabel
5. Weldon F. The Bottom Line and the Sharp End.
6. Wharton E. Roman Fever.
7. Wodehouse P.G. The Spot of Art.
Assignments (1st term)
Assignment 1. Oral presentations
Students should sign up for an oral presentation (20 minutes), during which they will be responsible for leading the class discussion and presenting onomastic, cross-cultural, historical and social data that they’ve collected in their brief research on the chosen topic. The date of this presentation will be determined by the topic they sign up for.
Students are required to consult about five outside sources (use the links provided above). During the preparation for a presentation, it’s important to show the skills acquired during the course - close reading, textual analysis, onomastic analysis, quiz making, case study analysis. The task is 1. to analyze a specific group of proper names in literature – classification of these proper names, cognitive and linguistic mechanism of their construction, functions in discourse, appropriate translation - and 2. relate these to possible cultural problems, cross-cultural misunderstanding and conflict situations.
Some possible topics for presentation (students are free to suggest their own topics):
1. The role of personal names in P.G. Wodehouse’s works.
2. Nickname as a main concept of the novel “Run, Rabbit” by J. Updike.
3. Status names in the novel “The Devil Wears Prada” by L. Weisberger.
4. Allusion in modern advertising.
5. Proper names as cultural symbols in modern press.
You have to sign up for a presentation by the end of the second week.
Assignment 2. Paper
During this semester students are required to write a 4-5 page analysis of one of the stories. They may choose a story which was discussed in class or take a new one. The essay should 1. contain complex analysis of the key issue (cultural, social, psychological) expressed in the text; 2. include onomastic analysis of the chosen text and 3. emphasis possible cultural clashes which may be produces by this text. Sources are not required.
The paper must be carefully proofread, pay attention to the style and organization of the paper. The paper must be submitted to my e-mail before the date or typed and handed in on December 1. Late papers will not be accepted.
Some possible themes for your future papers:
1. How does the name express the personality in the story “The Bottom Line and the Sharp End” by F. Weldon?
2. Names speak louder or how is the social status reflected in proper names in the novel “The Devil Wears Prada” by L. Weisberger?
3. Changing a name – changing a personality: how does the change of names express the change of personal character in the novel “Room In the Top” by J. Braine.
4. Attitude to your name – attitude to yourself: cultures and names in the novel “White Teeth” by Zadie Smith.
5. How does the change of attitude to a person influence the perception of his name in the story “Mr Know All” by W.S. Maugham?
Assignments (2nd term)
Assignment 1. Oral presentations
Students should sign up for an oral presentation (20 minutes), during which they will be responsible for leading the class discussion and presenting onomastic, cross-cultural, historical and social data that they’ve collected in their brief research on the chosen topic. The date of this presentation will be determined by the topic they sign up for.
Students are required to consult about five outside sources (use the links provided above). During the preparation for a presentation, it’s important to show the skills acquired during the course - onomastic analysis in different fields; quiz, scrapbook, hot list and web quest making, case study analysis. The task is 1. to analyze the function of proper names in different fields of modern world – what types of proper names are used, their function and meaning, cultural background - and 2. relate these to possible cultural problems, cross-cultural misunderstanding and conflict situations.
Some possible topics for presentation (students are free to suggest their own topics):
1. The role of proper names in the Beatles songs.
2. The role of proper names in British fairy tales.
3. Nick and personal identity in British livejournals.
4. Cultural values in the names of British pubs.
You have to sign up for a presentation by the end of the second week.
Assignment 2. Course paper.
Useful Internet Links
Books
1. Ермолович Д.И. Имя собственное в межкультурной коммуникации http://www.speakrus.ru/dict/ermolovich-names-pt1.pdf
2. Зинин С.И. Поэтическая ономастика http://planeta-imen.narod.ru/litonomastika/main.html
Directory inquiries
1. Библиография по поэтической ономастике http://planeta-imen.narod.ru/litonomastika/bibl2.html
2. Общая информация по ономастике http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ономастика
http://www.krugosvet.ru/enc/gumanitarnye_nauki/lingvistika/ONOMASTIKA.html
http://filologia.su/onomastika
3. Definitions of a proper name http://www.odlt.org
Scientific articles
1. Имя: внутренняя структура, семантическая аура, контекст: Тезисы международной научной конференции.
http://www.inslav.ru/images/stories/pdf/2001_imia_1.pdf?db8adf65b129933cb3579617fe984365 Часть 1
http://www.inslav.ru/images/stories/pdf/2001_imia_2.pdf?db8adf65b129933cb3579617fe984365=f2de7faf54e24a65ceef12542783800c Часть 2
2. Имена собственные в оригинале и переводе http://www.bestreferat.ru/referat-39396.html
3. On classification of allusive names. http://www.zunal.com/zunal_uploads/files/20111017081831dyzet.pdf
4. Translation and culture. Allusions as cultural bumps. http://www.zunal.com/zunal_uploads/files/20111017043821Bupyz.pdf
Articles to enjoy
1. Интересные статьи по именам http://www.listname.ru/articles/index.html
2. Суперанская А.В. О фамилиях http://www.rg.ru/tema/avtor-Aleksandra-Superanskaia/
3. The problem of name changing. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15366156
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hXp74yBnqE783b-0GLS2_HwFmYBQ?docId=b5bcbcc2e44d46e6bb33d26103f29d83
http://www.scribbal.com/2011/10/google-will-soon-allow-you-to-use-a-pseudonym-instead-of-your-real-name/
http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/10/24/google-backs-down-nods-to-nickname-users/
http://news.google.com/news/section?pz=1&cf=all&ned=us&hl=en&csid=6a4fd705311e0e61
4. Bugs Bunny and his story http://bugshardaway.blogspot.com/2007/05/points-to-consider.html
5. FBI nicknames http://www.9news.com/news/article/225091/166/How-the-FBI-comes-up-with-robber-nicknames
http://www.myalcaponemuseum.com/id159.htm
Other sources
1. Планета имен и фамилий http://planeta-imen.narod.ru/links.html
2. Greek and Roman allusions in brand names. http://sianaddy.weebly.com/
3. Idioms and proverbs with proper names http://usefulenglish.ru/idioms/idioms-proverbs-with-proper-names
4. The site will provide you with various analyses of literary works. http://www.shmoop.com/
5. Writing and language. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001599.html
Sites on onomastics societies
1. http://www.onoma.newmail.ru/index.htm Ономастика России
2. http://www.wtsn.binghamton.edu/ANS/
3. http://edwindlawson.com
4. Geographic Names Data Base (Official U.S. Records)
5. Council of Geographic Names
6. Authorities Canadian Society for the Study of Names
7. Geographical Names Data Base (Canadian Records)
8. Institute for Name Studies, Nottingham
9. Information for the Genealogist
10. Toponymy Interest Group of the American Name Society
11. Lurline Coltharp Collection of Onomastics
12. English Place Name Society
13. Scottish Placename Society
14. Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland
15. U.S. Census Bureau (Frequently Appearing Names)
16. Placenames
17. Cork and Kerry Place Names Survey
18. International Council of Onomastic Sciences
19. Onomastic Studies Unit, University of Natal
20. Humorous Names (a bibliography by Don Nilsen)
21. Guild of One Name Studies
22. Baby Names of Ireland (with pronunciations by Frank McCourt)
23. Unique Baby Names
24. Baby Names
25. Think! Baby Names
26. A Guide to Names and Naming Practices
