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Chapter 16 Personal names and naming in Tongan language and culture

  • Svenja Völkel
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Personal Names and Naming from an Anthropological-Linguistic Perspective
This chapter is in the book Personal Names and Naming from an Anthropological-Linguistic Perspective

Abstract

Anthroponyms referring to individuals in Tongan society are a topic that has received little attention in anthropological-linguistic research so far. This paper addresses types of personal names and their historical development, naming practices and grammatical aspects of hingoa ‘name’, including alienable and inalienable possessive constructions, syntactic word class frames and honorific registers. All these aspects will show that personal names and the linguistic behaviour of hingoa is deeply embedded in the cultural context of this Polynesian society. Social concepts such as hierarchical order and the powerful position of the mehekitanga (father’s sister) are crucial for naming practices, a component in the process of integrating a newborn into its social kāinga network (extended family). Furthermore, these cultural parameters are conceptualised in grammar, i.e., they reveal the meaning encoded in linguistic features.

Abstract

Anthroponyms referring to individuals in Tongan society are a topic that has received little attention in anthropological-linguistic research so far. This paper addresses types of personal names and their historical development, naming practices and grammatical aspects of hingoa ‘name’, including alienable and inalienable possessive constructions, syntactic word class frames and honorific registers. All these aspects will show that personal names and the linguistic behaviour of hingoa is deeply embedded in the cultural context of this Polynesian society. Social concepts such as hierarchical order and the powerful position of the mehekitanga (father’s sister) are crucial for naming practices, a component in the process of integrating a newborn into its social kāinga network (extended family). Furthermore, these cultural parameters are conceptualised in grammar, i.e., they reveal the meaning encoded in linguistic features.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Preface V
  3. Contents VII
  4. List of figures XI
  5. List of maps XIII
  6. List of tables XV
  7. Chapter 1 Introduction: The cultural aspect of personal names 1
  8. Section One: The ethnopragmatics of anthroponyms
  9. Chapter 2 ‘Father of the spotted cow’: Hamar titles and their connection to cattle appearance 15
  10. Chapter 3 The shell and the essence: Name transfer among the Hinihon 41
  11. Chapter 4 Personal names and motivations for name-giving in western Paraná state, Brazil 57
  12. Chapter 5 Nicknames as a socio-cultural phenomenon among Lithuanian youth 73
  13. Section Two: Personal naming and cultural transissions
  14. Chapter 6 The naming gamble: Unique versus common given names 97
  15. Chapter 7 From “sprinkling” a blessing to audaciously appropriating a name: Some reflections concerning personal names and naming in the central highlands of Madagascar 115
  16. Chapter 8 Organising diversity: Naming groups and their languages in Indigenous Australia 133
  17. Chapter 9 Names they left behind: Remembering the times with the White farmers in some parts of Chimanimani and Chipinge in Zimbabwe 153
  18. Section Three: Anthroponyms as religious belief and practice
  19. Chapter 10 This baby’s name is ‘Leaf’ or ‘Garbage heap’: Reading the figurative in selected death prevention names among the Bakonzo 171
  20. Chapter 11 Tibetan elements in spirit names in Dongbaism and Dabaism 189
  21. Chapter 12 The appropriation of animal names as personal names in Ibibio and Tiv onomastic traditions in Nigeria: An ethnopragmatic study 217
  22. Chapter 13 A structural study of Basà death prevention names 239
  23. Section Four: Cultural implications in anthroponym typology
  24. Chapter 14 Typology and motivations for Azerbaijani personal names 265
  25. Chapter 15 The grammar of personal names in Saaroa 283
  26. Chapter 16 Personal names and naming in Tongan language and culture 301
  27. Chapter 17 A descriptive account of the modern Mazahuan onomastic system 323
  28. Chapter 18 Gender intimations in the morphology of some Ndebele personal names 345
  29. Notes on contributors 367
  30. Index 373
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110759297-016

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Preface V
  3. Contents VII
  4. List of figures XI
  5. List of maps XIII
  6. List of tables XV
  7. Chapter 1 Introduction: The cultural aspect of personal names 1
  8. Section One: The ethnopragmatics of anthroponyms
  9. Chapter 2 ‘Father of the spotted cow’: Hamar titles and their connection to cattle appearance 15
  10. Chapter 3 The shell and the essence: Name transfer among the Hinihon 41
  11. Chapter 4 Personal names and motivations for name-giving in western Paraná state, Brazil 57
  12. Chapter 5 Nicknames as a socio-cultural phenomenon among Lithuanian youth 73
  13. Section Two: Personal naming and cultural transissions
  14. Chapter 6 The naming gamble: Unique versus common given names 97
  15. Chapter 7 From “sprinkling” a blessing to audaciously appropriating a name: Some reflections concerning personal names and naming in the central highlands of Madagascar 115
  16. Chapter 8 Organising diversity: Naming groups and their languages in Indigenous Australia 133
  17. Chapter 9 Names they left behind: Remembering the times with the White farmers in some parts of Chimanimani and Chipinge in Zimbabwe 153
  18. Section Three: Anthroponyms as religious belief and practice
  19. Chapter 10 This baby’s name is ‘Leaf’ or ‘Garbage heap’: Reading the figurative in selected death prevention names among the Bakonzo 171
  20. Chapter 11 Tibetan elements in spirit names in Dongbaism and Dabaism 189
  21. Chapter 12 The appropriation of animal names as personal names in Ibibio and Tiv onomastic traditions in Nigeria: An ethnopragmatic study 217
  22. Chapter 13 A structural study of Basà death prevention names 239
  23. Section Four: Cultural implications in anthroponym typology
  24. Chapter 14 Typology and motivations for Azerbaijani personal names 265
  25. Chapter 15 The grammar of personal names in Saaroa 283
  26. Chapter 16 Personal names and naming in Tongan language and culture 301
  27. Chapter 17 A descriptive account of the modern Mazahuan onomastic system 323
  28. Chapter 18 Gender intimations in the morphology of some Ndebele personal names 345
  29. Notes on contributors 367
  30. Index 373
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