2017 Conference Archive
Socio-Cultural and Socio-Linguistic Functions of Nursery Names in Rural China
Subject Area
East Asian/Chinese Studies
Abstract
This presentation reports a case study that examines an ancient child-naming tradition in a rural community in northwest China where the nursery names of children have profound socio-cultural significance, and the naming practice has five main socio-linguistic sub-functions: (1) imposing the hopes of their parents; (2) reflecting a religious healing ceremonial or the villagers’ negotiations with gods or demons whom they believe to wield controls over the social and physical lives of the people in the village; (3) marking an event that is meaningful to the family or the village; (4) showing sibling relations that is deemed important in agrarian culture and (5) names for girls that reflect gender inequality. While the tradition is a valuable key to Chinese rural culture, it is facing challenges from modernity and it is already displaying a trend of declining and therefore the study of it is both necessary and significant.
Brief Bio Note
Zuotang Zhang is a lecturer of Chinese at Georgia Southern University. He has a master’s degree in Religious Studies, and a doctoral degree in Language, Literacy and Culture. He has worked as a language teacher at various levels in China and the United States. His research interests are in language, culture and education.
Keywords
socio-cultural, socio-linguistic, function, nursery names, rural China
Location
Room 217
Presentation Year
2017
Start Date
3-24-2017 2:35 PM
Embargo
11-3-2016
Copyright
This work is archived and distributed under the repository's Standard Copyright and Reuse License (opens in new tab). End users may copy, store, and distribute this work without restriction. For all other uses, permission must be obtained from the copyright owners or their authorized agents.
Recommended Citation
Zhang, Zuotang, "Socio-Cultural and Socio-Linguistic Functions of Nursery Names in Rural China" (2017). South East Coastal Conference on Languages & Literatures (SECCLL). 51.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/seccll/2017/2017/51
Socio-Cultural and Socio-Linguistic Functions of Nursery Names in Rural China
Room 217
This presentation reports a case study that examines an ancient child-naming tradition in a rural community in northwest China where the nursery names of children have profound socio-cultural significance, and the naming practice has five main socio-linguistic sub-functions: (1) imposing the hopes of their parents; (2) reflecting a religious healing ceremonial or the villagers’ negotiations with gods or demons whom they believe to wield controls over the social and physical lives of the people in the village; (3) marking an event that is meaningful to the family or the village; (4) showing sibling relations that is deemed important in agrarian culture and (5) names for girls that reflect gender inequality. While the tradition is a valuable key to Chinese rural culture, it is facing challenges from modernity and it is already displaying a trend of declining and therefore the study of it is both necessary and significant.
