Der Müller Peter and (s) Fischers Emma
In German dialects and in rural communities, special personal names are used, in which the surname precedes the given name: der Müller Peter, Fischers Emma. This article presents the results of a research project addressing the grammatical and pragmatic variation of these unofficial names. A mixed...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Danish |
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Royal Swedish Academy of Swedish Folk Culture
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Nordisk Tidskrift för Socioonomastik |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://publicera.kb.se/noso/article/view/48619 |
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| Summary: | In German dialects and in rural communities, special personal names are used, in which the surname precedes the given name: der Müller Peter, Fischers Emma. This article presents the results of a research project addressing the grammatical and pragmatic variation of these unofficial names. A mixed methods approach shows that the order of “surname + given name” is triggered by dialect area, the size of a village or town, the age of the speakers, as well as the integration of a referent into the local community. Some unofficial names show remnants of genitive inflection, which has otherwise disappeared in German dialects: Fischer-s Emma. In some cases, we also find cliticized genitive articles: des > s Fischer-s Emma. A diachronic analysis shows that these structures can be traced back to possessive constructions, in which children or wives were assigned to a head of household. Even today, it is still highly relevant in rural communities to identify a person as a member of a local family.
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| ISSN: | 2004-0296 2004-0881 |