Studier över nordsvenska ortsboöknamn

• Main Author: Edlund, Lars-Erik
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: Swedish
• Published: Institutet för språk och folkminnen, Dialekt-, ortnamns- och folkminnesarkivet i Umeå (DAUM) 1985
• Subjects: onomastics; dialects; personal names; names of inhabitants; nicknames; the Swedish language; word formation; stereotypes; ethnocentrism; ethnic jokes; Specific Languages; Studier av enskilda språk; Northern Sweden
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-65864

This thesis deals with collective nicknames denoting the inhabitants of a place (parish, village etc.) in northern Sweden, i.e. names of the type arnästjuvar (denoting the inhabitants of the parish of Arnäs; tjuv 'thief') and tynderötuppar (denoting the inhabitants of the parish of Tynderö; tupp 'cock'). The main aim of the thesis is to explain why various nickname elements were chosen and to describe the general character of the nicknames of northern Sweden. These nicknames have been used collectively about the inhabitants of a certain place in a jocular or derogatory sense. They have been used above all in male-dominated contexts, e.g. in military camps. The nicknames are ethnocentric: they denote individuals in their capacity as members of a group. They are often related to other, similar names, so that they form series which are connected phonetically, semantically or from the point of view of word formation. The discussion of these aspects is based on Hugo Moser's research on "Namenfelder". Sources from about 1600 to the present day have been used as material. The bulk of the material consists of answers to questionnaires from the 20th century. Because of the construction of the questionnaires the material is to some extent imperfect. The nicknames often reflect various aspects of the society of the individuals, but today the explanation for names is quite often secondary and a result of folk-etymology. Some nicknames reflect the trades of the inhabitants, others social conditions, diet or dress, others ethnic conditions. The nickname strömmingar was often given to people living on the coast where fishing was an important source of income. The nickname element finnar reflects local settlement by Finns. Some nicknames probably reflect various linguistic conditions (dialectal pronunciation, characteristic place-names or personal names), pictures in local seals or historical events. Several nickname elements have been chosen through association with the form of the place-name or the name of the inhabitants, or ...