Linguonym (from la, lingua / language, and gr, ὄνομα / name) also known as glossonym (from grc, γλῶσσα / language) or glottonym (from
Attic Greek
Attic Greek is the Greek language, Greek dialect of the regions of ancient Greece, ancient region of Attica, including the ''polis'' of classical Athens, Athens. Often called classical Greek, it was the prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige diale ...
: γλῶττα / language), is a
linguistic
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
term that designates a
proper name
A proper noun is a noun that identifies a single entity and is used to refer to that entity (''Africa'', ''Jupiter'', '' Sarah'', ''Microsoft)'' as distinguished from a common noun, which is a noun that refers to a class of entities (''continent, ...
of an individual
language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
, or a
language family
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ''ancestral language'' or ''parental language'', called the proto-language of that family. The term "family" reflects the tree model of language origination in hist ...
. The study of language names is known as linguonymy (glossonymy, glottonymy), or linguonymics (glossonymics, glottonymics). As a distinctive linguistic discipline, linguonymic studies are closely related to some other
onomastic
Onomastics (or, in older texts, onomatology) is the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. An '' orthonym'' is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study.
Onomastics can be helpful in data mining, ...
disciplines, particularly those that are focused on the study of
ethnonyms
An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and u ...
(names of ethnic groups) and
choronyms
Choronym (from gr, χώρα "region" or "country" and gr, ὄνομα "name") is a linguistic term that designates a proper name of an individual region or a country. The study of regional and country names is known as choronymy, or choronymics. ...
(names of regions and countries). In that context, the field is related to
ethnolinguistic
Ethnolinguistics (sometimes called cultural linguistics) is an area of anthropological linguistics that studies the relationship between a language and the nonlinguistic cultural behavior of the people who speak that language.
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Example ...
and
sociolinguistic
Sociolinguistics is the descriptive study of the effect of any or all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used, and society's effect on language. It can overlap with the sociology of l ...
studies. Various questions related to the study of formation and use of language names are also relevant for several other disciplines within
social sciences
Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soci ...
and
humanities
Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...
.
The term ''linguonym'' was introduced to the linguistic terminology in the second half of the 20th century, first in 1973, and again in 1977, while further attempts to define the field were made in 1979. Three
synonymic terms (linguonym, glossonym, glottonym) gradually came into use, primarily among linguists and other scholars, but the field of linguonymic studies itself is still considered to be in its formative stages.
Typology
Language names can be classified by several criteria. According to origin, they can be divided into two groups:
* ''Endonymic language names'', known as endolinguonyms (autolinguonyms), endoglossonyms (
autoglossonyms) or endoglottonyms (
autoglottonyms) represent language names of
endonymic
An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, o ...
(native) origin, created and used by native speakers as designations for their languages. For example, term ''Deutsch'' is an endolinguonym (native name) for the language that is called German in English.
* ''Exonymic language names'', known as exolinguonyms (exoglossonyms/alloglossonyms, exoglottonyms/alloglottonyms) represent language names of
exonymic (foreign) origin, created and used by those who are not native speakers of the referred languages. For example, term ''German'' is an exolinguonym (foreign name), used in English language as a designation for the language that is called ''Deutsch'' by its native speakers.
Related terms
In recent years, some authors have tried to introduce the term "
logonym
Logonym is a polysemic term, and a neologism (coined from gr, λόγος / word, and gr, ὄνομα / name). The term has several meanings, spanning across different fields of study. It was primarily defined as a term that designates various ty ...
" as an alternative designation for the same
onomastic
Onomastics (or, in older texts, onomatology) is the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. An '' orthonym'' is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study.
Onomastics can be helpful in data mining, ...
class, that encompasses the names of languages, thus avoiding the use of already accepted terms (linguonym, glossonym, glottonym), but those attempts were challenged by the very
polysemic nature of the proposed term (
logonym
Logonym is a polysemic term, and a neologism (coined from gr, λόγος / word, and gr, ὄνομα / name). The term has several meanings, spanning across different fields of study. It was primarily defined as a term that designates various ty ...
), that has several meanings, spanning across different fields of study. As a consequence, the proposed use was treated with caution, and did not gain acceptance.
Searching for appropriate
onomastic
Onomastics (or, in older texts, onomatology) is the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. An '' orthonym'' is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study.
Onomastics can be helpful in data mining, ...
terms for some other classes of
proper names
A proper noun is a noun that identifies a single entity and is used to refer to that entity (''Africa'', ''Jupiter'', ''Sarah'', ''Microsoft)'' as distinguished from a common noun, which is a noun that refers to a class of entities (''continent, ...
, several researchers have tried to use term ''linguonym'' (glossonym, glottonym) as a designation not for the names of languages, but for a specific class of
anthroponyms
Anthroponymy (also anthroponymics or anthroponomastics, from Ancient Greek ἄνθρωπος ''anthrōpos'' / 'human', and ὄνομα ''onoma'' / 'name') is the study of ''anthroponyms'', the proper names of human beings, both individual and co ...
(proper names of humans, individual and collective) that are given to the
groups of speakers of any particular language. Some of those attempts were made as a result of misunderstanding, by referencing to official
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
documents, that used those terms in their proper meaning, as designations for language names, thus revealing the lack of bases for the proposed alternative uses. Other attempts were made without any referencing, or addressing the issue of the proper meanings and uses of the terms.
In the same time, the question of defining an appropriate
anthroponomastic
Anthroponymy (also anthroponymics or anthroponomastics, from Ancient Greek ἄνθρωπος ''anthrōpos'' / 'human', and ὄνομα ''onoma'' / 'name') is the study of ''anthroponyms'', the proper names of human beings, both individual and co ...
term for the specific class of proper names that are given to groups of speakers of any particular language (names such as:
Anglophones
Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest languag ...
/ speakers of English, or
Francophones
French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the la ...
/ speakers of French), remained opened and focused on several available solutions that would combine classical terms for speakers or speaking (based on
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
verb
loquor, loqui, locutus) with standard suffix
-onym, thus producing the term ''loquonym''. Such issues, related to proper formation and use of
onomastic
Onomastics (or, in older texts, onomatology) is the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. An '' orthonym'' is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study.
Onomastics can be helpful in data mining, ...
terms, have gained importance in scholarly circles, since international surveys among experts revealed the existence of several challenging issues related to the process of terminological standardization within the field.
See also
*
List of language names
This article is a resource of the native names of most of the major languages in the world. These are endonymic glossonyms.
Languages
A
Aari – Aari
* Spoken in:
Aasáx † – Aasá
* Spoken in:
Abaza – Aбаза бызшва
* Offici ...
References
Sources
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{{refend
External links
Coby Lubliner (2006): Adventures in Glossonymy
Language naming
Onomastics