Women and surnames across cultures: reconstituting identity in marriage

This study assesses the current state of affairs in women's naming choices across two speech communities in two languages. Through questionnaire and ethnographic data we study how women in the US and Russia address the surname issue when faced with marriage or partnership. The analysis is carri...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Women and language 2005-09, Vol.28 (2), p.1-11
Main Authors: Boxer, Diana, Gritsenko, Elena
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Anthropological linguistics
Choices
Cross cultural studies
Cultural differences
Cultural identity
Divorce
Females
Gender
Hierarchies
Human relations
Interpersonal communication
Linguistics
Marriage
Names
Naming
Naming Practices
Onomasiology
Onomastics
Personal names
Personal relationships
Politics
Professional identity
Questionnaires
Residential preferences
Russia
Self concept
Sex Roles
Sexual Inequality
Social aspects
Social Identity
Sociocultural Factors
Speech communities
Terminology
United States of America
Women
Word meaning
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Summary:This study assesses the current state of affairs in women's naming choices across two speech communities in two languages. Through questionnaire and ethnographic data we study how women in the US and Russia address the surname issue when faced with marriage or partnership. The analysis is carried out from the perspective of cross-cultural anthropological linguistics. Our data lend insights into how naming choices affect one's individual, social and professional identity; moreover, our findings indicate that even more critical than the identity issue is the question of what such social labeling choices mean in terms of reflecting and perpetuating the gendered power hierarchy of a society. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:8755-4550