NORNA-RAPPORTER 88 Binamn. Uppkomst, bildning, terminologi ...

38 Bertie Neethling
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Summary
Bynames as an expression of identity
A student profile at the University of the Western Cape
By Bertie Neethling
A project called ‘Exploring the link between name and identity : A UWC Profile’ was
started in 2007. A wide ranging questionnaire on naming was distributed on the University
of the Western Cape campus near Cape Town, South Africa, and 824 were returned.
A great variety of different language and cultural groups is represented in the data, but
only the data pertaining to the English, Afrikaans and Xhosa speaking groups will feature
in this contribution.
Responses by many individuals from all three groups suggest that first names form
an important part of their perceived identity. Around 80 % of all respondents in the three
groups indicated that they also had additional bynames or nicknames. Many had more
than one such name, and the astonishing variety complicates any possible type of classification.
It is argued that name carriers consider these additional names as much part of their
identity as their more ‘formal’ given names, and that many prefer to be called by these
names. It is also suggested that these bynames have a much higher frequency in terms
of usage when compared to the ones given at birth. Many respondents also suggested
that these bynames highlighted different aspects of their identity, something that the formal
given names could not always do. It is hence argued that all names carried by an
individual contribute to the identity of the name carrier, and it appears as if a person
might be considered more ‘rounded’ or multifaceted’ depending on the number of bynames
a person has.
Examples of bynames from the three target groups will supplement the article.