AAVE names
AAVE names
Has there been any academic studies of "black names"? I'm talking about those names which don't seem to have any particular etymology and are seemingly coined when the individual is born (a quick search on fb turned up Shameeka and Tyqwan) or are portmanteaus of "traditional" names (Tyshawn, from Tyrone + Shawn, for example). I am most interested in the origin of this phenomenon but whatever y'all can turn up would be of interest.
Last edited by patiku on Tue Sep 11, 2012 9:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: AAVE names
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (2005) by Steven Levitt at least explores the phenomenon to some extent. I've forgotten exactly what he said but it was interesting. Hopefully someone else might be able to either repeat what Levitt said or say something more concrete in general.
You can tell the same lie a thousand times,
But it never gets any more true,
So close your eyes once more and once more believe
That they all still believe in you.
Just one time.
But it never gets any more true,
So close your eyes once more and once more believe
That they all still believe in you.
Just one time.
Re: AAVE names
One thing that these names seem to have in common is that they're all 3 syllables long, and the second one is stressed. If there's only 2 syllables, the second one is still stressed. The first vowel is reduced to /@/, regardless of the letter that it's spelt with.
And let's not forget the mythical "le-a" (http://www.snopes.com/racial/language/le-a.asp), which could be rewritten "LaDasha" in a more traditional orthography.
* * *
All that being said, no, I don't know of an academic study on the topic.
Even the Obama's aren't exempt!http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11172054 wrote:... DeKendrix Warner ...
JaTavious Warner, 17, Takeitha Warner, 13, JaMarcus Warner, 14, Litrelle Stewart, 18, Latevin Stewart, 15, and LaDarius Stewart, 17, rushed to help him and each other.
Of course, "Natasha" is a proper name of Russian origin, but that doesn't mean that it can't be/hasn't been reanalyzed as a Black name.wikipedia wrote:Barack and Michelle [LaVaughn] Obama have two daughters: Malia Ann /məˈliːə/, born on July 4, 1998,[7] and Natasha (known as Sasha /ˈsɑːʃə/)
And let's not forget the mythical "le-a" (http://www.snopes.com/racial/language/le-a.asp), which could be rewritten "LaDasha" in a more traditional orthography.
* * *
All that being said, no, I don't know of an academic study on the topic.
Re: AAVE names
Whites do this too. I recall reading an article about this (I forget where, I'm afraid), where the reporter talked to a bunch of people who said they wanted their kid to have a unique name or at least a unique spelling. Perhaps ironically, it was Asians who still just use traditional English names.
Re: AAVE names
In my experience white people prefer goofy spellings (Achleigh), not on the spot novelties.
Re: AAVE names
My name is Gulliver, I have a brother called Orlando and another called Hamish and a nephew called Luca. My best friend when I was little was a girl called Friday. While none of these names are quite Phónrixxia and Sharpaigne, none are exactly top-ten names. White people do indeed do it too.zompist wrote:Whites do this too. I recall reading an article about this (I forget where, I'm afraid), where the reporter talked to a bunch of people who said they wanted their kid to have a unique name or at least a unique spelling. Perhaps ironically, it was Asians who still just use traditional English names.
Re: AAVE names
I like to call the generation of children born between 1995 and 2010 the "Skyler Generation".patiku wrote:In my experience white people prefer goofy spellings (Achleigh), not on the spot novelties.
"It will not come by waiting for it. It will not be said, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is.' Rather, the Kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it."
– The Gospel of Thomas
– The Gospel of Thomas
Re: AAVE names
A friend of the family was acquainted at one point with a girl named Latreen, and when my mother was a social worker in California she once worked with one Female /fəˈmɑli/.
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Re: AAVE names
I knew a guy whose mother was an elementary school teacher. She apparently had a student named /mɪˈstɑkɪ/. Three guesses how it was spelled.
Also, black names don't have to be three syllables with a schwa in the first: Jamal, DeAndre, JaTavious, Charniquia, etc. And you also get things like Diamond and Precious. (I've also met a black guy named Tariq, but I'm pretty sure either he changed or his parents were politically motivated. Dude was fucked up.)
NE: I've never met anyone named Natasha who wasn't either black or Russian
This. I was named after my great-grandfather (well, not intentionally, but...), and I've only met one other person with my name who isn't Asian, and at least four who are. Pretty much everyone I know is solidly middle-class, but I've met people with names like Orlando, Su, Avery, Keenan, Jerald, Brighid, Finn, Callen, Dayna, Lauree, Kai, Frankie, Julynn, Pia, and too many Hopes to count, all of which are pretty characteristically white ~*~*~*unique*~*~*~ names. Also Catherine, Katherine, and Kathryn, Caitlin, Kaitlyn and probably a Kaitlin somewhere, and so on.zompist wrote:Whites do this too. I recall reading an article about this (I forget where, I'm afraid), where the reporter talked to a bunch of people who said they wanted their kid to have a unique name or at least a unique spelling. Perhaps ironically, it was Asians who still just use traditional English names.
Also, black names don't have to be three syllables with a schwa in the first: Jamal, DeAndre, JaTavious, Charniquia, etc. And you also get things like Diamond and Precious. (I've also met a black guy named Tariq, but I'm pretty sure either he changed or his parents were politically motivated. Dude was fucked up.)
NE: I've never met anyone named Natasha who wasn't either black or Russian
Siöö jandeng raiglin zåbei tandiüłåd;
nää džunnfin kukuch vklaivei sivei tåd.
Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei.
nää džunnfin kukuch vklaivei sivei tåd.
Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei.
Re: AAVE names
I have!Nortaneous wrote:NE: I've never met anyone named Natasha who wasn't either black or Russian
Re: AAVE names
Wait. She may have been demi-slavic. Get me a time machine and I'll find out.
Re: AAVE names
MaStockyShe apparently had a student named /mɪˈstɑkɪ/. Three guesses how it was spelled.
MaStaqui
MaStoqui
Re: AAVE names
"Mustache"
"It will not come by waiting for it. It will not be said, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is.' Rather, the Kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it."
– The Gospel of Thomas
– The Gospel of Thomas
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Re: AAVE names
mista'ke
Siöö jandeng raiglin zåbei tandiüłåd;
nää džunnfin kukuch vklaivei sivei tåd.
Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei.
nää džunnfin kukuch vklaivei sivei tåd.
Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei. Chei.
Re: AAVE names
Whites do this too. I recall reading an article about this (I forget where, I'm afraid), where the reporter talked to a bunch of people who said they wanted their kid to have a unique name or at least a unique spelling. Perhaps ironically, it was Asians who still just use traditional English names.
Indeed. I have a sister named "Kyla" /'kaI.l@/ My mother's reasoning was this: She took the first part of her (my mother) mother's name ("Karen"), and the last part of her grandmother's name ("Lyla"). Somehow, I've even met other people with the name, though I didn't get to ask them why their parents named them so.My name is Gulliver, I have a brother called Orlando and another called Hamish and a nephew called Luca. My best friend when I was little was a girl called Friday. While none of these names are quite Phónrixxia and Sharpaigne, none are exactly top-ten names. White people do indeed do it too.
Also, years ago, I had a neighbor (girl) named "Taji" /'ta.Zi/.
However, despite these names being novel, they don't ring me as Black. Perhaps it's because they're stressed on the first syllable, and the first syllable isn't /l@/ or /dZ@/.
Also, I know a guy about my age who had a kid a couple years ago; He named the boy "Ganon".
* * *
I do know a black girl named "Fakira", but she has a good reason for her name; She's straight from Africa.
Obligatory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZbA5RM97DIhttp://deadspin.com/5924827/american-baby-names-are-somehow-getting-even-worse wrote:Sketch ... Harvest
Re: AAVE names
I have a personal theory that the majority of so called "black names" are of creole inspiration as they all seem to portray elements of Romance languages. Le and La and De prefixed to a name is a definitive mark of French and anything ending in qua and quia, etc. is of Spanish origin even if mispronounced as [kw]. I think we can look to the influence of Louisianan Creole in the Southern USA, and later the influence of Spanish and specifically Spanish gender forms with -a, to explain the origin of these names.
Also, while Le-a may be a myth, I have met a Chloe spelled Chlo-e.
Also, while Le-a may be a myth, I have met a Chloe spelled Chlo-e.
Re: AAVE names
that's just a nerd being a nerdTerra wrote:Also, I know a guy about my age who had a kid a couple years ago; He named the boy "Ganon".
<Anaxandridas> How many artists do you know get paid?
<Anaxandridas> Seriously, name five.
<Anaxandridas> Seriously, name five.
Re: AAVE names
Viktor, call me a cynic, but I doubt that names innovated in the 20th-century urban North are influenced by Louisiana French. Louisiana French was pretty much extinct by the 1960s, and we have no evidence of your cited prefixes influencing antebellum or post-Reconstruction Southern black names, which we would have if your "personal theory" were true.Viktor77 wrote:I have a personal theory that the majority of so called "black names" are of creole inspiration as they all seem to portray elements of Romance languages. Le and La and De prefixed to a name is a definitive mark of French and anything ending in qua and quia, etc. is of Spanish origin even if mispronounced as [kw]. I think we can look to the influence of Louisianan Creole in the Southern USA, and later the influence of Spanish and specifically Spanish gender forms with -a, to explain the origin of these names.
Also, while Le-a may be a myth, I have met a Chloe spelled Chlo-e.
Re: AAVE names
But where else would they have been exposed to French??? I highly doubt Quebec.dhokarena56 wrote:Viktor, call me a cynic, but I doubt that names innovated in the 20th-century urban North are influenced by Louisiana French. Louisiana French was pretty much extinct by the 1960s, and we have no evidence of your cited prefixes influencing antebellum or post-Reconstruction Southern black names, which we would have if your "personal theory" were true.Viktor77 wrote:I have a personal theory that the majority of so called "black names" are of creole inspiration as they all seem to portray elements of Romance languages. Le and La and De prefixed to a name is a definitive mark of French and anything ending in qua and quia, etc. is of Spanish origin even if mispronounced as [kw]. I think we can look to the influence of Louisianan Creole in the Southern USA, and later the influence of Spanish and specifically Spanish gender forms with -a, to explain the origin of these names.
Also, while Le-a may be a myth, I have met a Chloe spelled Chlo-e.
Re: AAVE names
Viktor77 wrote:But where else would they have been exposed to French??? I highly doubt Quebec.
they weren't
that's why the names we're talking about ARE NOT FRENCH
they're an attempt to SOUND french
or just vaguely exotic
jeeeeesus
<Anaxandridas> How many artists do you know get paid?
<Anaxandridas> Seriously, name five.
<Anaxandridas> Seriously, name five.
Re: AAVE names
Viktor. Look at the evidence.Viktor77 wrote:But where else would they have been exposed to French??? I highly doubt Quebec.dhokarena56 wrote:Viktor, call me a cynic, but I doubt that names innovated in the 20th-century urban North are influenced by Louisiana French. Louisiana French was pretty much extinct by the 1960s, and we have no evidence of your cited prefixes influencing antebellum or post-Reconstruction Southern black names, which we would have if your "personal theory" were true.Viktor77 wrote:I have a personal theory that the majority of so called "black names" are of creole inspiration as they all seem to portray elements of Romance languages. Le and La and De prefixed to a name is a definitive mark of French and anything ending in qua and quia, etc. is of Spanish origin even if mispronounced as [kw]. I think we can look to the influence of Louisianan Creole in the Southern USA, and later the influence of Spanish and specifically Spanish gender forms with -a, to explain the origin of these names.
Also, while Le-a may be a myth, I have met a Chloe spelled Chlo-e.
Why do you find it likely that these naming elements infiltrated the black slave community around the turn of the 19th century, but somehow never came into use until the 20th century, decades and decades after the source of those elements went extinct and that community had dispersed across the country?
Re: AAVE names
argument from incredulity, viktor
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Re: AAVE names
Of course a community of illiterate people that don't even have TVs to watch can't be influenced by foreigners that are in other countries.
There's no way they'd try to sound foreign and not getting it quite right. Of course not.
Viktor, see how this is a sarcastic summary of the flaws of your understanding of the issue?
There's no way they'd try to sound foreign and not getting it quite right. Of course not.
Viktor, see how this is a sarcastic summary of the flaws of your understanding of the issue?
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