On English Culture from the Perspective of English Names

索微微

（西安翻译学院，陕西 西安 710105）

0 Introduction

Personal names are the products of the historical development of human society.They reflect the ancient civilization and splendid cultures from different perspectives.The choice of names tells us about human thought processes at that time and reflects the social reality.Therefore the personal names cannot be divorced from the social culture.On the one hand,personal names are restricted by culture.On the other hand,as a kind of social reality,personal names exert its influence and action on society and culture.In short,personal names and culture influence each other,restrict each other and act on each other.So making a study of personal names helps us to know better about a culture.

1 Definition of Names

Ernst Pulgram in his “Theory of Names” offers a more detailed definition of a name as following:“A proper name is a noun used in a non-universal function,with or without recognizable current lexical value,of which the potential meaning coincides with and never exceeds its actual meaning,and which is attached as a label to one animate being or one inanimate object for the purpose of specific distinction from among a number of like or in some respects similar beings or objects that are either in no manner distinguished from one another or,for our interest,not sufficiently distinguished.”

From the definition,we can see a name is basically functioned as a“label”,with the purpose of “specific distinction”.The article in the following will focus on personal names,which makes up of a special branch in the system of names.Personal names are people’s names--the names that they inherit at birth and the other names that are given to them.

2 English Names and Their Culture Reflection

2.1 The structure of English names and its culture reflection

English names are also mainly made up of two components as Chinese ones are:surnames and given names.But in English given name comes first and the surname is at the end.Therefore,the surname to English native speakers is also called the last name and given name the first name.For example,John Taylor,John is the given name and Taylor is the surname.First name is also called baptized name or Christian name,because most English native speakers believe in Christianity or Catholicism,and their babies who are born around one week should be baptized and named by the priest or parents in the church.

The different order of English names from Chinese ones reflects the different culture of English native speakers.English people put their family names,which represent their ancestors,clans and groups,after their given names,the symbols representing individual and individuality.That means the western people attach much importance to individuals and individuality and they value the independent personality and selfconsciousness.They think the given names are life and soul of a person,so they highly value them.Contrary to the high esteem of given names,they think family names are not very important.Incidentally,as mentioned above,the given names in English speaking countries are also called Christian names.The phenomenon reflects the important role of religion in people’s life.

2.2 The source of English surnames and its culture reflection

English surnames are unlimited in number,but generally speaking,English surnames can be grouped into 8 sources.1）Use given names and the affix indicating blood ties as family names.For example:the suffixing represents the descendants of the family,such as Browning,Pauling.2）Occupational names.Such as:Goldsmith,Blacksmith.3）Use the names of nationality as family names.For example:Angles,Dane.4）The names of official position.Such as:Chancellor (a judge),Chamberlain(the close servant of a king).5）Place names.For example:Hill,River.6）Family names from nature,like Bird,Flower,Frost,etc.7）Use the description of personal features or human body parts as family names.For instance:Strong,Grand.8）Use names in the Bible as family names,for example,James,John.

English family names coming from the names of saints and Bible reflect the religious influence in people’s life.Christianity became important social power in Rome in about the 3rd century.Then it was spread to other European countries and Bible became foundation of western culture.English culture is inevitably influenced by Christianity and the influence can be seen from the names.

Among English family names,many came from Greek,Latin or Hebrew languages.Most of these family names came into English with the Bible and Christianity.They became a part of English culture,for example,Michael(like God)from Hebrew language,Andrew(manly)from Greek,Theodore(a gift from God)from Latin and Devil(a man of a town)from French.This reflects the accommodation of English culture.

2.3 the naming of English given names and its culture reflection

The phenomenon that the members of younger generation use members of older generation’s given names as their own names is very common in Britain or America,for example,British politician William Pitt and his son William Pitt.It’s also the tradition of naming that he naming of a child in Britain or America is totally decided by the parents.In western countries,the individual thought is emphasized and advocated.This idea is embodied in the respect for individuals and all members are equal.This is the reflection of individualism orientation in English culture.

3 Conclusion

Names are an inseparable part of culture and the inevitable outcome of the cultural evolution.Culture infiltrates into every aspect of human social lives and exerts an imperceptible influence on people’s behavior.In this paper the phenomena of personal names is studied in the scale of culture with the purpose of getting the deep-going culture information reflected in English names.Through the analysis of the structure of personal names,origin of English surnames and the given names we can see English culture reflected in English names:religion,individualism and equality.It is hoped that their culture reflection helps us to have a better understanding of English language and English people,thus in the intercultural communication we can communicate more effectively and successfully.

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