On the patterning of seudogentilicios in Hispanic America: forms of usage, lexical productivity and identification potential (Andre Klump)
On the patterning of seudogentilicios in Hispanic America: forms of usage, lexical productivity and identification potential
In addition to the official names of local people and inhabitants, many countries, towns, villages and regions of the Spanish-speaking world have so-called seudogentilicios, i.e. colloquial formations used to designate oneself and others. In Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala, for example, there are both gentilicios oficiales derived from the toponym and independently formed demonyms (seudogentilicios): costarricenes vs. ticos/-as, hondureños/-as vs. catrachos/-as and guatemaltecos/-as vs. chapines.
Many of these seudogentilicios contribute to the formation of new words and idiomatic expressions and are used to form company and brand names. There is thus more than purely lexical potential in these colloquial inhabitant names: they are as it were a label that stands for identity and originality, expresses a considerable degree of familiarity and intimacy, and reflects an ethnic and geographical assignment.
Within the framework of this research project, our main aim is to explore the spectrum and patterning of these seudogentilicios in Hispanic America:
- How, when and why did they come into being?
- How can they be categorised in terms of content and concept?
- In which contexts and by whom are they currently primarily used?
- In which areas do particularly their productivity and usability appear?
- And why do demonyms of this kind seem to be so numerous, especially in the Spanish-speaking world?
Submitted/Planned Publications:
- Klump, Andre: “Patterns of seudogentilicios in Hispanic America” in: TCLC (ed.): Pattern Theory in Language and Communication (article submitted).
- Klump, Andre: Gentilicios léxicos y apodos colectivos en Hispanoamérica. Berlin [u.a.]: Peter Lang Edition. (Monograph in progress)
Contact: Prof. Dr. Andre Klump (Romance Studies/America Romana Centrum) | klump@uni-trier.de
