The BBC is facing an angry reaction in Afghanistan after it changed the name of one of its local language Facebook pages to BBC Dari, one of the official names of the Afghan version of Persian or Farsi but one rejected by many local Persian speakers. Many Persian speakers say the name Dari has been imposed historically by the traditionally dominant Pashto ethnic group, as an implicit denial of Afghanistan’s place in the wider Persian-speaking world.

The head of the BBC’s Afghan service, Meena Baktash defended the use of the term Dari, noting that it was the official name of the language in Afghanistan. She said the change was intended to link the Facebook page to the BBC Dari radio service, which was launched in 2003 and which, together with the BBC Pashto service, occupies an important place in the crowded local media landscape.

Click through to read more of Al Jazeera’s coverage of this politically charged onomastic issue.

Bath Spa University offers the only UK MA program to integrate the study of both Crime Fiction and Gothic, and is now accepting applicants for 2018/19. Led by the International Crime Fiction Association’s director, Dr. Fiona Peters (Reader in Crime Fiction), this special program will introduce graduate students to the advanced study of two popular genres that have entertained and informed culture from the nineteenth century to the present day. The program is not only interdisciplinary, but also international, and will present students with an imaginative choice of texts from Britain, Europe ,and the Americas. For more details and a link to the online application, visit their home page at Bath Spa University.

On the 22nd of July 2011, the peaceful Norway experienced one of the deadliest attacks on its soil since the Second World War. Within a 24-hour period, the lives of 77 Norwegians were lost at the hands of the right-wing white supremacist Anders Behring Breivik. This autumn, it was formally announced that Breivik had officially been granted the right to change his name to Fjotolf Hansen. It is also under this new name that the mass murder is registered as the owner of a Geofarm, which the killer had used as a front for the purchase of the fertilizer he used to construct his homemade bombs. The defense lawyer who announced the name change refused to disclose the reason or reasons for his client’s change of nomenclature.

Many pieces of US legislation are given clever names to increase their appeal. An excellent example is the 2001 “Act to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes” that is better known today by the acronym USA PATRIOT ACT. Almost two decades later, the suggested name of another legislative act has made the news. In an effort to draw positive attention to an upcoming financial act, the current president suggested the name: “The Cut-Cut-Cut Act”. Instead of inspiring broad support, the suggested name spawned widespread ridicule. As a result, lawmakers have lobbied to scrap the onomastic proposal and name the act instead after its sponsor-in-chief.

In honor of Shelby Wolf’s ongoing legacy in the literature and literacy education, a special award is being offered by the American Educational Research Association for Outstanding Dissertation in Literature.  The recipient of this biannual award is to be given in recognition of a doctoral student whose research has been found to make a substantial and original contribution to literature learning and teaching. The deadline for submission is January 8, 2018. Interested applicants may find out more details about The Shelby Wolf AERA Literature SIG Award for Outstanding Dissertation in Literature, the eligibility requirements, and the selection criteria in this Google doc.

A couple from Germany was denied the ability to name their child Lucifer after the government determined that it was an inappropriate name to give to a child. The new parents reportedly wanted to name their child Lucifer because of its Latin origins. The name Lucifer actually means “morning star” or “light-bringing”, but has now become synonymous with evil because it was the angel’s proper name before he decided to rebel against God. Due to Lucifer’s demonic association, the Association for the German Language has deemed the name to be too problematic to give to a child.

Germany does not have any official laws banning names but officials do have the ability to deny name requests if they feel the name is inappropriate or potentially dangerous for the child. The official can consult with the Association for the German Language to confirm the problematic nature of the name and if the couple refuses to back down, the issue then heads to court.

Click through to this article at Fatherly to read more about this unusual naming case!

 

Dave Postles, one of the leading historians of medieval English society, has looked into how names developed during the High Middle Ages. His 2006 book Naming the People of England c.1100-1350 tracks some of these developments, and notes how nicknames were used as last names. Postles believes that in some cases these names were “imposed by local society on errant individuals as a disciplinary measure, as a kind of labelling of miscreants. It was the next best action to complete ostracism.”

Here are some examples:

Agnes Daythef took sanctuary in a London church, where she confessed to stealing a surcoat and many other things. She abjurred the realm.

Henry Golichtly was known to be a robber in Coventry.

John le Fatte raised the suspicions of his neighbours over his wealth, because he ate well, drank well and dressed well. While no evidence was presented of any wrongdoing at the time, six years later he fled his home after being accused of stealing pigs.

Click through to see the rest of the list!

A family in Toulouse, France who called their baby son Jihad are in legal limbo after the city’s authorities took the case to prosecutors to see if the name was lawful. Until 1993, French parents had to choose a first name for their offspring from an officially approved list, but now they are allowed to pick any name as long as it does not go against the child’s interest.

But while the name might seem like a provocative choice, given its meaning of “holy war,” it literally translates to “effort” or “struggle.” Jihad is a “fundamental concept in Islam,” meaning making “the effort to achieve good,” Aderrahmane Oumachar, co-founder of the Toulouse Centre of Muslim Spirituality, told the The Local of France.

The couple, who come from the Toulouse suburb of Léguevin, tried to name their son ‘Jihad’ when he was born in August but the local town hall immediately alerted the public prosecutor to their controversial choice of name. Given the choice of name and the fact France has been on heightened alert after a series of terror attacks by homegrown jihadists, the prosecutor may well decide to refer the case to the family court.

 

Ever wonder why the oceans have the names they do? The word “ocean” itself came to English via Latin from the Greek ōkeanos, which meant “great stream encircling the earth’s disc”. This blog post at Oxford Dictionaries takes a look at the linguistic roots of the world’s five oceans.

Quick, can you name them all without looking at the image?